Should the client be charged for the variable cost of tools like Ampify, or should I cover it?
I understand your point about even if I handled all the costs, what use case would require me to handle $30 to $300 for something like Amplify? If I'm using it for myself, the scraped data would mainly be used by me, so it would be worth paying. I can't visualize a situation where my business would need to handle such costs. To clarify, there's Appify for personal use where you pay and scrape your own leads, and Appify set up for a client where the client pays for it all. When I say I set it up for a client, I mean the client sets it up, and I guide them through the process on a kickoff call. Hopefully that helps.
If you're building a system that generates $5,000 a month in value for a client, having them pay a small percentage fee is not a big deal; they care about the upside, not the tiny downside. As the service provider, you might worry about subscription costs, but the AI and automation field attracts technical people who overthink this. Get the client to pay for everything. On a kickoff call, walk them through exactly which platforms they need to sign up for. This builds perceived value because they see the technical setup and appreciate you handling it. You can also use your affiliate links—being a Make.com partner, for example—to earn 3–5% kickback or give clients discounts. If a client stays for a year, you earn recurring affiliate fees; e.g., 40% on a $100/month plan yields $40/month, or $480–$500 per year per client even if they stop working with you. This approach also minimizes your liability since you’re not making monthly payments on their behalf. It’s the best way to handle software costs. If you’d like a kickoff call SOP, I have a document that outlines how to run the call and get clients signed up on the platforms.
He explains that the best pricing models are nuanced and combine multiple elements: an upfront setup fee, a monthly retainer, pay-per-meeting, and possibly a revenue share. He describes his former business partner Grender, who uses all three—setup fee, monthly retainer (around $5,000 per month), and either pay-per-meeting or revenue share—on annual contracts. He prefers month-to-month arrangements to avoid being tied down, charging per meeting and differentiating fees based on client value—for example, higher compensation for meetings that lead to larger deals (e.g., $15,000 versus $5,000). He cites a community member who introduced a lead that resulted in a $700,000 deal, noting a 5% revenue share would yield $35,000. He concludes by thanking viewers for joining his journey to 300,000 subscribers and looks forward to reaching 1 million.
Start by separating fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are recurring subscriptions (software, mailboxes, etc.)—list them and sum. Variable costs depend on usage: OpenAI API tokens, Apify scraping, etc., which fluctuate month to month. Estimate variable costs based on expected usage, acknowledging they're outside direct control. Total cost = fixed sum + variable range (error bars). Example: fixed ~$177/month, variable ±$55/month. Avoid absorbing these costs yourself; the high value you deliver justifies fees, and if clients balk at a small percentage, reconsider the fit.
I’d start with a setup fee in the $2,500‑$5,000 range and then charge per meeting—something like $200‑$400 each—or take a modest revenue‑share of 5‑20%. Those numbers aren’t crazy as long as the lifetime value of a client justifies them. Expect push‑back; no one sells a system without objections. A setup fee in that range is reasonable for the value you’ll deliver. For context, a full‑service B2B consulting package can run $15K a year, but freelance consultants typically charge less. If you can close a $5K deal a month and charge $200 per meeting, even with a low conversion rate (say 1 in 8 meetings), the cost per deal drops to about $1,600, leaving room to price around $3.2K and still be competitive. If you’re unsure, check out my video on value‑based pricing for a deeper dive.