Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI Pay Me When You Win: A Revenue Sharing Model for Coaches & Consultants
Most advice about scaling a service business means giving up the work you love or cranking your rates until clients walk away. But what if you could grow your revenue with your clients—without adding more to your plate? In this episode, Susan revisits a standout 2019 interview with business coach Lacey Sites, who doubled her revenue without taking on a single new client.
Lacey did it by shifting to a revenue-sharing compensation model—one that ties her income directly to her clients’ success. In this re-edited version, we dive into how that shift happened, what she tested first, how she vets clients to make the model work, and why it changed everything about how she runs her business.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why default pricing models for service businesses often lead to misaligned incentives
- How Lacey experimented with and validated her revenue-sharing structure before going all in
- What criteria she uses to select high-commitment, high-potential clients
- Why adding a base rate created a healthy balance between risk and reward
- How this model enabled Lacey to scale with her clients—and why it feels more equitable for everyone involved
Learn More About Lacey Sites:
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- (00:00) - Introduction: The Problem with Traditional Pricing Models
- (01:01) - A New Approach: Revenue Sharing Model
- (01:30) - Case Study: Lacey Sites' Success Story
- (02:51) - Lacey's Journey to Revenue Sharing
- (05:30) - Implementing the Revenue Sharing Model
- (08:03) - Client Selection and Vetting Process
- (14:45) - Balancing Risk and Reward
- (21:31) - Scaling and Future Plans
- (29:05) - Conclusion: Designing a Calmer Business
Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here