Cost per lead (CPL)
You pay an agreed amount for each qualified inbound contact. Costs track volume exactly, which makes it the lowest-risk way to test a new channel.
The weakness is definitional. Everything depends on what counts as qualified — wrong number, out of area, wrong trade, existing customer — and that definition needs writing down before the first invoice, not after the first dispute.
- Best for: testing a new market, seasonal trades, businesses with tight cash flow.
- Watch for: vague qualification rules, no call recordings, no monthly cap.
Flat monthly retainer
One predictable figure each month regardless of volume. For a business that already knows the channel produces, this is usually the cheapest structure per lead, because upside volume costs nothing extra.
It is the wrong structure for an unproven channel or a trade with violent seasonality, where you can end up paying peak-season rates through a dead quarter.
- Best for: steady year-round demand, high call volume, businesses that want simple budgeting.
- Watch for: paying the same in your slowest months; agree seasonality adjustments upfront.
Revenue share or commission
You pay a percentage of revenue from jobs the channel produced. Incentives align tightly: the provider only earns when you earn, which usually means they push harder on the pages producing real work rather than vanity traffic.
It requires trust in both directions and honest reporting of closed jobs. It suits high-ticket, lower-volume trades — roofing, concrete, restoration, full system replacements — far better than high-volume small-ticket work.
- Best for: large average tickets, contractors who prefer variable cost, new relationships where both sides want skin in the game.
- Watch for: agreeing what counts as attributable revenue, and how repeat customers are treated.
Choosing by business type
A rough guide that holds up in practice.
- Emergency trades with high call volume and mid-size tickets — flat retainer usually wins.
- Seasonal trades like landscaping, pressure washing and tree service — cost per lead, so cost follows demand.
- High-ticket project trades like roofing, concrete and restoration — revenue share often works best for both sides.
- Brand-new businesses with no data — start on cost per lead, switch once volume is known.
Why the trial comes first
Choosing a structure before you know the volume is guesswork dressed up as a decision. Thirty days of real, tracked calls from your own market turns it into arithmetic: you know the call count, the qualified share, the booked jobs and the revenue, and the right structure becomes obvious.
That is the order I use — trial first, structure second, and the structure is chosen against what actually happened rather than what either of us hoped would happen.