Four payment models, and each buys different behaviour.
Per hour
You buy time. Easy to administer and you carry all the performance risk.
Reasonable for a short test where the goal is to learn what the list does, not to buy an outcome. Poor as a standing arrangement, because nothing in it rewards quality.
Per call
You buy dials. This is the worst incentive available and it produces exactly what you paid for: high volume, short calls, poor listening and a list burned faster than you can replace it.
The only case where it makes sense is pure data collection, where the objective genuinely is coverage rather than conversation.
Per qualified conversation
Better, and only as good as your definition.
Without a written definition, "qualified" drifts toward whatever is easy to produce. With one, this model aligns well: they are paid for finding the right person and having a real conversation, which is the actual job.
Per meeting held
Closest to what you want, and it moves risk to them, which they price in. Expect a higher unit cost and better quality.
The word that matters is held. Booked and held are different numbers, and the gap between them is where this arrangement usually breaks down.
The three definitions to write before agreeing a rate
- What counts as qualified. Title, company criteria, expressed need, timing. Be specific enough that two people would agree on a given call.
- What counts as held. Showed up, stayed a minimum length, was the right person.
- Who owns a no show. Rescheduled once at their cost, then yours. Or some other rule. Just decide it.
Almost every dispute in this arrangement is one of these three. All three are cheap to settle in advance and expensive to argue about later.
What nobody quotes
The list. A caller working unverified data spends much of the day on dead numbers, and you pay for that time in every model. Verify before they start.
The script and the objection handling. If you do not provide them, they will improvise, and you will be represented by whatever they invent.
The handoff. What happens after a meeting is booked, and where the context is written. Without this, your closer starts cold and the meeting is worth less than you paid.
The comparison that decides it
Cost per held meeting with the right person, not cost per call or per hour.
Run that number against what it costs you internally, including the rep hours currently spent on research and dialling. Most companies have never calculated either side, which is why this decision usually gets made on the headline rate.