If you want a real commission...........Sell the job then sub it or hand it off at a discount to someone who's work is proven.

 

I do this from time to time.

I am upfront and tell them 100$ on small jobs and the bigger they are the more I would like. I am a small company and don't want to take on big jobs so I let some of my friends in on them. We all leave happy.

 

Ask for a referral back for the type of work YOU want to do, or a gift certificate for 2 for a nice restaurant.

He is not obligated, nor should you expect anything and don't be ticked off if he disagrees with you.

I would be offended, but pay when approached for that hit, not because I did not want to pay, but because I felt the referral for a friend/family member was due to my quality and long term end results.

Ed

 

I give my customer's a $25 credit when I land a new maintenance contract or a big job on a referral from them.

I have one client-an appraiser who turns me onto work constantly. I mow his lawn for free.

I have a friend who also does lawn maintenance and wanted to thin his route. He just basically dropped three lawns on me, so I dropped a case of beer in his driveway.

 

A gratuity is freely given. Asking for one puts a tarnish on the act.

I once received a referal and sold the job. After the fact I was approached by the referer for $150. As I said to him, if I'd known up front I could have factored in the cost. I paid and stopped referring his company.

We also work with a plumber that he and I refer each other back and forth a lot. Nothing is expected other than mutual support. Whenever we bump into each other some one gets their lunch or coffee paid for. A real freindly arrangement.

Good Luck
Dave

 

For a homeowner without contacts in the trades, finding a competent and honest contractor is far from easy, and it's a stressful process.

I refer only contractors whom I respect for their workmanship and honesty.
Those guys tend to have a full agenda, anyway!
Therefore, I consider that referring them is a favor to the customers, not the contractors.

I ask nothing of the contractors, and I insist on this, as it keeps me out of conflicting interests.
I ask nothing of the customers, as they already reward me with their trust.

One roofer, I used to refer often because he was really good, professional and very honest.
Once he offered to compensate me for referrals... I declined, saying that I felt the luckiest person would be the customer, not him.

DON'T EVER WORRY ABOUT COMPENSATION! Life is well made, and what goes around comes around. I can personally testify to this.
If I say anymore I'll turn this into a spiritual forum.

 

Well if that wasn't a great post....:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:notworthy:

 

I had a plumber refer me for a job. I thought he was trying to help me out, turns out after we finished negotiating he tells me he wants $500. I paid him the $500 in the long run he lost though, I used to use him as well as refer him both of which I no longer do. I have no problem paying someone for a job, but I expect to be told before I bid it.

 

I have seen more of this "referel fee" mentality lately and also do not like it. I think it is very tacky and not a proffesional action.

 

Any referral fee should have been discussed & agreed upon prior to any bid.

If the guy stands to "make a killing" why didn't you do the job yourself instead of hand it to him?

 

I'm dealing with this same problem right now. I have a buddy who is in the lawncare biz, and I do carpentry work. So he has referred a couple of jobs my way. The problem to me is this, if this friend just introduces me to a possible client and that's it, how much is that worth. I'm the one selling the job. Should a referral fee be based on the cost of the job? What is a normal fee then? Let's say you get 2 referrals, one is a deck job of $3000 and the other a $10000 basement remodel. Should the referral be different?

 

I'm the one selling the job.

That is NOT a referral. You should be compensated as a Salesman, commission wise.

A referral is........"Oh yeah! I know just the right Contractor to do this for you. Here is his number. Give him a call. See what he says."

Sales is............When you "bag a job", quote a price and your Contractor friend agrees that it is good for him, that IS SALESMANSHIP and SHOULD, in any walk of life, be compensated healthily for.


VERY, VERY different scenarios!

 

I think what goes around comes around in this business, and eventually you may need a "favor" or whatever from your roofer. I am sure you will both remember this job. I think as pros refferal fees are wrong, kinda like bribery. I mean does the guy paying the highest fee get the good refs and all work??? If you want to make a buck off it sell it and sub it but you should never "EXPECT" payment for spreading the word.
Thats not to say he doesn't, say " heres a few bucks, the job went well, thanks" But thats on him , not you.

