REFERRAL PROGRAM

REFERRAL PROGRAM

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth has always been one of my most powerful marketing tools. When people see the type and level of work that I do it tends to inspire them to tell others. And past clients also tend to tell others about the work that they have had done for them. So to that end I have developed this referral program to help get the word out to the decision makers about the work I do.

How it Works

Generally speaking this program is designed to gain referrals for the new custom work I do and not the items that I have for sale. But with that said, upon occasion I will offer this referral program towards specific works that I have completed. Sometimes I can also offer this fee for repair and restoration services if the job is large enough, contact me to discuss it.

The lead

What I am looking for is a "qualified lead". In other words I am not looking for someone to tell me "Hey, xxxx company might be able to use some glass in their office" or "Hey, xxxx gallery would probably be interested in your work". In those examples that information really does nothing for me as I could have done the same by "cold calling" them and introducing myself.

A qualified lead would be more like "Hey, John Smith is an acquaintance of mine and mentioned that he might want a beveled glass entryway, I told him I would have you give him a call, here is his information." or "Hey, ABC corp is wanting to do a sculpture in their main headquarters, I mentioned you to them. Call John Smith, here is his number." or "I have a client that really would like to discuss some stained glass work in their home, here is their name and number.". Those are the types of examples I am looking for.

Basically, I want to get their information from you and they know they are going to get a call from me. This gives me an "in" with them and helps break the ice. If they have no idea who I am and were not expecting the call from me, I have no "in" with them and that lead is not qualified.

And I can not stress enough that you need to give me the information yourself, do not rely on the referral to tell me that you referred them to me. It generally does not happen, and then there will be no referral fee paid. And if it happens after the fact, say for instance once the job is completed, it will not be paid. The reason why is that it is too easy for someone to contract me to do work, realize I have a referral fee program, then have a friend or family member contact me and go "ohhhh, by the way, I referred them to you". It has to come from you, that is the whole idea behind this program.

How much is the referral fee?

I will give you 10% of the gross amount of the sell, this does not include installation and mileage charges. So for example, if I gain a job for an entryway. And that job ends up being $5,000.00 plus installation, you will get $500.00 just for referring them to me. Not bad for just a few minutes worth of work right? Jobs could range from just a couple of hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

How do I get paid?

Once I have secured the job, I get a down payment to initiate the work from the client. When I have gotten that down payment and the payment has cleared, I will send you your 10% fee. Generally speaking that can pretty fast, most people want to start their projects immediately. So from initial contact to the point of getting my first deposit, it may only be a few days. Sometimes larger projects may take awhile for the decision maker(s) to get the ball rolling, but as soon as they have given me the go ahead on the project and paid me that first deposit, you will get your money.

For how I pay on certain finished products see below.

Custom work versus finished pieces.

To clarify, this program is geared towards generating "new" custom work and not really towards already finished items that I have for sale. Upon occasion I will though put a referral fee on certain items. And basically the way that works is as soon as I receive payment for the item and the payment has processed, I will send you your referral fee.

Business referrals.

I work with professional associations of all sorts, residential and commercial builders, architects and interior designers etc. The referral fees are paid as outlined above. The only difference is in regards to who is paid. The payment can go directly to the business that I am working with, under the business name. Or it can go to the employee of the business, under their name. Now in regards to the later. Only the employee of a business knows what their businesses policy is in regards to payments such as these. There are ones I have dealt with that do not care if the employee makes some money on the side by referring business to me, then there are others that have strict policies that prevent the employee from that and all monies go to the business.

I am not in the business of "policing" a companies policies and making sure that their employees are doing what is right. It is up to the individual to have a high enough moral character to do what is right. But if I do find out that someone was breaking their company policy I will no longer take referrals from them.