Retained search suits senior, confidential or genuinely scarce go-to-market hires, where you need a committed partner and a full market map; contingent search suits individual-contributor sales, marketing and customer roles with a healthy candidate supply, where speed and volume matter more. Many software companies use both, and a hybrid 'engaged' model sits between them.
The question we are asked most by founders and heads of talent is not which recruiter to use, but which model. The choice of retained vs contingent search changes how the recruiter works, how much attention your role gets, who carries the risk and what you pay. This guide explains both models for sales, marketing, customer success and RevOps hiring in the UK and US, with a decision framework you can apply role by role.
How does contingent search work?
In contingent search, the recruiter takes your brief, introduces candidates and is paid only when one of them accepts an offer and starts. There is no upfront cost. Fees are a percentage of the hire's first-year salary. UK guidance from Agency Central puts typical contingency fees for permanent roles at 15 to 20 per cent of first-year salary, rising to around 30 per cent for hard-to-fill positions (Agency Central). In the US, contingent recruiters may earn 20 to 35 per cent of first-year base salary, and the fee may also include expected first-year bonus (Wikipedia: Executive search).
For go-to-market roles the base for the fee needs agreeing up front. A sales hire's package has three parts: base, on-target variable and sometimes equity. Some agreements charge on base only, some on base plus target variable (OTE), and the difference is large. On a role with a 50:50 split, a fee charged on OTE is double one charged on base at the same percentage. Read the definition of 'remuneration' in the terms before you compare quotes.
How does retained search work?
In retained search, the fee is usually paid in three instalments: one when the search starts, one when a shortlist is delivered and the balance when the candidate is placed (Agency Central; Wikipedia: Executive search). The firm works exclusively, runs a structured process (market mapping, outreach, assessment, shortlist, references, offer management) and reports progress on an agreed timetable. Headhunting fees on a retained basis tend to be around 30 per cent of salary in the UK, according to Agency Central.
Because the firm is paid to run the process, it can afford to spend weeks mapping a market, approaching people who are not looking and walking away from candidates who would be a quick placement but a poor hire. That is what you are buying.
What is engaged or container search?
Between the two sits a hybrid, often called engaged or container search. You pay a smaller amount upfront to secure commitment and exclusivity, and the balance on placement. The upfront payment is usually deducted from the final fee. It suits roles that are too important to leave to a contingent race but too numerous or too junior for full retained search: a first head of demand generation, a senior enterprise AE in a narrow vertical, or a batch of AE hires for a new territory.
Retained vs contingent search: a side-by-side comparison
| Contingent | Engaged / container | Retained | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When paid | On placement only | Part upfront, balance on placement | In stages, typically three |
| Exclusivity | Usually none; several agencies | Exclusive for a period | Exclusive |
| Recruiter commitment | Lower; competes for speed | Medium to high | Highest; dedicated process |
| Search method | Database, network, adverts, active candidates | Mix of network and targeted outreach | Full market map, passive candidate outreach |
| Reporting | Ad hoc | Regular | Structured, with market data |
| Confidentiality | Harder to control | Good | Best |
| Risk to client | Low upfront cost; risk of slow or poor-fit hire | Shared | Fee committed before outcome |
| Best for | IC roles with healthy supply | Hard IC roles, first functional hires, volume hiring | Leadership, confidential and scarce roles |
What does a retained search look like week by week?
Founders who have only used contingent agencies often ask what they get for the upfront fee. A well-run retained search for a GTM leader follows a visible process with deliverables at each stage. Timings vary with the role and market; the outline below is illustrative.
| Weeks | Stage | What you should receive |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Brief and calibration | Written role specification, scorecard, target company list and agreed off-limits list |
| 2–5 | Market mapping and outreach | Long list with reasons, weekly report on approaches, responses and market feedback on the role and package |
| 5–7 | Assessment | Shortlist of assessed candidates with written reports covering track record, team results and motivation |
| 7–10 | Client interviews | Interview guides, debriefs after each stage, candidate feedback relayed both ways |
| 10–12 | References and offer | Structured references, offer strategy, counter-offer management, resignation support |
| Post-start | Onboarding check-ins | Check-ins with the hire and the client during the first months |
The market feedback in weeks two to five is often worth as much as the shortlist. If the best candidates in your market will not move for the package, the title or the reporting line you have proposed, a retained search tells you early, with evidence, instead of leaving you to discover it after three months of thin CVs.
