The shape matters because most state statutes describe brokerage activity in terms of being compensated for bringing about a transaction, so payment contingent on a sale closing is the fact pattern the rules were written around. Selling information, a list, a phone number, a form submission, at a flat price whether or not anything ever closes, sits in a different place in most states. It is not automatically safe, and where the line falls depends on your state's real estate license act and how your regulator reads it, so this is a question for a licensed attorney in your state rather than for a meetup.
The management-in-exchange part is worth flagging to that attorney too. Compensation doesn't have to be cash to count as compensation, and "you send me the property to manage" is something of value flowing back to you for the introduction. Also, in many states property management itself is licensed activity, so you may already be inside the license framework and the question becomes what your license lets you do, not whether you need one.
On the platform side of this room, that's the exact reason most lead products price per lead or per month. Flat, non-contingent pricing is easier to describe to a regulator, it bills predictably, and you don't spend your life trying to find out whether a buyer closed a deal you sent them. The owners calling you are also a much warmer flow than anything a paid ad produces, which is why the two investors keep taking your calls.
