Per-lead with a claw-back survived first contact with a picky client
Wanted the fee structure settled before I had any leverage, so I built something a bit odd and it held up for two quarters.
Structure: 175 per accepted lead, client has 5 business days to reject with a one line reason, rejected leads cost nothing. On top of that, 750 if he closes. The odd part is a claw-back going the other way: if he rejects a lead and then buys that property within 9 months from any source, the 175 becomes due plus half the close fee. That clause is what made the whole thing work and he pushed back on it for a week.
Two quarters of numbers. 61 leads submitted, 44 accepted, 17 rejected. So 7,700 in accepted-lead fees. Four closes, 3,000. Total 10,700. My hours were around 340 including record pulls and calls, so roughly 31/hour, which is modest, though it's paid work with a feedback loop attached, and the 17 rejections came with reasons I could actually use. Rejection rate dropped from 41% in the first six weeks to 19% in the last six.
The part that nearly broke it: the 5 day rejection window. He blew through it four times in the first month, then wanted to reject on day 9. I held the line and it was an unpleasant call. If I'd let the first one slide the window would have meant nothing by March. I also had to accept one rejection I thought was wrong, on a house with a tenant in place, because arguing over 175 wasn't worth the relationship.
The claw-back has never triggered. That's the point. It changed how carefully he read rejections, which is the behavior I wanted.
What I'd keep: the written rejection reason, and the claw-back window. What I'd change: 5 days is too tight for someone with a job. I'd write 7 and enforce 7.
Worth saying that whether a fee arrangement like this is enforceable, and whether any of it brushes up against licensing where you are, depends on your state, and I had an attorney in mine look at the page before I sent it.