Which GTM roles suit contingent search?
Contingent works well when three conditions hold: there is a decent supply of qualified candidates, the profile is easy to define and you can move quickly through interviews. In go-to-market hiring that usually covers:
- SDR and BDR roles, including team leads (/specialisms/sdr-bdr)
- Mid-market and commercial account executives in well-understood categories (/specialisms/account-executives)
- Customer success managers and account managers at mid-level
- Marketing specialists with clear tool and channel skills: paid media, marketing operations, content, lifecycle
- RevOps and sales ops analysts
Contingent also suits companies hiring several similar roles at once, where a recruiter can learn the brief once and run multiple placements from the same market work.
Which GTM roles suit retained search?
Retained is the better model when the hire is senior, the profile is narrow, the search needs confidentiality, or the cost of a wrong hire is far larger than the fee:
- CRO, VP Sales, VP Marketing, CMO, VP Customer Success and Head of RevOps
- First country or regional leader, for example a first UK general manager for a US company, or a first US head of sales for a UK company
- Replacement of an incumbent leader who does not yet know
- Roles with very small candidate pools: enterprise AEs selling into a specific regulated vertical, solutions engineers with a rare technical stack, partnership leaders with specific cloud-marketplace experience
- Searches that need a market map for the board or investors
For leadership roles specifically, the a16z guide to hiring a CRO stresses finding a leader who has already scaled from your current revenue to the revenue you want to reach in the next 12 to 18 months (a16z). That kind of fit is narrow. Most people who match it are employed, performing and not reading job adverts. Reaching them is the work retained search pays for. See /specialisms/sales-leadership and /specialisms/marketing-leadership.
How much does each model really cost?
Compare total cost, not the headline percentage. A cheaper fee on a search that runs for four extra months, or ends in a hire who leaves within a year, is the more expensive option. A worked example makes the trade-offs clearer.
| Item | Contingent at 20% of base | Contingent at 20% of OTE | Retained at 30% of base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | £15,000 | £30,000 | £22,500 |
| Paid before a hire? | No | No | Yes, about two-thirds |
| Exclusivity | No | No | Yes |
| Cost of a three-month delay | Three months of lost ramp time | Same | Lower, if the process runs to timetable |
| Cost of an early leaver | Depends on rebate terms | Depends on rebate terms | Usually a free replacement search |
The biggest hidden cost in sales hiring is time. A quota-carrying role left empty for a quarter is a quarter of pipeline not built, and a further ramp period before the replacement is productive. If your average AE is expected to close a meaningful share of next year's new business, every month of vacancy has a revenue cost that dwarfs the fee difference between models.
What are the risks of each model?
Both models have predictable failure modes. Knowing them helps you manage the recruiter, whichever you choose.
| Model | Risk | How to manage it |
|---|---|---|
| Contingent | CVs sent fast to win the race, with thin screening | Limit to two agencies; ask for written notes on fit for every CV |
| Contingent | Your role gets less attention than retained work | Give an exclusive window of two to four weeks in return for commitment |
| Contingent | Duplicate submissions and ownership disputes | Agree ownership rules and a validity period for introductions |
| Contingent | Candidates hear about your role from several recruiters | Control how the role is described in the market |
| Retained | Paying upfront for a search that stalls | Tie instalments to deliverables, such as a shortlist meeting an agreed spec |
| Retained | Firm cannot approach people at its other clients | Ask which companies are off-limits before signing |
| Retained | Slow process | Agree a timetable with weekly reporting and the right to end the search |
| Both | Fee on OTE or equity surprises | Define remuneration in writing; ask whether equity counts |
Should you give a GTM role to several contingent agencies?
