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Referral guides for professional firms - spotting the moment, referring clients compliantly, and earning a share.
Showing articles tagged Referral fees — clear filter
Why referrals deserved better
Accountants make thousands of informal referrals every week — and almost none of them are tracked, evidenced or rewarded. Here's …
When "you should talk to someone" becomes a tracked referral
You already tell owners they should speak to a specialist. This article is about converting that instinct into a tracked, rewarde…
The competitive edge of a good referral answer
Clients rarely choose between firms on core competence alone, because they cannot easily judge it. They judge on the moments they…
What a client really thinks when you can't help them
When you tell a client something is outside your remit, you experience it as a small, honest moment. The client often experiences…
What an introducer actually is (and what they must never do)
An introducer connects a client to a firm that can help; an adviser tells the client what to do. Understanding exactly where that…
The client whose assets outgrew their old will
As clients accumulate wealth, the will they wrote years ago can become dangerously inadequate. Noticing when someone's assets hav…
Turning I don't do that into value for your firm
Every firm says 'I don't do that' several times a week and thinks nothing of it. Those three words mark the boundary of your serv…
What is an introducer? The rules for referring clients, explained
The referral world has its own jargon and its own rulebook. A field guide for professionals who'd like to be paid without becomin…
The informal-referral problem: why the name on a card fails everyone
Almost every firm already refers, in the loosest possible way: a name passed across a desk, a number on a compliments slip. It fe…
The reputation upside of a well-handled introduction
Firms spend heavily on reputation through branding and marketing, yet the reputations that actually stick are earned in small mom…
Recurring revenue for accountancy practices — beyond the monthly fee letter
Practices have spent a decade converting clients to fixed monthly fees. The next recurring line doesn't need any extra hours at a…
Client retention through referrals: the loyalty lever firms overlook
Most firms treat retention as a matter of doing core work well and pricing it fairly. The bigger lever sits at the edges of what …
Why referral income compounds while fee income plateaus
Most firms hit a ceiling on fee income sooner or later, because it is tied to hours and headcount. Referral income behaves differ…
The referral you already make for free — and what it's worth
Ask most firms whether they run a referral business and they say no. Ask whether they ever tell a client who to speak to about so…
Becoming the trusted hub: what happens when you can always say I know someone
There is a particular kind of firm clients never quite leave: the one that always seems to know who to call. Becoming that firm i…
How to disclose a referral fee to your client
The disclosure conversation feels harder than it is. Here's the structure, the timing, and what a clean paragraph of wording actu…
The referrals your practice already makes — and gives away for free
Every accountancy practice is a referral engine. Most run it for free. A look at the economics of the introductions you're alread…
Referral fees for marketing agencies: what the rules actually say
No statute stops a marketing agency taking referral fees. But agencies serving financial clients sit near section 21 of FSMA — a …
Referral fees for IT consultants: what the rules actually say
IT consultants face no statutory referral-fee ban. The traps are contractual conflict clauses, the FCA perimeter when clients nee…
Referral fees for insurance brokers: what the rules actually say
FCA-authorised insurance brokers can pay and receive referral fees. The rulebook cares about conflicts, disclosure of remuneratio…
Referral fees for HR consultants: what the rules actually say
HR consultants face no statutory ban on referral fees. The real constraints sit elsewhere: bribery law, the boundary around finan…
Referral fees for business coaches: what the rules actually say
Business coaches can earn referral fees for introducing clients to regulated financial advisers. With no dominant professional bo…
Recurring vs one-off referral income: what to expect
Referral income comes in two broad shapes, one-off and recurring, and knowing which is which changes how you think about the valu…
Specialise, then refer the rest: the referral case for niching
Specialising makes a firm memorable and referable, but it also raises more out-of-scope questions. A referral network is what mak…