The out-of-area referral log: running referrals on paper, not memory

Why referrals across Alberta need a log

Multi-city trades get calls from beyond their range every week. A Calgary firm hears from Lethbridge; an Edmonton firm hears from Grande Prairie; a Red Deer firm hears from both metros. Without a referral partner, those calls end with "sorry, we don't go that far." With a partner but no records, they end with good intentions that fade.

The problems with unrecorded referrals are predictable. Each side remembers sending more than it received. Nobody knows which referrals became jobs. A complaint about a referred customer arrives months later with no record of who sent them. A log fixes all three.

The fields to record

Keep it short enough that someone fills it in every time. These fields cover what matters.

A shared spreadsheet is enough to start. If your job software has a source field, add "referral to [Partner]" and "referral from [Partner]" as options so the log and your job records match.

Telling the customer

Every referred customer should know three things before they hire the other business: who you're referring them to, that the other business is separate from yours, and whether either business receives anything for the referral.

Here's sample wording with placeholders. Adjust it to your voice.

By phone: "We don't serve [Customer city], but we work with [Partner business] there. They're a separate company and they'll quote you directly. [We don't receive anything for this referral / We have a referral arrangement with them, which I'm happy to explain.] Would you like their number, or shall I pass yours on?"

By text: "Thanks for contacting [Your business]. We don't cover [Customer city], but [Partner business] does. They're a separate company: [phone]. [Disclosure line.]"

On your website: a short page or section explaining that you refer customers outside your service area to firms you've checked, that those firms are independent, and how any arrangement works.

Whatever you and your partner agree about fees, discounts or reciprocal arrangements, it should be in your written terms and reflected in the disclosure. Alberta's consumer protection pages explain the province's rules on unfair practices; we don't interpret them for you, so check anything you're unsure of with the province or your lawyer.

Checking a partner before the first referral

The province's guidance on hiring a contractor lists what homeowners are told to check: written estimates, the qualifications of the tradespeople, WCB coverage and liability insurance. A referral partner should pass the same checks, because the customer will associate them with you.

Two further checks are worth making:

• Prepaid contracting. If the partner takes payment before work is done and signs contracts at customers' homes, Alberta's prepaid contracting rules require a licence with Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction. It's reasonable to ask whether they hold one.
• How they handle the phone. Call them yourself, as a customer would. If you reach voicemail twice, your referred customers will too.

The quarterly review

Every three months, sit down with your partner, by phone if you're in different cities, and go through the log. Twenty minutes is usually enough.

1. Volume. How many referrals went each way?
2. Outcomes. How many became booked jobs? Any patterns in the lost ones?
3. Speed. How quickly did each side acknowledge referrals?
4. Disclosure. Was every customer told? Any gaps?
5. Complaints. Anything raised by a referred customer, and how it was resolved.
6. Changes. Any job types to add or remove, or cities to adjust.

Write a two-line summary of what you agreed and keep it with the log.

When to end a partnership

Most referral relationships don't end with a dispute. They fade. A clear exit protects both sides and the customers caught in between.

Signs it's time to talk, or to end it:

• Referrals go one way for two quarters running with no explanation
• Complaints from referred customers repeat
• Acknowledgements slow down or stop
• The partner changes trade focus, ownership or service area

Your written terms should say how either side can end the arrangement and what happens to customers already referred. When it ends, update your website disclosure and tell your office so nobody keeps sending calls by habit.

Using the log to spot demand

After six months, the log becomes market research. If the same city keeps appearing in the "sent" column, that's demand you're turning away. Run the second-city maths on it: if the jobs would pass the sum, the city may deserve a trial rather than a referral.

Mistakes to avoid

• Logging only what you send. The relationship is two-way; so is the log.
• Skipping the disclosure on busy days. That's exactly when it gets missed and when a misunderstanding starts.
• Swapping website links to boost rankings. Linking to a partner because it helps customers is fine; trading links to influence search results breaks Google's rules.
• Too many partners. One or two vetted firms per city are easier to manage and more trustworthy than a long list.

If you'd like help setting this up, see out-of-area referral relationships. To find out where your out-of-area calls come from, start with tracking by city, and read the second-city maths to decide which calls to keep. We're a marketing service, not a contractor; contact us with questions.