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Just overheard a Shopify agency owner say he prefers referall fees over retainer deals

I was grabbing coffee last tuesday and heard this guy on the phone saying referalls pay him 3x more per client than any retainer ever did. He said retainers lock you into too many meetings and scope creep kills your profit. Made me think about my own agency partnerships. I've been pushing retainer deals hard but maybe I'm leaving money on the table. Anyone else shifting away from retainers?
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2 Comments
abby_black
abby_black1mo ago
Referrals aren't exactly a lottery ticket if you're good at what you do, they just take longer to build up. The key difference is that referrals usually pay way more upfront but you have to keep proving yourself over and over. Retainers give you a safety net but like that guy said, the scope creep can eat all your profit if you're not careful with your contract terms.
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james_kim
james_kim1mo ago
Is that guy really comparing a consistent paycheck to a maybe lottery ticket?
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