What you’re building
A directory marketplace for consultants in a specific vertical (HR, finance, marketing, ops, technical, legal-adjacent). Each consultant publishes their packages, prospects compare and book, you take a referral fee.
Differs from tutoring or design marketplaces in two ways:
- High ticket sizes. Consulting gigs run $500 to $25,000 per engagement vs $25 to $500 for tutoring.
- Discovery before purchase. Most buyers want a 15-minute fit call before they commit. The plugin’s buyer-requests mode handles this cleanly.
The 30-minute setup
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Wizard. Brand the marketplace (“OpsExperts”, “FractionalCFO Directory”, whatever your vertical). Currency. Commission. Directories typically charge 10-15% of first engagement, OR a flat listing fee + 0% commission, OR a tiered membership for consultants (Pro module for that last one).
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Categories. Define the consultant types you’ll list: “Process audit”, “Implementation”, “Fractional executive”, “Retainer advisory”, “Training”. Categories become the search filter.
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Two-mode setup. Enable BOTH:
- Browse + buy (Fiverr-style): consultants publish fixed packages, buyer picks one and pays upfront.
- Request mode (Upwork-style): buyer posts a brief, consultants send proposals, buyer picks one.
For consulting, request mode does most of the volume. Browse mode is for productized packages (e.g., “$2,000 Customer Journey Audit, 2-week turnaround”).
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Requirements form. Consulting briefs are deeper than tutoring. Ask: company size, industry, current state, target outcome, budget range, decision timeline, stakeholders involved. This pre-qualifies the buyer for the consultant.
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Approval workflow. Set vendor registration to “Admin approval required.” For consulting directories the gate matters. Credibility of the marketplace = average consultant quality. Vet LinkedIn + 1 client reference before approving.
Pricing structures consultants use
Three tiers that map well to consulting:
| Tier | Engagement | Price band |
|---|---|---|
| Audit / Diagnostic | Fixed scope, 1-2 weeks, deliverable report | $1,000-$5,000 |
| Implementation | Multi-week project with milestones | $5,000-$25,000 |
| Fractional retainer | Ongoing 5-10 hrs/week, monthly billing | $2,000-$10,000/mo |
The fractional retainer needs recurring billing. That’s a Pro feature. Free works for the audit + implementation tiers.
The fit-call flow
Consultants don’t sell to cold buyers without a call. Wire this into the requirements form:
“Would you like a 15-minute fit call before booking? If yes, what’s your timezone + 3 windows that work?”
When the order comes in, the consultant sees the fit-call request first, replies via the built-in messaging with a Calendly link, has the call, then confirms or refunds. This whole loop runs inside the plugin without any extra tool.
For request-mode briefs, the buyer can hold off paying until a consultant they trust responds. The plugin handles the “proposal → accept → pay → deliver” workflow.
Disputes matter more in consulting
When a $10,000 audit goes sideways the dispute system carries weight. The plugin logs every message + delivery + revision request, so when a buyer claims “this isn’t what I asked for” you have the full evidence trail. Resolve in admin, refund or release per policy.
The disputes feature is included free. Don’t skip configuring its email notifications. Both sides need to know when a dispute opens.
Commission models worth considering
- Flat % of order (default): 10-15%. Simple, scales with order size.
- Listing fee + 0% commission: $99/year per consultant, no per-engagement cut. Predictable revenue for you, no friction for consultants on large deals.
- Tiered vendor subscription (Pro): Bronze (5 listings, 15% commission), Silver ($49/mo, 10 listings, 10%), Gold ($199/mo, unlimited, 0%). Higher LTV per consultant.
Pick one model. Don’t run all three.
When you’ll need Pro
- Recurring services for retainer engagements (monthly billing on autopilot).
- WooCommerce checkout for B2B buyers who want invoicing, PO numbers, regional payment methods.
- Vendor analytics so consultants can see which packages convert and improve.
- Vendor subscriptions for the tiered membership monetization model.
- White-label when you’re charging consultants $99/year. They expect the platform to be branded as yours.
Common questions
Can I let consultants list under a company name (not personal)? Yes. Vendor profiles support agency / company display names + a separate avatar / logo.
How do I handle NDA / signed engagement letters? Use the requirements form to upload signed PDFs. The form supports file attachments. Files attach to the order record and are visible to consultant + buyer + admin only.
Does this work for legal / financial consulting where licensing matters? The plugin doesn’t validate licenses or insurance. That’s your moderation work during approval. Once approved, the platform is neutral.
Try it
InstaWP demo lets you set up a fake consulting directory, post a brief as a buyer, respond as a consultant, run through proposal → accept → pay → deliver. 20 minutes to see if the workflow fits your vertical.