Coaching.

A working coaching relationship at $500/month — twice-monthly 45-minute calls plus fair-use async access between calls. Ninety-day block commitments. Two doors in, by firm stage.

The lightest relationship in the portfolio.

Coaching is the lightest relationship in the Spartan portfolio. Not a full CMO engagement. Not installation work. A working relationship sized for firms that want ongoing thinking-partner access to a senior operator without the depth of a Fractional CMO block.

What we do inside Coaching: pressure-test the moves you're making, read the scorecard with you when one lands, name what's leaking and what to fix next, sit in on the decisions that matter — campaign approvals, vendor selection, intake hires, channel shifts. What we don't do inside Coaching: run your ads, build your dashboards, sit in your team meetings, or own the install work. That work belongs in Fractional CMO — or in Reset, the transitional engagement we prescribe at the OS Diagnostic — at the intensity those engagements run.

The delivery model is human-driven, AI-supported throughout. Senior operator judgment in the seat with you; AI behind the scenes handling the parts that used to consume disproportionate operator hours (scorecard summaries, anomaly alerts, prep). We measure what you take home — even at Coaching weight, that's the lens.

Two ways in, by firm stage.

Coaching has two ways in, by firm stage. The tier is the same — $500/mo, 90-day blocks, twice-monthly 45-minute calls, fair-use async. What differs is who can buy it.

Door A

Start with Coaching

Sub-$2M revenue firms · cold entry

If your firm is under $2M in revenue, Coaching is open to you as a cold entry. No OS Diagnostic prerequisite. No prior relationship required. You can walk in directly.

At that stage, a full CMO engagement overpays the system relative to what your firm can absorb — more senior-operator intensity than the intake volume, team size, and pipeline can productively use. Coaching is the right starting intensity. We help you think through the moves; you and your team do the work.

Who Door A fits:

  • Solo or small-team firms ($500k–$2M revenue, 1–4 attorneys)
  • Owners who want a senior operator on call without the install-block commitment
  • Firms growing toward a future CMO engagement that don't need one yet
Start with Coaching

If your firm is under $2M and you want a working coaching relationship — twice-monthly 45-minute calls, fair-use async access, ninety-day blocks — start here.

Door B

Continue with Coaching

Alumni and referrals

If your firm is above $2M, Coaching is available through one of two paths only:

  • Spartan alumni — OS Diagnostic, Reset, Fractional CMO, or Fractional COO graduates. The relationship already exists; Coaching is the lighter relationship you step into when a heavier engagement winds down or pauses.
  • Attorney referral — a firm we've worked with refers your firm directly. The referral confirms the relationship context that cold entry can't.

We route Door B through email so we can confirm alumni status or referral source before the first session lands on the calendar. The gating exists because Coaching is a relationship tier, not a cheaper substitute for the Fractional CMO work that fits firms at that revenue stage. Coaching can't carry the install weight a $2M+ firm needs; pretending it can short-changes the firm and dilutes what Coaching is for.

Who Door B fits:

  • CMO alumni stepping down at the end of a block to a lighter cadence
  • Reset alumni who finished the 90 days and want continued contact without a CMO conversion
  • OS Diagnostic graduates whose prescription named walk-away or whose timing isn't right for CMO yet
  • COO alumni keeping a Spartan operator on call after the COO engagement winds down
  • Referred firms above $2M whose entry context comes from a trusted introduction by a firm we've worked with
Continue with Coaching

Spartan alumni — OS Diagnostic, Reset, CMO, or COO graduates — and firms referred by a firm we've worked with. Step into the lighter ongoing relationship at $500/month.

The same cadence runs through both doors.

  • Two 45-minute calls per month. Scheduled at your rhythm — weekly, bi-weekly, or both in the same week if a campaign or hiring decision needs review. You decide; we hold the time.
  • Fair-use async access between calls. Slack and email for the questions that come up between syncs — campaign approvals, vendor proposal reviews, scorecard interpretation, hiring questions, "should we pause this?" decisions. Same-day response during business hours.
  • Sized for thinking-partner work, not implementation. Two calls a month, the async access between them, and the prep that goes into each call. When something looks project-sized, it gets scoped separately — that's what keeps the rate accessible.
  • Quarterly 90-day-priorities review. One of the six calls per quarter is structured as a 90-day priorities reset — what's getting done in the next block, what's not, where the scorecard wants attention. Keeps Coaching strategic, not reactive.

$500 / month

90-day blocks. Every Spartan engagement is sold in 90-day blocks aligned to a quarterly rhythm, and Coaching is no exception. A block runs the full quarter, lets us build real continuity into the calls, and gives every renewal a clean off-ramp. Not month-to-month.

Flat rate, both doors. $500/mo whether you entered through Door A or Door B. The relationship is the same; the cadence is the same; the access is the same. The doors are about entry qualification, not pricing tiers.

At renewal, three options: continue another 90-day Coaching block, step up to a Fractional CMO engagement if the firm is ready, or end the engagement cleanly. We walk into renewal with a shared read on the quarter — what we worked on, what shifted, what the next ninety days should hold.

A few things Coaching isn't

This isn't fine print. It's the deal.

