How I Work with Clients
"How do you typically work with clients?"
It's one of the first questions I hear from potential clients and fellow consultants alike. After 3+ years of product marketing consulting, I've developed flexible engagement models that adapt to different needs and organizational contexts.
Who this guide is for
This guide serves two audiences:
- Prospective clients: I may have sent you this post because you’re interested in working with me. If this is the case, we’ve likely discussed these options on a call. But leave-behinds are always helpful :)
- Fellow consultants: While my consultant FAQs answer the basic questions of how to get started, the most common follow-up question I answer in virtual coffees is how to structure work.
TL;DR - Navigate to what you need
Why read the whole post when you can jump to the type of work you're looking for?
- Coaching: "Help me figure it out"
- Project Acceleration: "Help me do it"
- Team Support: "Do it for me"
- Program Management: "Set it up and run it"
How have I structured my consulting work?
Coaching: “Help me figure it out”
This model works best when:
- You need an experienced perspective to validate ideas and challenge assumptions
- You have a junior team that needs strategic direction
- You want to build internal capabilities long-term
What you get
- Regular strategy sessions (typically weekly, 60 minutes)
- Direct feedback on your work before big presentations or launches
- Ad-hoc advisory support between sessions (via email)
- Access to my frameworks and templates from 10+ years in marketing with many clients
How it's structured
- Monthly fee based on:
- Meeting cadence
- Additional hours for prep time and document review
- Recommended 3-month minimum engagement
- Does not require access to internal systems
Example outcomes
- Outside perspective that helps you get out of your head and cut through internal politics
- Increased confidence that you're putting your best work forward, especially in high-stakes situations
- Improved stakeholder relationships with proven tools for communication and collaboration--even with tricky personalities
Project Acceleration: “Help me do it”
This model works best when:
- You need to deliver a specific marketing asset or strategic plan--on a tight deadline
- You want to move quickly with minimal disruption to your team or your schedule
- You have 1-2 key stakeholders who can own the process of socializing the work, collecting and synthesizing feedback to share
What you get
- Discovery phase to understand your business context, requirements, and stakeholders
- Strategic recommendations on the deliverable based on stakeholder interviews and documentation review
- Creation of agreed-upon deliverable (messaging framework, GTM strategy, etc.)
- 1-2 revision rounds before final delivery
How it's structured
- Project fee with:
- 50% paid upfront
- 50% paid upon completion
- Typically 2-8 weeks depending on project scope
- Does not require access to internal systems - Your team helps schedule discovery interviews, socialize work, and consolidate feedback
Example outcomes
- Clearly documented strategy that aligns your stakeholders
- Ready-to-use deliverable that meets your immediate needs
- Framework you can build on as your business evolves
Team Support: "Do it for me"
This model works best when:
- You have a key team member going on leave or moving on to their next opportunity
- You need to fill a skills gap while building out your dream team
- You need experienced coverage for a new strategic initiative
What you get
- Dedicated product marketing support for a specific project or focus area (e.g., leading product marketing for a key vertical, owning enterprise marketing strategy, or driving a major product launch)
- Regular working hours when I'm available to your team (typically 4-5 hours Mon-Thurs)
- Full participation in team meetings and workflows
- Strategic recommendations based on my embedded perspective
How it's structured
- Two pricing options:
- Hourly rate up to agreed-upon weekly maximum
- Monthly retainer for 15-20 hours per week
- Requires full access to internal systems (including, potentially, access to a company laptop for the project duration)
- Clear scope of responsibility defined upfront
- Regular check-ins to adjust priorities and scope as needed
Example outcomes
- Consistent product marketing coverage during transitions
- Fresh perspective on your processes and opportunities
- Improved documentation and frameworks for future team members
- Smooth knowledge transfer when coverage is complete
Why work with an independent consultant over a staffing agency?
Working with a staffing agency might seem more convenient--just like ordering a book with Amazon's two-day shipping. But when you need strategic support, convenience isn't everything.
Working with me means getting a true partner who can adapt to your needs. Think about it like working with your local bookstore: yes, it takes a bit more effort to build the relationship upfront, but you get someone who understands your business context, can make better recommendations, and will ensure the work continues to serve you long after our engagement ends.
You're not just filling a role - you're getting a partner who's invested in your success.
Program management (“Set it up and run it for me”)
This model works best when:
- You need to establish a repeatable marketing program, such as:
- Monthly/quarterly release communications
- Regular competitive intelligence updates
- Regular stakeholder/executive updates or large meetings
- Product metrics dashboards and reporting
- You want to ensure consistent execution without burdening your internal team
- You're looking to build a foundation that can eventually be run internally
What you get
- Program strategy and documentation
- Process design and pilot program
- Program impact measurement (and measurement set-up, if needed)
- Option for ongoing execution after initial setup
How it's structured
- Initial setup fee for strategy and pilot (1-3 months)
- Optional ongoing monthly retainer for program execution, including clear program deadlines and deliverables
- Requires:
- Access to internal systems
- One internal champions to help facilitate cross-team needs
Example outcomes
- Turn-key program that runs reliably with minimal oversight
- Consistent cadence of deliverables that stakeholders can count on
- Documented process that can be handed off to internal teams if needed
When to choose external support vs. building internally
Running programs internally might seem like the obvious choice - after all, your team knows your business best. However, there are several scenarios where bringing in external support makes strategic sense:
- When you want optionality: Start with external support to establish and validate the program, then decide whether to keep it external or transition it in-house based on what works best for your team
- When bandwidth is tight but the work is critical: Ensure important programs get dedicated attention rather than being deprioritized against other urgent work
- When focus matters: Having someone dedicated to your program means it gets built right the first time, rather than being worked on between meetings
- When you need objective perspective: Sometimes it takes an outside view to identify opportunities for improvement and push back on "that's how we've always done it"
Ready to explore working together?
I structure my engagements to be flexible and focused on your success. The best first step is a quick conversation to understand your needs and determine which approach would serve you best. (Some people say these free conversations are value-add all on their own!)
Some helpful things to think about before we talk:
- What specific challenges are you trying to solve?
- What timeline are you working with?
- How involved do you want to be in the day-to-day work?
Schedule a 30-minute consultation →
Want to learn more about my approach first? Check out my background and what others say about working with me on LinkedIn.