What a turnkey contractor actually does
A full-service contractor studies your product and audience, picks channels such as Instagram, Telegram or Google, builds a landing page, form or quiz, runs the ads and passes enquiries to you. If you have no in-house marketer, this saves you from hiring a team for one function.
Scope varies a lot, though. One agency only manages ads, another also builds the site and answers incoming messages. Before signing, write down what the contractor covers and what stays with you: the ad budget, phone handling, preparing quotes.
Define a qualified lead before anything launches
The most important document is not the agency's pitch deck but the written definition of a qualified lead. Without it the contractor counts every enquiry as a win, while you count only those that end in a sale. A dispute is guaranteed.
Put the criteria in the contract:
- the contact is real and the person answers a call or message
- the interest is in your product or service, not something similar
- the city or district, customer type and need match your target
- no duplicates: one person is not counted three times
- the person submitted the request themselves and knows who they contacted
- for B2B, the company type and the decision maker fit
Pricing models and who carries the risk
A fixed fee for the contractor, with the ad budget paid separately, leaves the performance risk with you. Paying per qualified lead moves the risk to the contractor but pushes them toward volume: more enquiries mean more income, even if half are accidental. A mixed model, with part fixed and part tied to results, is usually the most balanced.
Paying a share of sales is rare, because closing depends on your own team and the contractor cannot control it. Whichever model you pick, agree a dispute procedure: how many days you have to flag a poor lead and what evidence you give.
Your sales team is the other half of the result
The contractor brings the person to the door; you make the sale. If a manager calls back half a day later, the customer is already talking to a competitor and the report shows a "bad lead". So decide before launch who handles enquiries and how fast, and route them straight into a CRM or a working Telegram group.
Add a lead quality field to the CRM: qualified, unqualified with a reason, duplicate, no answer. If managers fill it in the same day, you get a weekly picture based on facts, which you can discuss with the contractor instead of arguing from impressions.
How to choose a contractor and what to lock in
Judge the contractor by their questions, not their promises. A good one asks who your customer is, how a sale happens and which leads you actually want. A weak one starts by quoting a volume.
Check the issues that usually surface only after the relationship ends:
- who owns the ad accounts, pixels and landing pages
- whether channels, campaigns and spend are shown to you
- whether you can speak to past clients
- whether your leads are resold to other companies
- whether methods are agreed with you so they do not harm your reputation
- how your customers' personal data is protected
Review quality every week
Weekly, look at the share of rejected leads and the reasons. Monthly, check how many reached a sale and which channel is cheaper per customer. Read or listen to the first conversations between managers and clients: often the problem is the script, not the traffic.
Start with a trial period: small volume, clear criteria, a joint review at the end. After that it is easier to scale the budget or walk away without damage.
Common mistakes
Owners most often launch without a lead definition, judge the contractor by lead count, reply to customers slowly, and never get access to ad accounts or reports. All four can be fixed before launch and cost far less than a wasted ad budget.
If you want to settle lead criteria, channels and a pricing model for your niche in advance, discuss the task with the markdev team. We can help build the strategy and agree clear rules with whichever contractor you choose.
FAQ
What are lead generation services?
A contractor selects channels, builds landing pages, runs advertising and passes you enquiries from potential customers. Handling those enquiries and closing sales usually stays with your company.
Which pricing model is best?
A mixed model, with a fixed part and a bonus tied to qualified leads, tends to balance interests. Pay-per-lead alone needs strict quality criteria.
Who should own the ad accounts?
Your company. That way audiences, pixels and campaign history stay with you after the contract ends.
Why do I get leads but no sales?
The cause can be traffic quality, slow follow-up or a weak sales script. A lead quality field in your CRM shows where customers are being lost.
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