How to read a performance-based consulting agreement

1. The definition of a result

This is the clause everything else depends on, so it should be specific enough to settle arguments before they start. "Growth", "more leads" and "better marketing" aren't definitions.

A useful definition answers four questions:

• What is counted? A new customer, a booked appointment, a signed contract, a paid invoice?
• What qualifies? Does a returning customer count? A sale below a certain value? A cancelled order?
• When does it count? At first enquiry, at signature or at payment?
• What's excluded? Existing contracts, referrals from a specific partner, walk-ins?

Here's the difference in practice. "Leads from the website" can include spam, job seekers and wrong numbers. "New customer enquiries received through the website or tracked phone numbers, recorded in the sales log with a source, excluding existing customers" is far harder to dispute.

Ask: If we both looked at last month's records, would we arrive at the same count?

2. The baseline

The baseline is the starting point results are measured against, and it should come from your own records. Without one, any number can be presented as growth.

A fair baseline in Ontario has to deal with the seasons. A landscaping company in Burlington or a heating contractor in Sudbury has very different months, so comparing this January with last July is meaningless. Common approaches include comparing each month with the same month a year earlier, or using a full year as the reference.

Watch for these issues:

• Too short a period. Three months may happen to be unusually good or bad.
• Cherry-picked months. A baseline taken from your slowest period makes later results look larger.
• Ignoring trends. If the business was already growing 10% a year, the agreement should say whether that existing growth counts.

Ask: Which period is the baseline taken from, and why that one?

3. The record

The agreement should name the system where results are recorded, who maintains it and who can see it. If only one side controls the record, the other side is relying on trust alone.

Typical records include a CRM, an enquiry log, call-tracking reports, booking software or invoices from your accounting system. The strongest choice is usually whatever is closest to real money, such as invoices, because those are hardest to dispute.

A good clause also covers:

• how entries are made and by whom
• what happens if an entry is missing or wrong
• how often both sides review the record
• how a disagreement about a specific entry is resolved

Ask: If I think a sale has been wrongly counted, what's the process?

4. How payment works

The agreement should explain exactly how payment is calculated from the measured result and when it's due. There's no industry-standard percentage for this, and you shouldn't assume one. The right structure depends on your margins, your sales cycle and what can be measured.

Whatever the structure, check that:

• the calculation can be done by anyone from the record
• payment timing matches when you actually receive the money
• any minimums, caps or thresholds are stated plainly
• costs outside the adviser's time, such as ad spend or software, are clearly assigned

Here's a simple test. Take last month's record and ask the adviser to calculate what would have been owed. If the answer takes more than a few minutes, the clause is too complicated.

Ask: Can you walk me through the payment calculation using a real month?

5. Seasons, shocks and unusual months

The agreement should say what happens when something outside either side's control changes the numbers. In Ontario, that can mean an unusually mild winter, a summer heatwave, a supply problem, a big one-off contract or a sudden change in a government program.

For example, home-service businesses can see demand shift when energy rebates open or close. As of October 2026, Save on Energy lists the Home Renovation Savings Program as open, but programs change, and an agreement shouldn't reward or penalise either side for a policy decision.

Reasonable approaches include excluding certain one-off sales, adjusting the baseline for a known event, or agreeing to review the terms if conditions change sharply.

Ask: What happens if a single large contract arrives that had nothing to do with the work?

6. Ownership and access

Your business should own every account and every piece of data, and the agreement should say so. That includes:

• the website and domain
• ad accounts, with billing in your name
• analytics and call-tracking accounts
• customer and enquiry records
• any content created under the agreement

The adviser should get access, not ownership. The clause should also say how access is removed at the end, so you aren't chasing passwords later.

Ask: If we stopped working together tomorrow, what would I keep, and how quickly?

7. Term and exit

Every agreement needs a defined term and a clear, fair way for either side to end it. A performance deal you can't leave is a trap for you; one the adviser can walk away from instantly after the upfront work is a trap for them. Good terms protect both.

Look for:

• the length of the term and whether it renews
• notice periods for ending it
• how payment works for results recorded near the end
• what happens to work in progress

Ask: What does a clean exit look like for both of us?

Warning signs

A few patterns should make you slow down.

• Promised numbers. Anyone who promises a specific growth figure is selling, not measuring.
• A standard percentage before they've seen your books. Terms should follow the numbers, not precede them.
• Records only the adviser controls.
• Accounts registered in the adviser's name.
• Pressure to sign quickly. A good partner wants you to have time for your own review.

How Ontario.Partners approaches this

Every Growth Partner Program agreement is written to cover all seven areas above. The program is performance-based: Ali Sedighi invests time upfront and is paid on measurable results, with custom written terms and a limited number of partnerships. The fit and baseline assessment comes before any terms are drafted, and the results measurement setup creates the record if one doesn't exist.

For the numbers behind the baseline, read the numbers a growth partner needs. To ask about a partnership, call or text (604) 632-4959 or email Ali@Sedighi.ca, or see the Growth Partner Program page.