Four ways to buy the same outcome
There are four ways to buy client acquisition, and they differ on one axis that matters more than price: who does the implementation, and who owns the result afterwards. Software gives you tools and keeps the work. An agency does the work and often keeps the assets. Lead marketplaces do everything and keep the customer. An installed system does the work and hands you the assets.
By Jayden Forshee ·
How to read this page. GRIFFAIN is one of the options listed and we built the page, so treat our entry with the scepticism that deserves. Every other company here changes its pricing and packaging without telling us — check current terms with them directly rather than trusting a comparison article, this one included.
| Software platform | Traditional agency | Lead marketplace | Installed system | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who implements | You | Them | Them | Them |
| Who owns the assets | You, if you build them | Varies — read the contract | They do | You |
| Exclusivity of leads | Yours | Yours | Shared, typically 3–5 ways | Yours |
| Cost direction over time | Flat | Flat to rising | Rises with competition | Falls per job as it compounds |
| Time to first lead | Weeks — you have to build it | Weeks | Days | Weeks |
| Main risk | Never finished | Paying for activity, not outcomes | No control, no ownership | Higher upfront cost |
Buy software if you have someone technical who will own it and you want maximum control at minimum cash cost. The honest risk is that it is never finished; unfinished software is more expensive than any of the other options.
Buy agency services if you need a specific capability executed and you already have the rest of the chain working. Read the ownership clauses before signing — see who owns your website.
Buy marketplace leads if you are new, have idle capacity, or are entering a new area and need volume now. They are a legitimate tool and a bad destination. See Angi vs Thumbtack vs owning your own lead flow.
Buy an installed system if you want the chain connected and owned, and you would rather pay for it to be finished than manage it being built.
Buying stage one when the leak is at stage three. Nearly every business shopping for client acquisition is shopping for more traffic, and a large share of them are losing more enquiries than they would gain.
Traffic multiplies whatever conversion you already have. If half your enquiries never get a same-day response, doubling traffic doubles the loss and the invoice at the same time. Measure before you buy: the seven stages and how each one fails.
GRIFFAIN sits in the fourth column: an installed system, operated for you, owned by you. Two plans — $397/mo billed annually for site, care and basic lead response, or $5,000 install + $3,500/mo for the full Growth Engine.
It is the wrong choice for a business shopping purely on price, for one that cannot fund the demand side, and for anyone who wants leads without answering them — GRIFFAIN does not sell advertising to a business that cannot answer its phone, which is the most common reason we decline work.
It depends on who implements it and who should own the result. Software gives you tools and keeps the work; an agency does the work but may keep the assets; a marketplace does everything and keeps the customer; an installed system does the work and hands you the assets.
Both, sequenced. Marketplace leads buy cash flow and reviews quickly when you are new or have idle capacity. Owned demand costs more to start and less per job over time. Keep the marketplaces running while the owned channel is built.
Buying more traffic when the leak is in response. Traffic multiplies existing conversion, so if half your enquiries never get a same-day answer, doubling traffic doubles the loss and the invoice together.