Would you rather have 100% of nothing… or 50% of something good? I hope you said, 50% of something good. If that is the case, then you just might be sitting on a ton of new business.
I had a colleague who had a wonderful assistant. He offered you 30% of the compensation he received on any new business she referred. She promptly referred an uncle of hers, and the business ended up producing over $15,000 in commissions and fees. Was the advisor happy? Nope, he stiffed the assistant and only gave her $1,000. He told her that he did all the work and was taking all the responsibility for the client, so he, in good conscience, couldn’t give her the $5,000 (30% of the $15,000) he owed her.
Well, I knew this woman and knew she was a fantastic assistant, so want to guess what I did? I poached her away from the colleague. Now, fortunately, she had known me for some time and knew that I was honest and a straight shooter. So, when I offered her… not 30% of any business she referred, but 50%… she trusted that I would not welch on the promise as the advisor she just left did.
Results? Over the next year, she referred me three new clients. The gross profit from those 3 clients was $62,000. I HAPPILY paid her $31,000 and pocketed the other $31,000. She continued to refer people to me under the same arrangement over the next two years before she retired.
Have you made this offer to your staff? If you haven’t, you are missing the boat. If costs you nothing… it is pre-sold because your staff member has talked you up… and it makes your staff that much more loyal to you.