Pay-per-appointment setting for marketing agencies: you only pay when the prospect shows
By Anemesh Sharma, founder of ProPlus Agency · Updated ProPlus books qualified sales calls for marketing agencies and charges per show, not per month. We text the business owners you sell to, a human setter calls the people who reply, asks your qualifying questions and books them on your calendar. You pay $1,200 setup, $10 a day while outreach runs, and a fee per qualified show. No-shows cost nothing.
Pay-per-appointment setting (also called pay-per-meeting) exists because agencies are good at selling and bad at finding people to sell to. Referrals dry up, ads are expensive, and cold email gets ignored. Paying per show puts the prospecting risk on us.
How it works
- We build your campaign. We agree who you sell to (trade, area, business size) and build the prospect lists. We write the texts and the setter's script around your offer, and you approve every message.
- We text business owners. Outreach runs daily, by SMS, only between 8am and 9pm in the prospect's local time. Anyone who says stop is removed for good.
- Our setter calls, qualifies and books. A human setter calls the people who reply with interest, asks your qualifying questions and books the ones who fit onto your calendar. Text and email reminders go out before the call.
- You run the call and pay per show. You get who they are and what they told the setter. You do the selling. We bill weekly, only for qualified shows.
The texting side is covered in depth in SMS appointment setting.
Who it is for
Agencies that sell a monthly service to owner-run businesses and can handle more sales calls than they get today.
- SEO agencies
- PPC and Google Ads agencies
- Web design agencies
- Full-service marketing agencies
- Any agency selling to contractors
It is not a fit if you cannot take more calls, if you do not yet have an offer that closes, or if your buyers are large enterprises with year-long buying cycles.
Pricing
No retainer, no minimum term. Full details and a worked example on pricing.
What counts as a qualified show
A qualified show is a prospect who meets all three of these:
- they told us they are interested in your service;
- they spoke with our setter, by phone or in a two-way text conversation, before the meeting; and
- they join the scheduled call with you.
Never billed:
- No-shows. Ever.
- A no-show who gets rebooked is billed once, and only when they actually show.
- The same person twice, however many calls they have with you.
- Calls you miss or cancel.
- A show you flag within 72 hours (for example, they say they never asked for the call). We check the setter conversation and take it off the bill if it does not qualify.
Results agencies have had
Less Than Media: +$10K MRR
Content marketing and paid ads agency. Added $10K in monthly recurring revenue. With ProPlus for 12+ months.
“I have been with Proplus for over 12 months and I have nothing but praise for the team. The quality of leads and the consistency has been remarkable.”DJ Ford, CEO, Less Than Media
Sky Media Ventures: +$7K MRR
Paid ads agency. Added $7K in MRR. Closed a $2K/month client in his first week, after driving 3 hours to meet the lead.
“I drove 3 hours to go see a lead you guys gave me the first week and closed him on 2K a month. And he said I was cheap.”Nathaniel Carrasco, Sky Media Ventures
brandflow: Fully booked
Ads for real estate agents. Went from an empty calendar to fully booked in under 2 weeks.
“Bash and his team have been very cooperative, filling out my calendar. I went from struggling to find clients to having more calls than I can handle.”Aron Morua, Founder, brandflow
Kairos Marketing Group: 17 in 1 week
Google Ads and Local Services Ads agency. 9 appointments with plumbers interested in Google Ads, plus 8 demos with leads interested in Local Services Ads, in a single week.
“5 so far today booked, 3 have ran, 1 sold out of the 3. $750 up front, 20% of jobs sold.”Ross Price, Kairos Marketing Group
Results from ProPlus outbound campaigns, as reported by each client. Full stories on the case studies page.
Pay per show vs pay per lead vs retainer
| Pay per qualified show (ProPlus) | Pay per lead | Monthly retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You pay for | A qualified prospect who joins your call | A name and number that showed some interest | The provider's time, whatever it produces |
| No-show risk | On us. No-shows are never billed | On you. Most leads never become a call | On you |
| Who chases the lead | Our setter calls, qualifies and books | You (or your setter) | Depends on the package |
| Fixed monthly cost | $10/day of outreach, nothing else | None, but you pay for every lead | The full retainer |
| Typical commitment | Month to month, no minimum term | Varies | Often 3 to 6 months or more |
More on this in pay per appointment vs pay per lead and appointment setting vs lead generation.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from buying leads?
A lead is a contact you still have to chase. We do the chasing: our setter calls everyone who replies, qualifies them and books the call. You only pay when a qualified prospect joins it.
How many shows will I get?
We cannot promise a number, and you should be wary of anyone who does. It depends on your niche, your offer and your area. On the discovery call we look at who you sell to and tell you honestly whether we think it will work.
What niches do you book for?
Most of our clients are agencies selling to contractors and home-service businesses: roofers, HVAC, plumbers, remodelers and similar. We have also booked for agencies selling to real estate agents, and for B2B software. Ask us about yours.
Do you call as well as text?
Outreach is mainly by text. When someone replies with interest, a human setter calls them to qualify and book. If they miss the call, the setter follows up by text and calls again.
Who takes the sales call?
You do. We book the meeting and send reminders; you or your closer run the call and do the selling.
Is there a contract or minimum term?
No retainer and no minimum term. It runs month to month and either side can pause or stop by text or email; outreach stops by the end of the next business day. The setup fee is not refunded once outreach has started.
Do you guarantee a number of shows?
No. Nobody honest can promise a set number of replies, shows or sales, because results depend on your market, your offer and how you run your calls. That is exactly why you pay per qualified show instead of paying for effort.
Who owns the leads?
You do. You own your prospects' contact details and the conversation notes we pass on, and you can ask for a full export at any time. We never sell or reuse your prospects' information.