1What is done for you marketing?
Done for you marketing (DFY marketing) means someone else builds the parts that bring you clients: ads, pages, emails and texts, the booking flow and often the sales scripts. You take the calls and look after your clients.
It gets sold two ways. A retainer is a monthly fee for as long as you stay. An install is a one-time build. The whole system is built, switched on and handed to you. Ask which one you are buying.
The other two options are not done for you. In-house means you hire the people yourself. A coaching program or course teaches you to do the work.
$1.4M for our clientsIn 9 months
$38.3K to $135.1KOne quarter to the next, +252%
$8,783 to $48.5KMonth on month, +451.9%Real screenshots from our clients and our stories. Not typical.
2What does a retainer agency do, and what does it cost?
A retainer agency runs part of your marketing each month. Most run ads. Some also build pages and write emails. Ad spend is on top of the fee.
| Agency deal | What operators report |
|---|---|
| Small local agency | $3,000 to $5,000 setup, then $500 to $1,000 a month |
| Agency on a big coaching account | about $15,000 a month, next to about $25,000 a month in ads |
| Fee plus profit share | $10,000 a month plus 10% of net profit, month to month |
| Outsourced setting or outreach | $1,000 to $2,000 a month, split across 6 to 7 clients |
| Outsourced closing | about 20% commission |
The quote comes in one of four shapes. Know which one you are reading.
- Flat monthly fee. Agencies often set it at about 2.5 times their payroll, split across their clients. You pay for their team's hours, whatever the result.
- Fee plus a cut of revenue. Some operators refuse percentage deals because they punish the client for growing, and they get messy to track.
- Setup fee, then a small retainer. The retainer is often 15% to 20% of the setup fee, month to month.
- One-time install. One price for the whole system, then you own it. Upkeep is your team's time or a small support fee.
3Agency vs done-for-you vs in-house vs coaching: side by side
| Agency retainer | Done-for-you install | In-house team | Coaching program | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Monthly, for as long as you stay. Often a setup fee too | One time. Ours is five figures, with the exact number on the call | Salaries every month, plus hiring time | A program fee, plus your own hours |
| Speed to live | Varies. Often weeks of onboarding | Ours: live in 14 days, or we keep working for free | Slowest. Media buyers take 6 to 12 months to get good | Your pace |
| Who does the work | The agency, on part of the system | The builder, on every part | Your hires | You |
| Who owns it | Often the agency holds the ad account, pages or list | You own the ad account, pages, list and data | You | You |
| Your time | Low | Low: a kickoff, three short videos, approvals | High: hiring and managing | Highest |
| Main risk | Paying for months with no clear result | The offer has to already sell | Bad hires and slow ramp | You never finish it |
| Best for | Owners who want ads run forever and no team | Coaches and info businesses with an offer that already sells | Businesses where the system already works | New offers and small budgets |
Ad spend goes to Meta in all four, so leave it out when you compare. With us it runs from your own account, from $150 a day.
4Why do so many coaches get burned by agencies?
Most coaches who book a call with us have had a retainer, a template funnel and a report nobody can read.
- The agency only owns one piece. Many agencies lose clients because they deliver one piece, like a lead form ad, instead of the whole path through follow-up, booking and show-up. When it fails, everyone points at someone else.
- "Spend more" is the only fix. In one reported case, a coach's cost per client hit $6K because his agency raised spend on every webinar. Nobody fixed the step that leaked.
- Good people are hard to hire. Many agencies can't hire people good enough to get results, and that drives clients away. Creative does about 80% of the lifting, media buying about 20%.
- Your account is one of many. Outsourced setting services often split focus across 6 to 7 clients and rarely work past a couple of months.
- Agencies plan for you to leave. Many agencies plan for 10% to 15% of their clients to leave every month. A model built around churn does not have to fix it.
- Outsourced closing breaks. In one case, closing was handed to a sales agency at about 20% commission. It failed, and the founder still brought in about 80% of revenue.
- You rent the system. Leave, and the pages, the pixel data or the list can leave with them.
A cheaper monthly fee means a cheaper agency.
Twelve small payments add up. Price the whole year, and what you own at the end of it.
5Which one fits you? Take the chooser
6What does each one cost over 12 months?
Put in your quotes. The starting numbers are a made-up example, not our price. Ad spend is left out.
In-house pays salaries for 6 months before it likely works.
Want this comparison sent to you?
Leave your email and we will send your four totals, plus the questions to ask before you sign anything.
We only use this to send your numbers and to follow up about your client acquisition. If you add a mobile, we may call or text you about it.7When does each model win?
