18.1 Referral Program Overview & Initial Setup

Purpose:

To establish a structured system for rewarding individuals or businesses ("Referral Partners" or technically "Affiliates" in the system) who successfully refer new clients (buyers or sellers) that result in a closed transaction handled by your agency. Payouts are typically made *after* the referred deal closes and your agency receives its commission.

Accessing:

Navigate to Marketing (left menu) → Affiliate Manager. The main dashboard provides a high-level summary of program activity, potentially showing clicks on affiliate links (if used), leads attributed via tracking, customers closed (based on tracking or manual credits), and generated commissions awaiting payout.

Initial Setup (Admin Task - Settings Tab):

Before adding partners or creating specific programs, configure the core settings for your referral system. Navigate to the Settings tab within the Affiliate Manager.

• General Settings:
  • Payout Frequency: Select how often you typically plan to review and process referral fee payouts internally (e.g., Monthly, Quarterly, Upon Closing of Referred Deal). This setting is mainly for your internal reference and potentially displayed to affiliates.
  • Minimum Payout Amount: Set a threshold (e.g., $100) that a partner's earned and approved commissions must reach before you process a payout to them. Commissions below this amount will typically accumulate until the threshold is met.
  • Default Cookie Life (Days): (Less critical for typical RE referrals, more for online sales). If partners share tracking links to your website/funnels, this setting determines how long the system will associate a visitor with that affiliate's link for potential automatic lead/sale attribution (e.g., 30, 60, or 90 days). Important: For standard real estate referrals paid on closing, attribution is often confirmed manually rather than solely relying on cookie tracking.
  • Enable Affiliate Signup:
    • Toggle ON if you want to allow external partners (like vendors or other agents not already in your system) to apply to join your referral program via a public online form. If enabled, customize the Signup Form fields they need to fill out and, crucially, provide clear Terms & Conditions they must agree to (consult legal counsel for appropriate terms). Copy the Affiliate Signup Link generated to share on your website or directly with potential partners.
    • Toggle OFF if you prefer to add all referral partners manually yourself (e.g., only inviting specific past clients or known referring agents).
• Payout Settings:
  • Payout Methods Description: Clearly specify how your agency typically pays out earned referral fees (e.g., "Referral fees are paid via brokerage check mailed monthly.", "Payments processed via Direct Deposit/ACH upon closing.", "PayPal transfer available upon request."). This information helps manage partner expectations and is often displayed in their portal.
  • PayPal Payouts Integration (Optional/Advanced): If your agency wishes to automate the *sending* of payouts using PayPal's Mass Payment system, you can connect your PayPal Business account here. This requires obtaining API credentials from your PayPal Developer account and involves technical setup. For most real estate agencies, manual payout processing (writing checks, initiating ACH/Zelle transfers outside of Close Master) is standard. You would then simply mark the commissions as Paid within the Affiliate Manager afterward for tracking purposes (see 18.4).
• Affiliate Portal Settings:
  • Branding: Customize the appearance of the dedicated portal where your approved referral partners log in to view their stats and links. Upload your Agency Logo and set your Brand Colors.
• Email Templates: Customize the automated emails sent to your referral partners from the system:
  • Affiliate Welcome Email: Sent when a partner is added or approved. Should include login instructions and potentially a link to program terms or their portal.
  • Affiliate Lead Notification: Sent when a lead is attributed to them (typically via link tracking).
  • Affiliate Sale Notification: Sent when a commission is generated for them (either automatically tracked or manually credited).
  • Affiliate Payout Notification: Sent when you mark their commission as paid in the system.
• Save All Settings: Ensure you save your configurations after setting up these initial parameters.