Most small businesses need a Chief Marketing Officer. The role brings critical insight to the table, essential to the long-term growth of the company. But the truth is, most small businesses can’t afford that level of executive.

Could an advertising agency serve as your CMO? In my experience, agencies are far more interested in marketing than they are sales. Agencies typically lack the broad perspective a CMO offers and focus, instead, on project-oriented craft work.

If you need insights into the growth-limiting challenges facing your business, but you are short on executive marketing talent, let’s talk. I provide part-time, 1-to-1 Coaching to give you the experienced thinking of a CMO for a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive.

What to expect

My consulting offer is a single-issue engagement. The narrow focus allows you to get significant help to solve your most pressing problem — the biggest problem limiting your success — without a large commitment.

We’ll begin by discussing the many issues you face. From there, we’ll prioritize the list and work, one-at-a-time, through the solutions. Each issue is a separate engagement and we only work as it fits your business.

To qualify for our single issue offering, you typically are:

1. A small business with five-to-25 employees. (Larger companies typically have different needs. In those situations, I’ve found the CEO is typically looking for a second opinion on advice from internal marketing leadership.)
2. Generating from $1MM to $10MM in revenue.
3. Leading by intuition. Your instinct is probably telling you that things should be working better than they are. (Did you get the book yet?)
4. Focused on a single, complicated, sales and marketing question. The tightly defined question is key to the engagement. If you are not sure exactly what that question is, no worries, our first call will help you clearly state the issue.
5. You’ve probably tried other consultants or agencies but you aren’t satisfied with the answers or results.

I promise you candor. If this engagement interests you, give me a sense of what you are trying to work through and I’ll tell you whether I can help. If I can, I’ll specify what I’ll need to begin, and then schedule our first phone call. If I can’t help, I’ll point you to someone who can.

Do you have questions about coaching sessions? Send me a message

What it costs

Every engagement is different, of course.  We can usually schedule the initial consultation within two weeks, depending on the time of year. Most issues are resolved in a few weeks of calls, emails and conversation over a shared screen.

As for cost, my standard initial intake fee is $5,000, not including expenses or out-of-pocket costs. You also get access to full toolset on seanmdoyle.deployedweb.com (videos, book, etc.) that might help resolve your matter. I don’t work on an hourly basis, choosing instead to limit my client base and to focus instead on effective work.

Note: I also offer a similar, but more comprehensive and expensive consulting option, that I fulfill in person. Often this more in-depth commitment would start with a retreat. Call me if you are interested in talking about a more comprehensive solution to your challenges.

Those engagements are typically 18-months long and cost $3,000/mo to $5,000/mo.

What you can expect

With my 1-2-1 Consulting, you get the insights that come from years of lessons learned in the trenches and industry-leading advice. You get quick answers and ideas for practical applications.

Interested? I have a needs assessment process that will identify if this investment will be a good one for you!