When an agency is the right call
You want ads run for you every month, you never plan to build a team, and you are fine renting. Pick one that lets you own the ad account and pages, and price the full year, not the first month.
When a done-for-you install wins
Your offer already sells, you are, and you want a channel you own, with every piece built by one team. We build a webinar funnel, a VSL funnel or a Skool funnel, picked with you on the call. If that is you, see if you qualify.
When in-house wins
The system already works and you need more of it. High ticket businesses usually hire in this order: a sales rep, more reps, a sales manager, then a media buyer to fill calendars. Plan ahead: a closer takes 1 to 2 weeks to hire and train at best, 4 to 6 weeks for most. See how to hire a high ticket closer.
When a coaching program wins
Your offer is new, your revenue is under $10K a month, and you have the hours. Learning it yourself is slow but costs the least cash, and makes you a better buyer later. Start with high ticket sales and the client acquisition system guide.
See If You Qualify
Bring your quotes and your numbers. We'll tell you which model fits your business, even if it isn't us.
8What should you own, whoever you hire?
Seven things decide whether you can leave a provider without starting again. Pick who holds each one today.
The pixel scares people most. A pixel only holds 180 days of data and weights the last two weeks most, so a new one in your own account catches up in weeks, not years. Keep a backup ad account ready too: in one reported case a ban cost about two weeks of ads.
Put ownership in the contract before any work starts. Have your lawyer check the wording.
Ownership. Everything built for the Client under this agreement belongs to the Client. That includes ad accounts, pixels and datasets, domains, pages, contact lists, CRM and calendar records, ads, copy, scripts and reports. The Provider works inside accounts the Client owns, with access the Client can remove at any time. When the agreement ends, the Provider hands over every file and login within 7 days, at no extra cost.
9What should you ask any agency before you sign?
Ask these on your next sales call or by email. Vague answers are a warning.
1. Who owns the ad account, the pixel, the pages and the email list? Will that be in writing? 2. What exactly do you build, and what is left for me to do? 3. Is any of it a template, or is it written from my sales calls and my clients' words? 4. How many days until it is live and taking bookings? What happens if you miss that? 5. What do I pay over the first 12 months, all in, not counting ad spend? 6. Who works on my account each week, and how many other clients do they have? 7. Who follows up with leads, and who takes the sales calls? 8. What numbers will I see each week? Can I see the raw numbers, not just a report? 9. Can I talk to two clients with an offer like mine? 10. How do I leave, and what do I keep when I do?
10How do you know it is working? The 90-day scorecard
Judge any provider on booked calls, closes and cash. Clicks and cost per lead come later. A $300 call that shows 80% and closes 20% beats a $100 call where 1 in 10 closes. Hold every model, us included, to these dates.
| By | What should be true | Number to check |
|---|---|---|
| Day 14 | Ads, pages, follow-up and booking are live | Our standard: taking bookings |
| Day 30 | You know what a call costs | $100 to $300 per booked call |
| Day 30 | Booked calls turn up | 60%+ is the target, 40% to 50% while testing, under 30% means a setup problem |
| Day 60 | Showed calls close | about 25% on one call |
| Day 90 | Ads pay back | about 2x to 3x up front, 4x to 5x with backend sales |
Ask for this report every Monday. If a provider can't fill it in, they can't fix it.
Week of: Ad spend: Booked calls: Cost per booked call: Calls that showed: Show rate: Sales: Close rate: Cash collected: Cash per booked call: Best ad this week (its first line): Why each lost call said no: The one step we fix next week, and who fixes it:
If a number misses two weeks running, ask which step they will fix and by when. Find where your own funnel leaks with the show rate calculator and the client acquisition cost calculator. To turn this report into one clear fix a week, get the weekly KPI review skill.
11Worked example: Chris picks a model
Chris is a made-up business coach doing $30K a month from referrals. His offer sells on calls. He takes the calls himself and has about two hours a week to give.
| Option | Chris's example quote | 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | $3,000 setup + $5,000 × 12 | $63,000 |
| Install | $18,000 once + $1,500 × 12 upkeep | $36,000 |
| In-house | $12,000 payroll × 12, about 6 months to ramp | $144,000 |
| Coaching | $10,000 + 10 hrs a week × 52 × $150 | $88,000 |
The chooser points Chris to the install. His offer sells, he wants to own it, and he has no time. In-house is the most expensive and slowest, and he would be hiring for a system that does not exist yet. Coaching looks cheap until he prices his own hours. In a year, with a full calendar, hiring in-house is the next step, starting with a closer.
