Hi,

 

Just thinking aloud here really, but would be really interested in your thoughts.

 

As a marketing and business development consultant I speak to 100's of business owners every month, and the one thing they all have in common is that they all have marketing in the forefront of their mind. I would say probably 50% of the people I speak to have a need for a web designer, web developer or copywriter.

 

Until this point I have not been interested in trying to monetise these 'leads' but I can't help thinking I'm missing a trick.

 

What value would you put on a guaranteed lead (one that you would only need to pay for if you actually got the job)?

 

My only slight concern is that the people I speak to are paying me for my professional opinion, so any leads sold would need to be to designers etc, who I truly believed were worthy of the recommendation. I don't want to devalue my advice, just to make a few quid extra.

 

As mentioned, I'd be really interested in your thoughts and opinions.

We have a lot of clients that use marketing agencies, and involve a dedicated web team (such as ourselves) to handle that side. It's very common over here.

 

Just last week, we invited an SEO company to meet with one of our biggest hotel clients. This company in particular is one we have a great partnership with, we know the team well, they forward development work onto us, and they produce outstanding results.

 

Are you looking at sending a lead on for a commission, or to work with the individual/company?

Thanks Jack.

 

I don't run an agency, I'm just a freelance marketing consultant, well actually more like a business strategist. The vast majority of my work these days is simply a few hours of consultancy with small business owners or the self employed, to point them in the right direction strategically, prior to them using the services of a marketing agency, web designer / developer.

 

I don't tend to get too involved in the promotional side of marketing, I just find advantages to make it more effective. Because of this I think that selling the lead for a commission would probably be my best bet.

 

My biggest concern is that I cant afford for my advice to lose it's impartiality. Also I can't afford to sour the relationships with those who refer their clients to me. 99% of my work is referred to me by agencies and web designers, who see the advantage to both themselves and their clients, of having their clients speak to me before they carry out work for them. If I were to appear to be using these relationships purely to sell leads, at the expense of giving the very best advice, I could lose all the goodwill I have almost instantly.

 

Also, I don't pay the companies who refer work to me, so can't really start trying to sell leads to them.

I have no need for leads personally but would you be looking for a fixed rate per lead or a percentage of the (initial) work?

I have no need for leads personally but would you be looking for a fixed rate per lead or a percentage of the (initial) work?

I'm thinking it would have to be a percentage of the value of the work.

 

I think a fixed rate would be daft as I don't want to sell a lead to install a WordPress theme, for the same price as a custom development of a large e-commerce site.

Ok so picking some numbers out the air:

 

Say 10% referral fee

- on a £500 project that's £50

- on a £1,000 project that's £100

- on a £10,000 project that's £1000

 

On lower value projects that's probably bearable, but on higher value it takes a sizable chunk out of the development/project costs, unless of course the developer adds your fee to the clients bill!

 

Of course the other thing to bear in mind is if the project gets extended after you have taken your initial fee.Say you refer £1000 worth of work and you get your £100 fee (10%), then after meeting the developer the client decides to spend more (say £10k) would you feel out of pocket?

Yes, I was thinking about 10%. I used to do quite a lot of consultancy work based on a results based fee, and that was always at 10-15%. I do take your point regarding the actual sum being fairly significant on the larger projects though.

 

Your point about the clients increasing their spend is also a good one. I know a couple of self employed sales guys who contract their clients to pay for the lifetime value of the client introduced. I'm not sure that is such a good idea, as I could inadvertently sabotage the lead purchasers business profitability if I take a percentage of their total income.

10% isn't unreasonable, perhaps you could put a maximum £ amount on that for higher value products, eg 10% or £250 max.

 

With the increased spend example that's a tough one. The lifetime model would be a ball ache as the developer would have to pay you out every month/year and is probably more hassle than it's worth. Perhaps you need to set up an agreement where your fee is based off the initial quote for the site build only, the one the client agrees to. That way when the clients signs the contract the initial amount is known and your fee can be calculated.

Thanks BlueDreamer. Yes I agree, I've spent a lot of time and effort making sure that I charge for every minute I work, and also never waste any time chasing people for money. The last thing I want to do is get involved in an over complicated process where I need to monitor what clients are up to, and make sure I am getting what I'm owed.

Just popped back to this thread to thank those who took the time to comment. I decided in the end to find (and build relationships with) a few selected designers who could buy the leads, rather than literally selling them to the highest bidder. This way I get to only recommend designers I actually believe are right for the job, and the designers know they are paying for top quality leads. Actually, they pay only if the lead actually turns into work.

 

Thanks again guys, very useful.