 

As a sub,I refer other subs all the time to builders & ho's.I would never expect to be compensated for a referal.Just consider it helping a good tradesman feed his family.A simple thank you is all the payment you need.

 

So what do you do if a fellow "tradesman" wants a referral fee? Do you not go for the job because of it or do you give him some cash ,and if so how much do you give him?

 

I don't know, nobody has ever walked up to me and said,hey man,I'll give you a referral if you pay me.But if I wanted the job I would gladly pay.I think a nice gift certificate would be more appropriate than cash though.

 

I use to do this years ago then the guys would not call back or would take forever on the job and these were good company's I would recommend ! then I would here back about it so now I don't know anybody :whistling cause you never know who's still working for the co. or are they slammed I just don't do it anymore :no:

 

The Right Way to refer someone else, is to not only pass out the information to the prospective client, but to gather as much information from him, including intended budget.

It should be easier to acquire from them, since you are not "The Big Bad Salesman", so now you are armed with much more relative information for your friends company.

Now, pass all of that contact information along to him, after first seeing if they are interested in the type of job and scope of work and intended budget.

Now, both parties can initiate the contact.

How many times have you heard, I gave your name out to so and so, but you never heard from that prospect?

Well, this is already a very live lead and you should get as much information as possible to ensure that you improve the odds of it closing.

Now, from the customers point of view, they may plan on contacting the party, but forget to do so or lose the information. So, when the referred company makes contact, you have taken the burden away from their To Do List and may be not only the First, but the Only contractor they speak with.

You were Referred.

You showed Promptness.

You lay out a detailed professional scope of work and work up a budget.

You get the job.

No other "Bidders" involved.

Ed

 

I think if somebody is asking for a cash fee to say you are a compitent builder and help get you into a job then it doesn't even matter your quality , just "money talks" jobs to the highest price??? seems SLEAZY to me.

unless you are dealing with a contractor review/referal service.

But hey, if you need the work........

Or did you need the money..... why again didn't you take on the contract?

 

I'm not a tradesman, but I'll share with you how we in the real estate sales side handle the issue of referrals. We typically ask for a referral fee of anywhere from 20-30% depending on the client. In our line of business it's generally a legal requirement that we disclose any money that we are making to the client. In return for this fee, we generally act as a second source of info and support for the client while not directly managing the transaction.

I'm guessing that in trades it might be different, but if you want to charge something significant you should provide value for the fee. If that means stopping by the job, keeping in touch with the client through the project, and holding the person you referred to doing a good job, I see it as a win for everyone involved if you add value and provide a great experience for the client.

Joe

 

It hadn't occurred to me to me to gather all the relevent info and let my friend in on my project. I could easily have done this project myself, but that would be SIDE work for me....definately a no-no!!.......the company I work for is too busy to have taken on the job and would have hired my friend or referred the job to him anyway.....

The job was finished in 5 days with xtras and the chimney was rebuilt. Additional projects are being discussed so all in all both parties are happy.

I just saw my friend at an open house Sunday where he told me how things went. I was sincerely just breaking his balls, but I asked if he was buying me dinner....he said absolutely and I have some money for you. That's pretty cool!

I'm not in the business of making referrals, if I was I'd be a GC! It's actually a pretty good feeling matching two friends and ending with everyone happy. Every response was great and gives me a nice perspective on professional courtesy.

 

As others have said, Give the referral. I'm sure next time someone asks him for a referral in your scope of work, he'll return the favor.

 

i do refer other carpenters and contractors, either because i have too much on the go to even get a chance to look at the job so ill ask the contractor im referring first to see if they'd be interested in the project and so their not getting a call out of the blue. the other time is if its for something that im not skilled in such as plumbing then i give out my plumbers #.

all thats asked for in return is to do the same back and a large double double