Retained vs Contingent Search: Which Fits Your GTM Hire at a Tech Company

Use retained search for the GTM hires that shape your next funding round, such as a CRO, VP of Sales, head of marketing or first country manager at a SaaS or AI company, and use contingent search for repeatable volume roles like SDRs and mid-market AEs. Retained fees run about 25% to 35% of first-year compensation, paid in stages. Contingent fees run about 15% to 25% of first-year base, paid only if someone starts. The deciding question is not price. It is what a miss costs you: a weak SDR costs a few months, while a bad senior sales hire costs US$200K to US$2M. Scalerr has made 561+ GTM placements across 35+ markets at a 21-day average time to place, using both models.

Key takeaways

• Retained fits senior, scarce, high-downside hires. If the person will own revenue or a market, and a miss costs 12 months or more, pay for exclusivity.
• Contingent fits volume and well-defined roles. SDRs, BDRs and mid-market AEs with a clear profile and a large candidate pool are what contingent does well.
• Contingent fees run 15% to 25%; retained fees run 25% to 35%. On a US$250K VP of Sales, that is roughly US$37,500 to US$62,500 contingent versus US$62,500 to US$87,500 retained.
• Hybrid (engaged) search is the middle option: a small upfront fee, often 10% to 20% of the total, then a reduced fee on placement. It suits founding AEs and enterprise sellers.
• Seed and Series A companies should default to retained or hybrid for the first sales leader, because the first leader sets the playbook, the hiring bar and the next five hires.

What is the difference between retained and contingent search?

Contingent search means you pay nothing unless the agency places someone who starts. The agency carries the risk, so it puts its time into the searches most likely to close quickly. If the same role is open with four agencies, each one knows it is in a race, and the effort you get reflects that.

Retained search means you pay to have the search run. The fee is usually split into thirds: at engagement, at shortlist and at placement. In return you get exclusivity, a named consultant, a timeline and a shortlist built against a scorecard you agreed before sourcing began. You also take on the risk that the search does not close, which is why a good retained firm tells you early if the brief, the package or the timing is wrong.

For a deeper look at what each model costs and what the fee is charged on, see our guide to recruitment agency fees for tech startups.

When should a tech company use retained search for a GTM hire?

Use retained when three things are true. The role is senior, the candidate pool is small and employed, and a miss is expensive. The best CROs, VPs of Sales and country managers at SaaS and AI companies are not on job boards. They are in a seat, performing, and they only move for a specific mandate. Reaching them takes a consultant who can brief them properly, and a consultant only spends that time on a search they are paid to run.

Retained also fits when the brief itself is unclear. A first sales leader at a Series A company is a good example. The founder often does not yet know whether the business needs a builder, a scaler or a player-coach. A retained process starts with that question, builds the scorecard and tests the package against the market before anyone is approached. A contingent agency has no reason to push back on a weak brief, because it is paid on speed.

Finally, use retained when confidentiality matters, such as replacing an incumbent, or when you are hiring in a market where you have no network. A US company hiring its first UK or APAC country manager needs advice on titles, sequencing and employer-of-record options, not just CVs.

When does contingent search make sense?

Contingent works when the role is repeatable and the pool is deep. SDRs and BDRs are the classic case. The profile is clear, there are many candidates, a miss costs a few months of salary and the agency can place several people for you in a quarter. Mid-market AEs with a defined ICP and quota history also fit. The competition between agencies is not a problem here, because speed to shortlist is the thing you want.

Contingent also suits companies that already have a clear scorecard and an internal recruiter who can screen. If you can write the ideal profile in half a page and you will interview within 48 hours of a submission, contingent gives you cheap access to a wider market. If you cannot do those things, contingent fills your calendar with candidates who do not fit.

The risk to manage is overlap. Give a contingent role to two agencies at most, set a clear exclusivity window of two to three weeks for the first look, and refuse CVs you did not ask for. Otherwise the same people reach you three times with three different stories.

Retained vs contingent: how do they compare for GTM roles?

The table below compares the two models on the points that matter for a SaaS or AI company hiring go-to-market people. Fee ranges are published industry benchmarks, not quotes, and individual agencies vary.

Which model fits your stage and role?

Match the model to the cost of a miss. At Seed and Series A, your first sales leader, first marketing lead and first country manager should almost always be retained or hybrid, because each one sets the standard for every hire after them. A GTM hiring mistake at this stage compounds for a year before it shows up in the numbers.

Founding AEs and enterprise sellers sit in the middle. The pool is smaller than SDRs, but the downside is less severe than a VP hire. Hybrid search is built for this: you get an agency with a reason to focus on you, and you pay retainer economics only on a small portion of the fee.

By Series B and C, the pattern splits. Leadership hires stay retained. Repeatable roles such as SDR pods, AEs and customer success move to contingent or a mix, once you have a hiring scorecard and a recruiter to run it. If you are unsure what each role should cost, our GTM salary guide gives the pay bands to build a realistic fee estimate from.

How do you decide, step by step?

Ask four questions about each role. First, what does a miss cost? If the answer is more than six months of salary plus lost pipeline, lean retained. Second, how many qualified people exist and are they findable? A small, employed, hard-to-reach pool favours retained. Third, can you write the scorecard today? If not, a retained process will help you build it. Fourth, how fast do you need someone? Contingent can be quicker for volume roles, but a rushed senior hire is the most expensive way to save two weeks.

Then check the terms, not just the model. Whichever route you choose, you want a replacement guarantee of at least 90 days for quota-carrying roles, a guarantee that starts on the first day of employment and a clear fee basis, either base or total package. Our guide to tech sales recruitment agencies in the US covers what a specialist should offer. A good retained firm will also tell you when contingent is the better fit for a role. If an agency recommends its own model for every hire, treat that as a warning.

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