12What does our done-for-you install include?
We build a client acquisition channel for the offer you already sell. Ads (starting with 30 static ads), pages, emails and texts, the booking flow, setter and closer scripts, call reviews and one dashboard. It is live in 14 days, or we keep working for free until it is. Then we stay with you for 30 more days until it is booking calls.
It is a one-time five-figure install, with the exact number on the call. There is no retainer to start. You own your ad account, pages, list and data. If you need setters or closers, we help you hire them. If your offer has not sold yet, we tell you to fix that first. If you want someone to fund your ads and take a cut, that is not us.
Three months, one client. Not typical.
Brecken Troike's webinar: $8,836 in ads, $326,552 back. Not typical.
“Took my business from 100 grand a month to, 1.2 M a month. ... Best growth partner around.” Brecken Troike, on Trustpilot
More real cases: Karl Yombom, lumpy $15K months to $95K cash in a month, Dr Daniel Moses, £436K on Stripe, Minje Kim, 14M views in 14 days and a paid community to $143K a year. For the full cost breakdown, see webinar funnel cost.
13What to do this week
- Take the chooser. Note the model it picks and why.
- Get two real quotes for that model, and one for the runner-up.
- Put all quotes in the 12-month calculator. Include the cost of your own hours.
- Copy the ten questions and ask them on every sales call. Get ownership in writing.
- Run the ownership check in section 8. Send the email it writes, and ask for the clause.
- Ask your current provider for the weekly report in section 10.
- Work out what a client may cost with the client acquisition cost calculator.
- Bring your numbers to the call, or first find the exact bottleneck in your business.
Find the exact bottleneck in your business
Frequently asked questions
What is done for you marketing?
Done for you marketing means someone else builds and runs the parts of your marketing for you: the ads, the pages, the emails, the booking flow and often the sales scripts. You show up to the calls and deliver to your clients. It can be sold as a monthly retainer or as a one-time install.
Is done-for-you better than a marketing agency?
It depends on what you want to own. A retainer agency rents you a system every month. A done-for-you install builds the whole system once and hands you the keys. If your offer already sells and you want a channel you own, an install usually wins. If you want someone to run ads for you forever and never build a team, a retainer can make sense.
How much does a marketing agency cost for coaches?
It varies a lot. Operators commonly report setup fees of $3,000 to $5,000 with a $500 to $1,000 monthly retainer for small local agencies, up to $10,000 to $15,000 a month for agencies running big coaching ad accounts, sometimes plus a share of profit. Ad spend is always on top.
What does a done-for-you install from Cashflow Coaches cost?
It is a one-time five-figure install, with the exact number on the call. There is no retainer to start. Ad spend is separate and paid to Meta from your own account, from $150 a day.
Should I hire in-house or use an agency?
Hire in-house once the system already works and you need more of it. Operators commonly report media buyers take six months to a year to get good, and closers take four to six weeks to hire and ramp for most businesses. Building from zero with new hires is the slowest path.
What should I own when I work with an agency?
Your ad account, your pixel, your pages, your email list, your CRM and your data. If an agency owns any of these and you leave, you start from zero. Ask before you sign, and get it in writing.
What is a DFY service?
DFY stands for done for you. A DFY service does the work instead of teaching you to do it. A course or coaching program is done with you or done by you. DFY costs more up front and saves you the most time.
Is a coaching program cheaper than an agency?
The fee is often lower, but your time is the hidden cost. You still have to write the ads, build the pages and fix the funnel yourself. If you have the hours and your revenue is still small, it can be the right call.
$10M+ in client results. I run Cashflow Coaches, a done-for-you marketing, sales, operations and tracking agency. We handle everything from paid ads, funnels, webinars, VSLs and Skool communities to setters, closers, ops and tracking. Two-time Skool Games winner.
Bring your quotes to the call.
We look at your offer, your numbers and your quotes, and tell you which model fits. If it isn't us, we tell you what to do instead.
Book your callKeep reading: Done-for-you webinar funnelDone-for-you VSL funnelSkool community growthWebinar funnel costClient acquisition systemScale a coaching businessCase study: Karl YombomFind your bottleneck (quiz)About AnshjeetHome
Chris is a made-up example. His quotes show how the maths works. They are not market prices, not our price and not a client result. Benchmarks on this page come from other operators. They are not Cashflow Coaches results and not a promise. The chooser is a rough guide, not advice. Every real result on this page is a past result from a specific client. None of them is typical.