The most attentive resource who explained recently in layman terms our industry can be found here.
A consultant is typically compensated in cash for her work over a period of time, whether it be an hour, a day, a week, or a month. The compensation may involve certain baseline thresholds, regardless of the effective time commitment.
The terms are defined at the outset of the engagement and spelled out in an agreement. Hourly rates differ among consultants depending on their experience, track record, and overall availability as well as their location.
Hourly rates can vary from as low as $30 per hour to $150 per hour. Weekly or monthly rates are often tied to hourly rates through enforcement of a minimum number of hours.
For example, a weekly rate for a $150/hour consultant is $6,000 ($150 x 40 hours) and monthly is $24,000 ($6,000 x 4 weeks). The highest monthly individual consulting rates I’ve seen are around $50,000.
And that of a broker dealer:
A major distinction between BDs and fundraising consultants involve compensation. The remuneration for BDs frequently involves retainers.
The size of the retainers and the frequency of retainers is not uniform and involves significant amounts of negotiation between the client and the service providers.
While BDs may claim that retainers are there to cover their fixed costs during the time required to execute the transaction, they may choose to forgo the retainer altogether if they deem that the client is desirable enough or believe they can get a deal done quickly.
I’ve seen retainers for early stage and growth companies run from $10,000 to $150,000 and be a one-time payment at the signing of the engagement letter or a monthly occurrence for the duration of the capital raising assignment.