  • Not 24/7. Async access runs during business hours with same-day response. After-hours, weekends, and holidays — we're not on. If your firm needs after-hours operator coverage, that's a CMO engagement at Embedded or Anchor intensity, not Coaching.
  • Not unlimited consulting. If a single question expands into multi-hour work — an audit, a redesign, a vendor RFP review — we either book a dedicated call inside your two for the month or we scope it separately. Coaching is real-time access to a senior operator on the day, not unlimited consulting at retainer price.
  • Not implementation. We don't run your ads, build your dashboards, write your emails, or run your team standups. If installation work surfaces from a Coaching conversation, the honest answer is either "your team owns this" or "this is a CMO conversation — let's talk about the right block."
  • Not a substitute for a CMO engagement. If your firm is above $2M and the leaks are system-level, Coaching can't carry the install weight. A coaching relationship doesn't install a marketing operating system; only a CMO block does. Door B's alumni-or-referral gating exists for this reason — the tier stays honest at both ends of the revenue range.

This isn't fine print. It's the deal. The boundaries are clear from day one so the relationship stays sharp.

Frequently asked.

01 What is Coaching, and what do I get for $500/month?
Coaching is a working coaching relationship, not a full CMO engagement. Twice-monthly 45-minute calls plus fair-use async access between calls. Ninety-day block commitments, like every other engagement we run; no month-to-month. The $500/mo rate is deliberately accessible — it's the relationship rate, sized so that small firms early in their growth and Spartan alumni stepping down from heavier engagements both have an accessible door into a working relationship with us. The job isn't installation; it's ongoing thinking-partner work on whatever the firm is moving through next.
02 Who can buy Coaching?
Two doors, by firm stage. Door A: sub-$2M revenue firms can buy Coaching as a cold entry — no OS Diagnostic gate, no prior relationship required. At that stage, a full CMO engagement overpays the system relative to what the firm can absorb, and Coaching is the right starting intensity. Door B: firms above $2M can only access Coaching as Spartan alumni — OS Diagnostic, Reset, CMO, or COO graduates — or by attorney referral from a firm we've worked with. The gating exists because Coaching is a relationship tier, not a cheaper substitute for CMO work at firms that can support a CMO engagement. The two doors keep the tier honest at both ends of the revenue range.
03 What's the difference between Coaching and Fractional CMO Engaged?
Different stages, different scopes, different prices. Coaching is advisory — we help you think through the next move; you and your team do the work. CMO Engaged at $3,500/mo is the lightest tier of installation work, where we direct the operating-system install and your team co-implements alongside us. Coaching is a working relationship; CMO Engaged is real install work. Coaching isn't a cheaper CMO Engaged and CMO Engaged isn't an upsold Coaching — they answer different questions for firms at different stages. If you need someone to help you think, Coaching. If you need the operating system installed, CMO.
04 What counts as fair-use async access?
Strategic input on the day — campaign approvals, vendor proposal reviews, scorecard interpretation, hiring questions, "should we pause this campaign?" decisions. Same-day response during business hours. What doesn't count: anything that turns into multi-hour work (audits, RFP reviews, full vendor due diligence). When something looks project-sized, we either book a dedicated call inside your monthly two, or we scope it as a separate engagement. The intent is real-time access to a senior operator, not unlimited consulting at retainer price.
05 Can I bring my marketing director to the calls?
Yes, and you should if you have one. Coaching often works best as a three-way conversation — us, you, and the person actually running your marketing — because it cuts the telephone-game on strategic decisions. The two-call cadence and the async access are per-firm, not per-attendee.
06 Can I step up from Coaching to a Fractional CMO engagement?
Yes — at any 90-day renewal. If the firm grows past the $2M floor, or the scorecard surfaces leaks that need system-level install work, the right move at renewal is a discovery call, then the OS Diagnostic, then a CMO engagement at the tier your baseline supports. Coaching isn't a track; it's a relationship, and stepping up is part of the path. See the OS Diagnostic and Fractional CMO.
07 Can I cancel before the 90-day block ends?
The 90-day block is the commitment, the same as every other Spartan engagement. We don't run pro-rated mid-block exits because the block structure is what makes the cadence work — six calls land where they need to land across a quarter, the priorities reset belongs near the front of the block, and the off-ramp at renewal is where exits belong. If the relationship genuinely isn't working, we'd rather talk it through on a call than refund a quarter.
08 I'm a referral from a current Spartan firm — what do I do?
Email us through Door B with your firm name and the name of the firm that referred you. We confirm the referral on our side, walk you through the engagement letter, and book the first call. The referral isn't ceremonial — it's how we maintain the alumni-or-referral gate for above-$2M firms.

Start with Coaching.

Under $2M and want a working coaching relationship? Tell us about your firm and book your first call. Twice-monthly 45-minute calls, fair-use async access, ninety-day blocks — $500/month.

Booking form + calendar — GHL module.

Spartan is run by Matthew Tate — fifteen years coaching marketing directors at law firms and home-services businesses. Coaching is the relationship tier we run when the install work isn't the right move yet (sub-$2M) or isn't the right move anymore (alumni stepping down). Same operator on the call on Day 1 and Day 365. If the answer to a question runs longer than forty-five minutes, we book a call. If it runs longer than a call, we scope it. Otherwise — you have direct access.

Get In Touch

Email: [email protected]

Address Office: 5501 Trin Street, Alexandria VA 22310

Terms & Conditions

Assistance Hours:

Mon – Sat 9:00am

Sunday – 8:00pm

5501 Trin St, Alexandria, VA 22310, USA

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (571) 233-5466

Address Office: 5501 Trin Street, Alexandria VA 22310