The possibility to connect with a potential customer is a core value for providers in a marketplace. You can monetize this value by charging a lead fee. A lead fee is paid when a provider wants to connect with a potential customer interested in their service.
In this model, buyers post a request for a product or service on the marketplace. Providers are then charged the lead fee to connect with this buyer, thus creating an opportunity to potentially convert the lead into a paying customer.
This type of workflow and setup is known as a "reverse marketplace." In this model, customers post listings, and providers reach out to customers through these listings. In a traditional marketplace, the process is the opposite: providers create listings, and customers search for and purchase them.
This guide walks you through how to charge a lead fee in a reverse marketplace without coding.
1. Create a payment page to pay the lead fee via Stripe
First, you will need to create a payment page where users can pay the lead fee. There are many payment systems you could use. We recommend using Stripe Checkout and use this system in our guides and tutorials.
Sharetribe has a built-in payment system that enables customers to pay providers through your platform, but it will not be suitable for this use case because lead fee payments work differently than payments on your marketplace. Whereas marketplace payments involve 3 parties, with the payment from a customer going to the provider through your platform, a one-time lead fee only involves a provider purchasing directly from your marketplace, with no intermediation.
2. Turn on Access control to transaction rights
You need to enable the "Restrict transaction rights" feature in Console > General > Access Control. This allows you to control which registered users can initiate a transaction on the marketplace. Learn more restricting transaction rights.
3. Link your marketplace and payment system
Once you have set up the payment page and enabled "Restrict transaction rights", you need to communicate to your users what actions they need to take to get receive the right to initiate transaction on the marketplace. You should provide guidance in a couple of places:
When enabling Restrict transaction rights, you can include a CTA button to direct users to the necessary steps or instructions to receive the transaction right. Learn how to add a call to action. In the CTA link URL, you should add the User_ID and Email Address dynamic parameters:
?client_reference_id={userId}&prefilled_email={userEmail}. This will be crucial later on, if you plan to automate updating a user's right to initiate transactions using Zapier. Learn how to use dynamic parameters.
Note: The above step is essential if you plan to automate granting the transaction right after the lead fee is paid. Make sure to implement the correct dynamic parameters in your call to action. Learn more about using dynamic parameters.
You can also modify the default message shown to users when they're restricted from initiating a transaction. You can do this through the Marketplace Texts feature. The specific text keys you need to edit are:
"NoAccessPage.initiateTransactions.schemaTitle": "No transaction rights","NoAccessPage.initiateTransactions.heading": "You don't have transaction rights","NoAccessPage.initiateTransactions.content": "To start a transaction, you need to receive transaction rights from the {marketplaceName} team.",
4. Grant and revoke transaction rights
The final step is to grant the transaction right to the provider after they have paid the lead fee. You can do this manually after receiving and reviewing the payment in Stripe. A user's transaction rights can be reviewed and changed in Console > Manage > Users.
You can also automate granting the transaction right using Zapier. Through Zapier, your marketplace can be informed and updated when a lead fee payment occurs and update a user's transaction right automatically.
If you charge a lead fee per initiated transaction, then you will want to revoke the provider's transaction rights after they sent a message to a customer and used their paid-for transaction. You can manually revoke the transaction right in Console > Manage > Users.
You can also automate this revoking process using Zapier.
More information on monetizing your marketplace
A lead fee is only a single example of the capabilities and value you can monetize. You can find more ideas on how to monetize your marketplace in the following articles: