Buying tools or buying help?
See who owns the work.
The decision
Choose self-service when someone on your team can review profiles, contact reps, and qualify interest. Ask about managed recruiting when you want help performing those steps. A Zilla Sales self-service subscription provides marketplace and contact-access tools; confirmed introductions belong to a separate managed service with its own agreed scope.
What are you actually buying?
| Decision | Self-service subscription | Separate managed engagement |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The marketplace, recommendation, and contact-access features in your plan. | Recruiting work and deliverables specified in the accepted offer. |
| Outreach owner | Your team contacts and follows up with selected reps. | Confirm which outreach and qualification tasks the managed team undertakes. |
| Meaning of a match | Profile evidence suggests fit; interest is not confirmed. | Verified introductions involve confirmed fit and interest under the agreed scope. |
| Commercial terms | Use live pricing and checkout for credits, billing, and renewal. | Use the individual managed offer for scope, price, timing, and conditions. |
| Final partnership | You and the rep perform diligence and agree the relationship. | You and the rep still decide whether to work together. |
Scroll the table sideways to compare the options.
Choose by the work your team can actually do
Self-service can work well when a founder or sales leader has time to evaluate a focused shortlist and hold commercial conversations. Assign that owner before paying for contact access. A list of unlocked contacts has little value if no one can follow up.
Managed recruiting may fit when the business has a clear opportunity but lacks time or resources for sourcing and initial qualification. It does not remove your responsibility to explain the product, assess the candidate, negotiate terms, and support the rep after an introduction.
Be precise about the result you expect
A recommended profile, an application, an unlocked contact, and a verified introduction are different outcomes. A recommendation is a possible fit. An application means the rep responded to your opportunity. A contact unlock reveals available details; it does not purchase a response or meeting.
Before buying, state whether you want access to profiles, help contacting people, or confirmed introductory conversations. Compare the offer against that outcome. Do not infer a managed recruiting commitment from the word “matching.”
What to confirm in a managed offer
Ask for a written scope that distinguishes recruiting activity from the agreed deliverable. Availability and suitability of a managed search should be confirmed for your opportunity. Do not treat another company’s campaign terms as your own offer.
- Products, buyer types, territory, and disqualifying conflicts.
- What makes an introduction qualified, including how interest is confirmed.
- What your team must provide and when it must respond.
- Timing, reporting, charges, and any replacement or refund conditions.
- What happens if the brief changes or the market does not produce suitable candidates.
Compare total effort as well as the fee
A subscription and a managed project pay for different amounts of work. Compare the published charges alongside the time your team would spend reviewing profiles, preparing outreach, following up, and qualifying interest. There is no universal cost-per-hire or time-to-first-sale to assume.
Neither route turns an introduction into a signed partnership or a customer order. Reps decide whether the opportunity fits their business; your company must still make an attractive offer and fulfill the resulting work.
Common questions
Does my subscription include someone contacting reps for me?
Do not assume managed recruiting is included. The self-service plan provides the features shown for your plan; your team owns direct outreach. A managed engagement requires a separate accepted offer.
Can I explore self-service before requesting managed help?
Yes. Use what you learn about the available profiles and your team’s workload to clarify the support you need. Ask support about managed options rather than assuming an automatic upgrade or credit transfer.
Does either option guarantee a hire or sales?
A recommendation, contact, or introduction is not a guarantee of a hire or revenue. Review any specific service commitments in the applicable offer and qualify the commercial partnership directly.
Choose how much help you need
Review the self-service offer, or ask support whether a managed search fits your opportunity.
View current plansContinue your research
- Compare platforms and sourcing models
- What happens after self-service payment
- Is Zilla Sales right for your business?