Insights
Referral guides for professional firms - spotting the moment, referring clients compliantly, and earning a share.
Referral fees for estate agents: what the rules actually say
Estate agents can take referral fees from conveyancers, brokers and removals firms. The rules demand one thing in return: telling…
Referral compliance for estate agents, plainly explained
Estate agents can legitimately earn referral income by introducing clients to regulated and vetted firms. The rules are not compl…
Referral audit trails: what good evidence looks like
In a regulated environment, being able to show what happened is nearly as important as doing the right thing. A good referral aud…
Redundancy and a lump sum: the referral a professional should make
A redundancy payout lands amid upheaval and rarely comes with a plan. Here is how to recognise the moment and make the introducti…
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…
Red flags in a referral arrangement, and how to avoid them
A bad referral arrangement rarely announces itself, but it does leave clues. Here are the red flags worth watching for and the si…
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…
RAO Article 33, explained for professionals who refer
Article 33 of the RAO carves out a narrow, sensible space in which introducing a client is not itself a regulated activity. This …
A vulnerable beneficiary and the trust conversation
When a client has a disabled, dependent, or otherwise vulnerable relative, a straightforward inheritance can create real problems…
Measuring referral income: the metric hiding in plain sight
Professional firms track chargeable hours obsessively and referral income not at all. Measuring what your introductions are worth…
The client with no will: the commonest referral you're missing
The single most common estate-planning trigger is also the easiest to overlook: a client who has simply never got round to making…
New buyers and the life-cover conversation they've never had
For most first-time buyers, the mortgage is the biggest financial commitment of their lives and the protection conversation is on…
Mortgage completion: the protection and advice moment you're standing in
The moment a client takes on a large mortgage is a textbook trigger for protection and wider advice. Here is how to spot it and r…
How marketing agencies can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Marketing agencies hear founders' real financial ambitions before almost anyone else. Here is how to refer those moments to regul…
How IT consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
IT consultants become accidental confidants to owner-managers. Here is how to turn the money questions you cannot answer into com…
An inheritance just landed: why it's a referral, not a windfall
When a client inherits, a large sum lands amid grief and uncertainty. Here is how to recognise the moment and hand it over with c…
How insurance brokers can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Insurance brokers are regulated — for insurance. Pensions and investment questions sit outside most brokers' permissions. Here is…
How HR consultants can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
HR consultants hear financial questions from exiting employees, anxious managers and owner-clients alike. Here is how to refer th…
How estate agents can offer financial-advice referrals without becoming regulated
Estate agents sit beside the biggest financial decision most people ever make. You can refer clients to regulated advice, complia…
Idle cash: when a client's balance is a referral waiting to happen
Cash that sits still for years is often a sign that no one has looked at the bigger picture. Here is how to spot it and pass it o…
How to choose a referral network you can trust
Not all referral networks are equal, and the wrong one can put your reputation and your clients at risk. These are the things wor…
How referral tracking works — and why it protects you
When you make an introduction, something has to record that it happened, tie it to any eventual fee, and stand up to scrutiny lat…
Exchange week: the protection and wills referral in every sale
Every completion is a financial crossroads, and exchange week is when your client is most alert to it. That makes it the natural …
Divorce and a financial plan torn in two: your cue to refer
A separation rearranges a client's entire financial life. Here is how to recognise the moment, handle it with care, and refer.