Should you pay for lead generation per meeting, by the month, or with a revenue share?
The short answer
Each model rewards something different. Pay per meeting rewards meetings on the calendar, a monthly fee pays for the work behind the campaign, and a revenue share ties part of the fee to closed business. Choose the model whose reward matches what you need, then write down the definitions, the term, and who keeps the domains and data.
What does a pay-per-meeting deal reward?
Meetings on the calendar, which is not the same thing as meetings with buyers.
The agency is paid when a meeting is booked, so the pressure is on volume. Without a tight definition of a qualified meeting, you pay for conversations with people who were never going to buy.
If you choose this model, put the definition in the contract: the title, the company size, the industry, and that the person actually showed up.
What does a monthly fee pay for?
The list, the sending domains, the writing and the weekly tuning, whether or not a given month books well.
Cold email has real costs before the first send: domains, inboxes, at least 21 days of warmup, and verified data. A monthly fee funds that work and keeps the agency focused on the long game.
The risk sits with you, so ask exactly how results will be reported. Booked calls by segment, every week, is the number that matters.
How does a revenue share work?
A lower fixed fee plus a percentage of the revenue from clients the campaign brings in, for a set period per client.
It ties the agency to closed business, not just meetings. Two things must be written down: how a new client is credited to the campaign, and how long the share runs for each client.
It fits best when your deal size is clear and your sales cycle is short enough for both sides to see results. Very long enterprise cycles make it hard to run fairly.
Why is a pure pay-on-results deal hard to find?
Because the agency would carry all of the cost while you control the steps that close the deal.
An agency can start the conversation. Whether it becomes a client depends on your offer, your price and how the call goes. A small fixed fee plus a share of results splits that risk in a way both sides can live with.
What should you ask before signing any lead generation deal?
Six questions that matter more than the pricing model itself.
Ask them of every agency you talk to, including us. Clear answers in writing protect you far more than a clever fee structure.
- Who owns the sending domains, the inboxes and the contact data if we stop working together?
- What exactly counts as a qualified meeting, or as a client the campaign brought in?
- When does the first live email go out, and how long is the minimum term?
- Which numbers will you report every week?
- Who answers the replies?
- What happens to the campaign if bounce rates start to rise?
Frequently asked questions
How does Astrid Labs charge for cold email?
We offer a flat monthly fee, and a lower monthly fee plus a share of the revenue from the clients the campaign brings in. We recommend one after a conversation about your deal size and sales cycle.
Is paying per meeting a bad deal?
It works when the definition of a qualified meeting is tight and written into the contract. Without that, it pays for activity instead of buyers.
How long should a revenue share last?
Agree on a fixed period for each client in writing, so both sides know exactly when it ends.
Tell us about your market and we will show you what we would build.