Pricing Configuration

Your Financial Intelligence System

Pricing in LeadConduit isn't just about recording costs - it's about building financial intelligence into your lead flow. Every lead carries its complete financial story from source cost through delivery revenue, enabling real-time ROI decisions and optimization.

📍 You are here: Configuring automated financial tracking
💰 What you'll master: Cost assignment, revenue tracking, and margin optimization
📊 The outcome: Complete financial visibility for every lead

Understanding LeadConduit Pricing

The Three Financial Pillars

Every lead tracks three key metrics:

1. Cost - What you pay the source
2. Revenue - What buyers pay you
3. Margin - The difference (Revenue - Cost)

These aren't just fields - they're calculated values that update throughout the lead's journey.

Where Pricing Lives

Pricing can be configured at multiple levels:

Source Level → Default cost for all leads from this source
     ↓
Criteria Rules → Conditional pricing based on lead quality  
     ↓
Lead Level → Specific price for this exact lead
     ↓
Recipient Level → Revenue from delivery

The Last-Match-Wins Rule

Pricing rules work differently from all other rules:

Normal Rules: Stop at first match
Pricing Rules: Evaluate ALL rules, last match wins

This enables sophisticated pricing strategies:

Rule 1: All leads → $10
Rule 2: California leads → $15  
Rule 3: California + Homeowner → $25
Rule 4: California + Homeowner + Credit > 700 → $35

Result: CA homeowner with 750 credit = $35 (last match)

Configuring Source Pricing

Basic Source Pricing

Set a default cost for all leads:

Fixed Pricing:

Source: Web Form A
Default Cost: $5.00
Currency: USD
Application: All leads from this source

Percentage-Based:

Source: Affiliate Network B
Cost Type: Percentage of revenue
Percentage: 30%
Calculation: Applied after delivery

Conditional Source Pricing

Different costs for different lead types:

Geographic Pricing:

Base cost: $10

Rules:
- If state = "CA": $15
- If state = "TX": $12
- If state = "NY": $18
- If state = "FL": $14

Quality-Based Pricing:

Base cost: $20

Rules:
- If email.valid AND phone.valid: $25
- If TrustedForm exists: +$5
- If exclusive = true: +$15
- If age < 35: +$3

Time-Based Pricing:

Base cost: $30

Rules:
- If hour between 9-17: $35 (business hours)
- If day_of_week in (6,7): $25 (weekends)
- If submitted_age < 5 minutes: $40 (real-time)

Volume-Based Pricing

Adjust costs based on volume:

Tiered Pricing:

Daily volume tiers:
- 1-100 leads: $10 each
- 101-500 leads: $8 each
- 501-1000 leads: $6 each
- 1001+ leads: $5 each

Bulk Discounts:

Monthly commits:
- No commitment: $12/lead
- 1,000 lead commit: $10/lead
- 5,000 lead commit: $8/lead
- 10,000 lead commit: $6/lead

Advanced Pricing Strategies

Dynamic Pricing

Adjust prices based on real-time conditions:

Performance-Based:

Base: $25

If 7-day contact rate > 60%: +$5
If 7-day conversion rate > 5%: +$10
If returned by buyer: -$10

Competition-Based:

Check buyer demand:
- If only 1 buyer available: $15
- If 2-3 buyers competing: $25
- If 4+ buyers competing: $35

Scarcity Pricing:

Check daily volume:
- If daily count < 50: $40 (scarce)
- If daily count 50-200: $30 (normal)
- If daily count > 200: $20 (abundant)

Bundle Pricing

Handle package deals:

Lead Packages:

Package: "Starter Bundle"
Quantity: 100 leads
Package Price: $800
Per-Lead Cost: $8
Billing: Upfront

Hybrid Pricing:

First 100 leads/month: Included in $500 base fee
Additional leads: $7 each
Effective pricing: Blended based on volume

Quality Scoring Impact

Price based on lead score:

Calculate lead_score (0-100 scale)

Pricing tiers:
- Score 90-100: $50 (premium)
- Score 70-89: $35 (standard)
- Score 50-69: $20 (basic)
- Score < 50: $10 (marginal)

Revenue Configuration

Recipient Pricing

Track what buyers pay:

Fixed Revenue:

Recipient: Insurance Buyer A
Fixed Price: $45
Conditions: All accepted leads
Payment Terms: Net 15

Dynamic Revenue:

Recipient: Solar Buyer B
Base Price: $50
Adjustments:
- If homeowner: +$20
- If credit > 700: +$15
- If exclusive: +$25

Response-Based Revenue:

Buyer returns price in response:
{
  "result": "success",
  "lead_id": "ABC123",
  "price": 65.00
}

LeadConduit captures and tracks automatically

Multi-Buyer Revenue

Track revenue from multiple buyers:

Lead sold to multiple buyers:
- Buyer A (exclusive 24h): $75
- Buyer B (after 24h): $25
- Buyer C (after 24h): $25
Total Revenue: $125
Cost: $30
Margin: $95

Ping/Post Pricing

Real-time bidding scenarios:

Ping Phase:

Send partial data to buyers
Collect bids:
- Buyer A: $45
- Buyer B: $52
- Buyer C: $48
- Buyer D: No bid

Post Phase:

Winner: Buyer B at $52
Revenue: $52
Fallback: If Buyer B rejects, try Buyer C at $48

