FRACTIONAL CMO PROPOSAL

Fractional CMO Proposal

A proposal from Northwind Studio to serve as your fractional Chief Marketing Officer, covering scope, cadence, and rate.

PREPARED FOR

Acme Co

PREPARED BY

Northwind Studio

DATE

August 18, 2026

Northwind Studio

FRACTIONAL CMO PROPOSAL

Role Overview

This proposal sets out how Northwind Studio will serve as fractional CMO for Acme Co. It covers strategy, team leadership, and reporting cadence with your leadership team.

CADENCE

2 days/wk

Embedded with your leadership.

COMMIT

6 months

Renewable at the end of the term.

FOCUS

Full stack

Brand, demand, and product marketing.

Objectives

Set a marketing strategy the leadership team can commit to.
Build or coach the marketing team to execute against the strategy.
Own the KPI plan and report against it in monthly business reviews.
Prepare the company to hire a full-time CMO by the end of the engagement.

Northwind Studio

FRACTIONAL CMO PROPOSAL

Scope of Work

The engagement runs across three phases. Each closes with a written deliverable your leadership team signs off before the next begins.

PHASE 1 · STRATEGY

Strategy and plan

Diagnostic on the current marketing function, positioning, ICP, KPI plan, and a written six-month operating plan.

PHASE 2 · EXECUTION

Team leadership and execution

Weekly leadership of the marketing team, review of creative and campaigns, and cross-functional work with sales, product, and finance.

PHASE 3 · HANDOFF

Reporting and succession

Monthly business reviews with the leadership team, a written succession brief, and support in hiring a full-time CMO by the end of the engagement.

What is included

Two dedicated days per week embedded with your team
Marketing strategy and six-month operating plan
Team leadership, reviews, and coaching
Monthly business reviews with your leadership team

Not included: paid media spend, third-party tools, agencies or contractors, and travel beyond one on-site visit per month. These are billed at cost or by amendment.

Northwind Studio

FRACTIONAL CMO PROPOSAL

Investment

The engagement is a fixed monthly retainer, plus a one-time onboarding fee. Cadence and terms can be adjusted before signature.

Item	Rate	Qty	Amount
Onboarding and diagnostic (one-time)	$6,000	1	$6,000
Monthly retainer (2 days/week embedded)	$12,000	6	$72,000
Reporting and business reviews (one-time setup)	$2,000	1	$2,000
Total			$80,000

Payment Schedule

Milestone	Share	Amount
On signature (setup)	Upfront	$8,000
Monthly retainer	Monthly	$12,000
Duration	6 months	Renewable

Invoices are due within 15 days. Kickoff is scheduled within 2 weeks of signature, subject to the kickoff date you provide on the acceptance page.

Northwind Studio

FRACTIONAL CMO PROPOSAL

Acceptance

To proceed, complete the fields below and sign. This proposal is valid for 30 days from the date on the cover.

PURCHASE ORDER NUMBER

Enter your PO number

PREFERRED KICKOFF DATE

e.g. September 15, 2026

I confirm I am authorized to approve this engagement.

CLIENT

Sign here

Acme Co

FRACTIONAL CMO

Sign here

Northwind Studio

About this template

The Fractional CMO Proposal template is a five-page document for pitching a part-time marketing leadership engagement. It covers the role overview with cadence, commitment, and focus stat cards, objectives, a three-phase scope spanning strategy, team leadership, and reporting, a retainer fee table with a computed total, and an acceptance page with signatures.

Adapt it in Bonsai to the engagement you actually want: set the weekly commitment, rewrite the focus areas, and adjust the retainer rows while merge fields keep the client details current. The acceptance page collects a PO number, start date, and both signatures in one pass.

Details

Format: Doc · 5 pages

Recipients: Client + Provider

Signature: Required

Merge fields: Sender, Receiver, Date