It is tempting to brief five agencies and let them compete. In our experience it often slows the hire. Each agency gives the role less attention because the odds of being paid are lower. The best recruiters may decline altogether. Candidates hear about the role from several sources, which makes it look hard to fill. And the same candidate may be submitted twice, creating disputes.
A practical middle ground for contingent roles: choose one or two specialist agencies, give one of them a short exclusive period, and judge them on the quality of the first shortlist. Specialists who recruit only go-to-market roles in your market will usually know many of the right candidates already.
What should you ask a recruiter before signing?
Questions to ask, whichever model you choose:
- How do you charge? Percentage, base or OTE, whether equity or sign-on bonus counts, and when invoices are due.
- What is the replacement or rebate policy? How long it lasts, whether it is a refund or a free replacement, and what triggers it.
- Who will work the role? The person who sells you the search should be the person running it, or you should meet who is.
- What is your process? Market map, outreach, screening, assessment and references, with a timetable.
- Which companies are off-limits? Retained firms will not approach staff at their clients. Know the list.
- What have you placed that is similar? Similar role, stage, deal size and market. Ask for the types of roles, not client names.
- How will you assess sales performance? Ask how they verify quota attainment and what references they take. See our guide to verifying quota attainment.
How to brief a recruiter for a sales or marketing hire
Whatever the model, the quality of the brief decides the quality of the shortlist. A good GTM brief includes:
- What the person will sell or market, to whom, at what price point and through what motion (inbound, outbound, partner, product-led)
- Quota or targets, ramp and how they were set
- Package: base, variable, split, accelerators, equity and any draw
- The team they join and who they report to
- What has and has not worked so far, honestly
- The interview process and the decision makers
- Deal-breakers and genuine must-haves, kept to a short list
Recruiters can only sell the role as well as you have explained it. A vague brief produces a shortlist matched to job titles rather than to the job.
A simple decision framework
Answer these in order for each role:
- Is the role a leadership or first-of-function hire? If yes, start with retained or engaged.
- Is the role confidential? If yes, retained.
- Are there fewer than a few dozen people in your market who could genuinely do it? If yes, retained or engaged.
- Is the hire one of several similar roles? If yes, engaged or a single specialist contingent partner.
- Is supply healthy and the profile clear? If yes, contingent with one or two specialists.
- Is speed critical and the cost of vacancy high? Favour the model that gives you the most committed recruiter time, not the lowest fee.
TRG GTM works on contingent, engaged and retained terms depending on the role. If you are weighing up the right model for a sales, marketing, customer or RevOps hire, brief us at /employers#brief and we'll recommend one, with the reasons.
Retained and contingent search: common questions
In retained search you pay part of the fee before the hire, usually in stages, and the firm works the role exclusively to a structured process. In contingent search you pay only if you hire a candidate the recruiter introduced, and roles are often shared between several agencies.
UK guidance puts typical contingency fees at 15 to 20 per cent of first-year salary, rising to around 30 per cent for hard-to-fill roles, with retained headhunting around 30 per cent. US contingent fees commonly range from 20 to 35 per cent of first-year base. Check whether the fee is charged on base or OTE.
Usually, yes. The people who fit a VP Sales brief are mostly employed and not looking, the cost of a wrong hire is high, and the search often needs confidentiality. Those are the conditions retained search is designed for.
You can, but contingent recruiters have less incentive to run a long, thorough search for a narrow brief. An engaged model, with a smaller upfront payment, is often a better compromise.
A hybrid model where you pay part of the fee upfront to secure exclusivity and commitment, and the balance on placement. The upfront amount is usually deducted from the final fee.
For most GTM roles, no more than two. More agencies usually means less attention from each, duplicate submissions and a role that looks hard to fill in the market.
That depends on the terms. Contingent agreements often include a sliding rebate or free replacement for a limited period; retained agreements commonly offer a free replacement search. Get the terms in writing before you start.