Affiliate and Lead Gen Combo

What This Recipe Does

This recipe creates two programs bundled in a program group:

1. Affiliate Program - 15% commission on referred sales, tracked via referral link visits
2. Lead Generation Program - $20 flat bounty per qualified form submission, tracked via form events

The program group ties them together with an oldestBindingWins sorter. This means the first program to establish an engagement with a prospect takes priority. If a visitor submits a form before clicking an affiliate link, the lead bounty fires. If they click an affiliate link first, the sale commission fires instead. Only one program pays out per opportunity.

This structure is built for businesses that run both sale and lead conversion funnels through the same partner network. Instead of choosing between affiliate commissions and pay-per-lead, you get both in a single system with clean attribution.

Who It’s For

• Service businesses with e-commerce that close some customers through consultations (lead gen) and others through direct purchases (affiliate)
• SaaS companies where some affiliates drive free trial signups and others drive paid conversions
• Marketing teams that want one partner program covering the full spectrum of conversions without paying twice for the same prospect

How It Works

The Affiliate Program tracks referral link visits. When a collaborator shares their unique link and a visitor clicks through, that engagement is recorded. If the visitor later makes a purchase, the collaborator earns a 15% commission on the transaction.

The Lead Generation Program tracks form submissions. When a visitor who was referred by a collaborator submits a connected form (through a compatible plugin like Gravity Forms), that triggers a flat $20 bounty. No sale is required.

The program group is what makes this recipe work. Without it, both programs would fire independently, and you could end up paying a lead bounty and a sale commission for the same person. The oldestBindingWins sorter resolves this by giving priority to whichever program established the first engagement. If a prospect fills out a form on their first visit, the lead program claims them. If they arrive through a referral link first, the affiliate program claims them.

This first-touch model encourages collaborators to find new audiences. The program that reaches a prospect first wins the attribution, so there is no advantage to retargeting people already in the funnel.

{
  "version": 1,
  "name": "Affiliate and Lead Gen Combo",
  "description": "A sale commission program and a lead bounty program grouped together so only one fires per opportunity, based on first-touch attribution.",
  "programs": {
    "affiliate": {
      "name": "Affiliate Program",
      "description": "Earn a 15% commission on every sale you refer through your unique affiliate link.",
      "incentiveType": "saleTransactionPercentage",
      "incentiveResolverType": "newestBindingWins",
      "units": "USD",
      "status": "active",
      "incentiveAmount": 15,
      "engagementTypes": [
        { "type": "referredSiteVisit", "value": 100.0 }
      ],
      "transactionCompilers": ["includeLineItems"]
    },
    "leadGen": {
      "name": "Lead Generation Program",
      "description": "Earn a $20 bounty for every qualified lead you refer. Credit goes to the first collaborator who introduced the prospect.",
      "incentiveType": "leadFixed",
      "incentiveResolverType": "oldestBindingWins",
      "units": "USD",
      "status": "active",
      "incentiveAmount": 2000,
      "engagementTypes": [
        { "type": "collaboratorFormSubmitted", "value": 100.0 }
      ]
    }
  },
  "programGroups": {
    "affiliateAndLeadGen": {
      "name": "Affiliate and Lead Gen",
      "description": "Groups the affiliate and lead generation programs so only one fires per opportunity. First-touch attribution determines the winner.",
      "sorter": "oldestBindingWins",
      "programs": ["affiliate", "leadGen"]
    }
  }
}