Commission or structure/ for selling a customer list to another business

May 23, 2024

by a searcher in New York, NY, USA

Hello all!
Does anyone have experience selling a customer list to another business ?

To give some context, I cold called a business owner who is shutting down his business because it's a side hustle he started a few years ago because of the pandemic and being laid off from a job. His customers are mostly commercial contacts like buildings/hospitals and I said I could help him get something for his list.

I spoke to another company who would be interested in this individual's customer list but wants to see the value of the customer list before deciding on what the commission would be between me and the side hustle owner. What's the best way to go about this? I don't think it's going to make sense to see someone's customer list but there has to be in it for both parties.

Does it make sense to shop the list around?

any insights would be helpful.

Thank you!

Reply by a searcher
from Syracuse University in New York, NY, USA

A list of customers is only worth how much future business you can get. I would want to see for every customer how much they have spent in the last 24, 12 months, 6, months, 3 months. are there contracts guaranteeing revenue for a period of time? how unique is the product? is it easy to buy it from someone else? are there any compelling reasons why the customers need to get the product from you or is it more like a commodity? the best deal on an unknown list is to do a revenue share, say 10% of future sales (depending on gross margin of the products) until the seller gets $X. How much is $X? depends on the Customer Lifetime Value: are there repeat customers or just one time purchases? How much do customers spend over a 1 to 2 year period? then decide how much you think you can make from the list and compare that to your customer acquisition cost. Sorry for the long explanation but hope this helps!

Reply by an intermediary
from University of California, Irvine in San Diego, CA, USA

Lists are pretty easy to get these days from different sources like Apollo or Clay, etc. If they are just offering you a commission, just say for 10% of any sales generated from the list and hand it off. If you can get actual cash that would be better. A lead for home services for someone interested is $30 to $80 depending on what they want. A B2B lead can go $150-$500 depending on the service. Selling just a list can be as little as $1 per contact. I would see if anyone else in selling lists in that industry and price compare before you shop it around. Know its value before you shop it.

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