Pay-per-show appointment setting for marketing agencies
By Anemesh Sharma, founder of ProPlus Agency · Updated Pay-per-show appointment setting means you pay only when a qualified prospect joins your sales call. ProPlus texts the business owners your agency sells to, a human setter calls the ones who reply, qualifies them and books them on your calendar. You pay a setup fee, $10 a day while outreach runs, and a fee per qualified show. No show, no charge.
What pay per show means
Most appointment setting is billed on effort: a monthly retainer, a list, or a meeting that was merely booked. Pay per show moves the billing point to the moment that matters, a real prospect on your call. If they do not turn up, you do not pay.
That is the model behind pay-per-appointment setting for marketing agencies, with the strictest version of the trigger: the prospect has to show.
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.
All three, or it is not billed. The longer definition lives in what is pay-per-appointment setting.
What you are never billed for
- 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.
Pay per show vs pay per booking vs retainer
- Pay per show: you are billed when the prospect joins the call. No-show risk sits with the provider.
- Pay per booking: you are billed when a meeting is set, whether or not it happens. No-show risk sits with you.
- Monthly retainer: you pay for the provider's time whatever it produces.
For a side-by-side with pay per lead, read pay per appointment vs pay per lead, or see how we compare in the best appointment setting companies for marketing agencies.
How it works
- We build your campaign. We pick the business owners you sell to in the areas you serve and write the texts and the setter's script around your offer. You approve every message.
- We text business owners. SMS outreach between 8am and 9pm in their time zone. Anyone who says stop is never contacted again.
- Our setter calls and books. A human setter calls the people who reply with interest, asks your qualifying questions and books them on your calendar with reminders.
- You run the call and pay per show. You get who they are and what they told the setter. You are billed weekly with an itemised statement.
Who it is for
Marketing agencies that sell to local and home-service businesses. Pick your type: SEO agencies, PPC and Google Ads agencies, web design agencies, marketing agencies or agencies selling to contractors.
What it costs
No retainer, no minimum term. See appointment setting pricing for agencies for a worked example.
Results from ProPlus outbound campaigns, as reported by each client. Full stories on the case studies page.
Frequently asked questions
What is pay-per-show appointment setting?
It is appointment setting where you pay only when a qualified prospect actually joins your sales call, not for a retainer, a list or a booked slot that never turns up. With ProPlus, a prospect counts as a show when they said they are interested, spoke with our setter before the meeting, and join the scheduled call.
How is pay per show different from pay per appointment?
Pay per appointment usually bills when a meeting is booked, so the no-show risk is yours. Pay per show bills when the prospect joins the call, so the no-show risk is ours. See pay per appointment vs pay per lead and what pay-per-appointment setting is for the wider picture.
Is pay-per-show lead generation the same thing?
It is related but not identical. Lead generation finds interested people; appointment setting books them onto your calendar. ProPlus does the booking part: we text owners, a human setter qualifies the ones who reply and books them, and you pay per qualified show. Appointment setting vs lead generation explains the difference.
How much does pay-per-show appointment setting cost with ProPlus?
$1,200 one-time setup, $10 per day for the days outreach runs, and a fee per qualified show that we agree on the discovery call and lock in writing. There is no monthly retainer. Full detail on the pricing page.
What if a prospect does not show up?
You pay nothing for it. No-shows are never billed. If they rebook and turn up later, that show is billed once.
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.