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Went with a $250 minimum retainer over straight commission for my first ad client, and now I get why nobody in here does that
Six weeks ago I quoted a small landscaping outfit in Mesa a flat $250 a month plus a small cut, and everyone in my group chat said I was nuts for not taking the pure commission deal they offered first. The flat fee meant they could call me twice a week and I actually answered, so the campaign stayed clean and they renewed on the spot for 12 months. How many of you have tried a retainer and did it kill your cash flow or save your sanity?
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alicecooper25d ago
That minimum retainer thing saved my butt more times than I can count, so you're not crazy at all. The pure commission crowd forgets that free work still costs you gas money and hours you can't get back, and a client who pays nothing feels nothing when they waste your time. I had one guy call me every single day about "tweaks" until I put him on a small flat fee, and funny how fast those calls dropped to once a week. The cash flow is the trade off, sure, because a slow month with commission can pay huge and a retainer caps you. But steady beats maybe every time when you're starting out and need rent money. Twelve month renewal on a first client tells you everything you need to know about which deal was smarter.
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