Should you hire a marketing agency or pay a lead generation company per lead?
A marketing agency is usually paid for the work, often monthly, and what it builds should sit in your name. A lead generation company is usually paid per lead and may keep the first contact, the phone number or the website. Neither is better for every business. Compare them by jobs won from each source: tag bought leads as paid with the seller's name, and agency work by the channel the lead came through.
The two models side by side
The related answer on what a lead generation company does covers the questions to ask a seller, and the one on what a marketing retainer is covers the monthly model. A results-based agency deal sits between the two; the related answer on pay-for-performance SEO covers it.
| Marketing agency | Lead generation company | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Usually for the work, often each month | Often a charge per lead, or a monthly bundle of leads |
| What it can reward | Doing the agreed work; results depend on what the agreement measures | Leads that meet the seller's own definition of billable, which may differ from jobs you can win |
| Who the customer meets first | Usually your name, your website and your number | Sometimes the seller's name, website or number |
| Who owns the phone number and the website | Should be you, with the agency added as a user | Sometimes the seller, if it runs the site or number the customer used |
| Whether leads are shared | Inquiries usually arrive through your own site and accounts | May be exclusive or shared with other businesses; ask |
| What you keep when you stop | Your accounts, site and records, if the agreement says so | Usually the leads already received; the seller's pages and numbers may stay with it |
How to compare them fairly
- Keep one lead list with a source and an outcome on every lead; the related answers on lead generation companies and on buying leads from lead sites cover judging a seller by jobs won.
- Tag leads from agency work by the channel they came through, such as search or AI answer, not as paid. The related answer on lead attribution lists the channels.
Which tends to fit
Per-lead buying may suit a business that needs inquiries for one kind of job in one area, can reply to shared leads quickly and has its own number and website for every customer. An agency may suit a business that wants a lasting online presence in its own name and can wait for it to build.
Some businesses use both. If you do, the tags above are what let you tell them apart. The related answer on who should own your business phone number explains why the number matters, whichever you choose. Ascent Vision is an agency and offers lead generation, so read this with that in mind.
Related answers
- What does a lead generation company do, and should you pay per lead?
- What is a marketing retainer, and how should one work?
- Is pay-for-performance SEO a good deal?
- What is lead attribution, and why does a small business need it?
- Who should own your business phone number?
- Should you buy leads from sites like Angi or Thumbtack?
Lead generation and lead tracking
A lead that waits a day goes cold, and a lead with no source teaches you nothing. Ascent Vision fixes both.