What do you actually call someone you pay to go find you houses?

I've been asked twice this month if I "do wholesaling" and both times I said no, then spent five minutes explaining that I get paid a flat fee by an owner to find and lock up a property they want to buy. Which is wholesaling, sort of, except the buyer is known before I ever pick up the phone and the fee is on the invoice instead of buried in a spread.

The label matters more than I thought it would. When I say wholesaler, some people hear "guy who cold calls grandmas" and the conversation is over. When I say acquisition service or buyer's sourcing, other people hear something vague and expensive, and one guy asked me outright if I was just an unlicensed agent. Depending on the state, that question isn't rhetorical, because who can be paid for what in a purchase varies and it's worth having a real attorney in your state tell you where your setup sits.

The case for calling it wholesaling: it's honest, the skill really is wholesaling skill, and the people who already buy from wholesalers know exactly what you do. The case for calling it acquisitions: it describes what the client is buying from you, which is your time and your pipeline, and it makes the flat fee feel like a fee instead of a markup.

I genuinely can't decide which one gets me further with a buy and hold owner who has never bought off market before. Curious what the room thinks.