A Fractional CMO contract needs seven things in plain words: how long it runs, how either side leaves, what the CMO owns, how many days a month you get, the one number they answer for, who holds the logins, and what handover looks like. Most people read it for the fee. Read the exit first.
Picture month four. The work is not landing, you want out, and the contract says twelve months. Nothing went wrong in the room where you signed. The trouble sat in a clause nobody pressed on, because everyone was busy agreeing the price.
How long it runs
A fixed first term is fair. The work needs time to get past diagnosis and into things that show in the numbers, and three months is a common starting point. Our retainer is six months, and the small à la carte lane is three.
A longer term usually buys a lower monthly fee. It also costs you more if the fit is wrong, so decide which risk you would rather carry. What to refuse is a twelve-month lock-in before you have worked together. If six months cannot prove the case, twelve will not.
How you leave
After the first term, either side should be able to end it with written notice. Ours is 30 days, in writing, from either side.
Check three things. Does the notice run both ways? Is it written, so the clock starts on a date nobody can dispute? And what happens if you want out inside the first term? That last answer is the one to get in writing.
What the CMO owns
"Marketing strategy" is not a scope. "Positioning, and the paid media plan, with your existing agency executing" is. A Fractional CMO usually directs agencies and contractors. If you also want them making the work, you are buying a bigger role, and the fee should say so.
Write down what is out of scope as well, so neither side is guessing.
The days you get
Say how much time you get, in days a month or hours a week. On the ranges we publish for India, early-stage oversight is two to three days a month, growth-stage direction is weekly involvement, and near full-time ownership is close to a full-time role. The cost guide has the bands.
"Available when needed" is the phrase to circle. It is how a part-time arrangement turns into advice nobody can hold anyone to. If the job title is confusing you, part-time and Fractional CMOs are the same arrangement under two names.
The number they answer for
One metric, a window to judge it in, and a first checkpoint. A good Fractional CMO can tell you what they are accountable for and by when, and which early signal they will watch before the headline number moves. The first 90 days is a natural place for that first checkpoint.
If the only proof on offer is "trust the process", ask for something sooner.
Who holds the logins, and what you keep
Ad accounts, analytics, creative files and data should sit in your company's name from the first day. If the ad account is registered to the consultant, they own your history, and leaving means starting again. Ask who holds each login, who owns the work when the engagement ends, and what handover looks like: what is documented, what you can access, and what is still running.
This is the clause where a lawyer earns the fee. Ownership, confidentiality and whether the CMO can work for your competitors are legal questions, and the answers differ by jurisdiction. Treat this page as a list for the conversation, not advice on wording.
Our terms, stated plainly
The Fractional CMO Retainer is ₹1,50,000 to ₹4,00,000 a month, with a six-month minimum, then 30 days of written notice from either side. The à la carte lane for smaller brands is ₹10,000 to ₹27,000 a month, covering one or two pillars, with a three-month minimum. Fees exclude GST.
Every engagement starts with the free, 8-minute Hexagram Diagnostic, and the scope is set from its result.
Five reasons to walk away
- A twelve-month lock-in before you have worked together.
- Hours described as "as needed".
- No named metric, or a metric with no date.
- Notice that only one side can give.
- Ad accounts registered in the consultant's name.
One of these is a conversation. Two is an answer.
Every ADG Advisory engagement starts with the Hexagram Diagnostic, a free 8-minute self-assessment, and the scope in the contract is set from its result. Run it at adg-advisory.com.
