What's a fair percentage for this referral program?

10 replies
I help people sell an alternative health/stress reducing device that goes for between $8,000 and $12,000. My fee for selling it is usually around $1500. Someone asked if I would set up a referral program and they could send me clients. What would be a fair percentage to give them?

I was thinking between 10% and 15% of my fee, which would be between $150 & $225. Is that fair? If not, what would be a fair percentage/amount?

Thanks.
#fair #percentage #program #referral
  • Profile picture of the author rtailor
    I think 10% is fair enough because it is a reasonable commission for referring clients to you.
    Signature
    Keep your environment neat and clean
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4853785].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Bob Ford
    Fair is in the eye of the beholder.

    In this case, what's fair is what the person who wants to send you clients is willing to accept for their service.

    From their perspective, if it costs them, say, $20.00 and one hour of work to get one client to refer to you, then 10% or your commission would probably be fair. But if it costs them $100.00 and five hours work, 10% would probably not be worth their while.

    BF
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4853796].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    I'd probably do like 200 bucks for each person he refers to you that buys. That is more than fair, or close to it if nothing else.. Especially for just a finder's fee.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4853797].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    OK. Thanks. I went with $200 if it sells for at least $8000, and $150 if it sells for less than that.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4854396].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    If you decide to go full-scale with affiliates and you are still willing to pay that much, let me know.. I'll promote that in a heartbeat. lol I do this stuff full-time

    And a lot of that income is from affiliate products.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4854407].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    OK. Cool. Thanks for the offer. Must be nice to be a full-time affiliate marketer. Sweet lifestyle. Which niches have you promoted for? Which niches do you prefer? What methods do you use to promote?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4854461].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    I do a lil bit of everything.

    RAP Bank*Instant Commissions Vault

    All products on there pay instant commission to the affiliates, so if you start an affiliate program I would list it with this place (OR using Rapid Action Profits - this is what RAP stands for. all products on there are powered by rapid action profits, the platform that pays instant commissions to your paypal)

    This alone will attract affiliates (hell, u got my attention. lol)

    But yeah right now I promote a lil bit of everything. I'm with CPA programs, I have like 8 or 9 domains, I have Tweet Attacks PRO for targeted traffic, I have scrapebox to rank for organic search and all sorts of other stuff, I have SeNuke X, The Best Spinner.. u name it..

    Oh and I also have eCover Software Pro, so if you need an ecover made just let me know. Send me ur images and I'll hook ya up, free of charge. Im not greedy. I do just fine as it is
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4855330].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    Cool. Thanks for the info. I took a quick look at RAP. Looks pretty cool.

    How do you decide which products to promote? What you do base it on? The RP index? The number of stars/feedback? Combo? Something else?

    Do you purchase the product before you promote it so you know what you are promoting, and to see if it's a good product or not?

    How do the products on there compare to those on Clickbank? Have you ever used Clickbank before? If not, why not? And if you have and stopped, why?

    Btw, since the devices that I help market are pre-owned, and there aren't that many of them, I don't have a need to go full blow with an affiliate program. Do you need to have an affiliate program setup in order to promote them, or would you be willing to offer a bonus with it, which they can claim after they purchase it by sending you a copy of the receipt? That way we could track it on both ends. The bonus you would offer would obviously be a digital product so it wouldn't cost you anything.

    Thanks for the offer on the eCovers. I'll definitely keep that in mind.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4869378].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author onegoodman
    I have to diagree with everyone else.

    The higher commission the higher sales you can actually make. If you can make $1500 a sale be generous with the commission for your referral.

    if you set up your referral to earn $500 and you are earning $1000 for doing nothing. It will encourage your referral to do more work since they will consider it as a way to make a living.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4869406].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    I understand where you are coming from, because with digital products, the percentage offered to affiliates is usually the percentage you suggested or higher.

    But keep in mind, this is a pre-owned physical product. Do you think a car dealership would offer 33% of the profit for a referral?

    I think everyone else realizes that I wouldn't be doing "nothing." After the affiliate sent me the prospect, I would still have to negotiate and close the sale, possibly meet with the buyer for a demo and/or pre-purchase inspection, host a 1hr Q&A with the seller, which I have had to do in the past, set up the shipping, send the paperwork back and forth to the buyer and seller making sure all of the i's are dotted and t's are crossed, collect the funds and make sure they clear, send the buyer their share via USPS Express Mail, which involves going down to the PO and waiting in line (my time is valuable), etc.

    So, as you see, there is a lot involved in the sale.

    Thanks for your input, though. It's always helpful to see the other side of things.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4869474].message }}

Trending Topics