The Geek Referral Plan

Members of the ISP-Marketing list discuss enlisting the most knowledgable members of the local Internet community into your ISP sales force.

[April 29, 2002]

On the ISP-Marketing list in April, RF queried,

"I've been considering paying commissions to local computer geeks for account referrals: a local computer support person, whose customer base is very big, has expressed interest in doing this. What's a good commission schedule to use in these cases?"

A number of respondents advocated one-time commissions:

[JG suggested] "For commissions, about half of one month's service is a good amount. Any more than that, and you're likely to lose money on the deal."

[RL advised] "Pay a one-time commission of one month's revenue-after the second month."

[MS noted] "We pay $5 per signup."

[BH offered] "We pay $10 for any referral, whether it's a customer, computer store, network consultant, or whatever. We've heard of people paying $1 per month for as long as the customer remains in good standing: I like this approach too. Maybe a combination of an initial $5 plus $1 per month would be best?"

Others discussed the viability of monthly commission deals:

[RK warned] "Never pay a monthly commission: that will come back to haunt you. You'll spend more time running down complaints about commissions, explaining that Jane Doe is no longer a customer, than it's worth. I've found that a one-time referral fee of $20 cash will keep just about anyone happy."

[BL disagreed] "We never get complaints about commissions, because we pay on payments received. We give the referrer a list, so what is there to argue about? We like paying a monthly commission, because the referrer is motivated to see that we keep the account."

[JB observed] "We pay our referral affiliates $25 after 30 days and 50 cents a month for 24 months, as long as the client is subscribed for that long. It's great for affiliate loyalty."

—End