Margin Optimization

Automatic Calculation

LeadConduit calculates margins automatically:

Simple: Margin = Revenue - Cost

With enhancements:
Total Cost = Source Cost + Enhancement Costs
Net Margin = Revenue - Total Cost
Margin % = (Net Margin / Revenue) × 100

Margin-Based Routing

Route based on profitability:

Calculate expected margin for each buyer:
- Buyer A: $45 revenue - $20 cost = $25 margin
- Buyer B: $38 revenue - $20 cost = $18 margin
- Buyer C: $55 revenue - $20 cost = $35 margin

Route to Buyer C (highest margin)

Minimum Margin Rules

Protect profitability:

Minimum acceptable margin: $10

If margin < $10:
  - Try alternative buyers
  - Apply margin-based pricing
  - Queue for better conditions
  - Reject if no profitable path

Pricing Reports and Analytics

Key Metrics to Track

Cost Analysis:

Average cost per lead
Cost by source
Cost trends over time
Cost per accepted lead

Revenue Analysis:

Average revenue per lead
Revenue by buyer
Payment performance
Revenue trends

Margin Analysis:

Gross margin
Margin by source/buyer combo
Margin trends
Negative margin alerts

Profitability Reports

Source Profitability:

Source A:
  Leads: 1,000
  Cost: $10,000 ($10/lead)
  Revenue: $35,000
  Margin: $25,000 (71%)
  
Source B:
  Leads: 500
  Cost: $7,500 ($15/lead)
  Revenue: $12,500
  Margin: $5,000 (40%)

Buyer Performance:

Buyer X:
  Leads purchased: 800
  Total revenue: $40,000
  Avg price: $50
  Payment speed: 12 days
  
Buyer Y:
  Leads purchased: 600
  Total revenue: $42,000
  Avg price: $70
  Payment speed: 30 days

Common Pricing Patterns

For Lead Buyers

Test and Scale:

New source testing:
Week 1: Pay premium ($15) for small volume
Week 2-3: Standard pricing ($10) if quality good
Week 4+: Volume pricing ($8) for proven sources

Quality Incentives:

Base: $20
Bonuses:
- Valid phone + email: +$5
- TrustedForm under 5 min: +$3
- Exclusive lead: +$10
- Mobile phone: +$2
Max possible: $40

For Lead Sellers

Buyer Tiers:

Premium Buyers:
- Requirements: Exclusive, verified
- Price: $60-80
- Volume: Limited

Standard Buyers:
- Requirements: Basic validation
- Price: $30-40
- Volume: Moderate

Bulk Buyers:
- Requirements: Minimal
- Price: $10-20
- Volume: High

Geographic Arbitrage:

Buy nationally at average prices:
- CA leads: Cost $12
- TX leads: Cost $10
- FL leads: Cost $8

Sell to regional specialists:
- CA specialist: Revenue $45
- TX specialist: Revenue $35
- FL specialist: Revenue $30

Troubleshooting Pricing

Common Issues

"Margins are negative"

Causes:

Costs higher than revenue
Hidden enhancement costs
Rejected deliveries (no revenue)

Solutions:

Audit all cost sources
Review buyer pricing
Improve acceptance rates
Cut unprofitable sources

"Pricing rules not applying"

Causes:

Rule order (remember: last match wins)
Rule conditions not met
Syntax errors in rules

Solutions:

Test rules individually
Check rule sequence
Verify field values
Use simulation mode

"Revenue not tracking"

Causes:

Buyer not returning price
Response parsing issues
Delivery failures

Solutions:

Check response format
Verify parsing rules
Monitor delivery success
Set default revenue

Best Practices

Pricing Strategy:

Start Simple
- Fixed costs initially
- Add rules gradually
- Test each rule
- Monitor impact
Track Everything
- Every lead has a cost
- Include all expenses
- Monitor payment timing
- Calculate true ROI
Optimize Continuously
- Weekly margin review
- Monthly source analysis
- Quarterly strategy update
- Annual pricing overhaul
Communicate Clearly
- Document pricing rules
- Share with stakeholders
- Update regularly
- Explain changes

Advanced Pricing Features

Cost Attribution

Track all costs:

Source cost: $10
Enhancements:
  - Phone validation: $0.02
  - TrustedForm check: $0.10
  - Demographic append: $0.15
  - DNC scrub: $0.03
Total cost: $10.30

Payment Terms

Model cash flow:

Source: Pays weekly net 7
Buyer: Pays monthly net 30

Cash flow gap: 23-37 days
Finance cost: 2% of revenue
Effective margin: Reduced by finance cost

Currency Handling

Multi-currency support:

Account currency: USD
Source A: Pays in USD (direct)
Source B: Pays in EUR (converted at daily rate)
All reporting: Normalized to USD

Your Next Steps

Essential Reading

Submission Response - Include price in responses
Volume Caps - Caps and pricing work together
Financial Reporting - Analyze your pricing effectiveness

Quick Actions

Audit current pricing rules
Check margin reports
Identify negative margins
Optimize one source today

Advanced Topics

Dynamic Pricing - Real-time price optimization
Margin Strategies - Industry-specific approaches
Payment Automation - Streamline reconciliation

💡 Remember: Every lead is a financial transaction. Proper pricing configuration transforms LeadConduit from a router into a profit optimization engine.

Next: Submission Response - Close the loop with intelligent responses to sources.