18.2 Creating Referral Campaigns (Defining Payout Rules)

Purpose:

A "Campaign" within the Affiliate Manager defines the specific rules, payout structure, and potentially the tracking links for a particular referral program or initiative. You might create different campaigns for different scenarios:

  • A campaign for past clients referring buyers (e.g., offering a $500 flat fee).
  • A campaign for past clients referring sellers (perhaps a different fee).
  • A campaign for agent-to-agent referrals (e.g., offering a 25% commission split).
  • A campaign specifically for vendor partners.

Accessing:

Go to Affiliate Manager → Campaigns tab.

Creating a New Campaign:

  1. Click + Add or Create Campaign.
  2. Campaign Name: Give the campaign a clear, descriptive internal name that reflects its purpose and payout (e.g., "Past Client Buyer Referral - $500 Flat Fee", "Agent Referral - 25% Commission Split", "Vendor Partner Program - Tier 1").
  3. Select Asset to Promote (Linking - Use Carefully/Optionally for Real Estate):
    • This setting allows you to associate the campaign with a specific Close Master Funnel or Website. If you select one, the system will automatically generate unique tracking links for each affiliate in this campaign, pointing *to that specific funnel/website*.
    • How to Use for Real Estate:
      • Option A (Common - Focus on Manual Attribution): You might link it to your main agency website homepage or a generic "Referral Program Info" page simply to provide affiliates *a link* to share, but understand that cookie tracking alone is often insufficient for attributing commissions paid long after closing. You will primarily rely on manual tracking and crediting (See 18.5).
      • Option B (Specific Landing Page): Create a dedicated landing page/funnel specifically for referrals (e.g., a page with a unique contact form that asks "Who referred you?"). Link the campaign to *this* funnel. Affiliates share their unique link to this page. This provides better online tracking of initial lead source if the referred person uses the link *and* submits the form.
      • Option C (Online Product Sales): If you are selling a specific flat-fee service, course, or product *directly* through a Close Master Funnel's Order Form, link the campaign to *that specific funnel*. In this scenario, commissions *can* potentially be tracked automatically based on successful purchases made through the affiliate's unique link to that sales funnel.
  4. Add Description: Write a clear explanation of this specific campaign's rules, payout terms, and target audience for your affiliates' reference within their portal. (e.g., "Refer a buyer who successfully closes on a property purchase with [Your Agency Name], and you will receive a $500 referral fee after the closing is complete and commission is received by the agency.").
  5. Configure Commission Structure (How Partners Get Paid for this Campaign): This is the core financial rule.
    • Default Commission Section: Define the standard payout for referrals attributed to this campaign.
      • Commission Type: Choose how the payout is calculated:
        • Flat Fee (Most Common for Real Estate Referrals): Pay a fixed dollar amount per successful referral (e.g., $500, $1000). Select Flat Fee and enter the Amount.
        • Percentage (Common for Agent-to-Agent Referrals): Pay a percentage of a base value. Select Percentage and enter the Percentage value (e.g., 25 for 25%). Important: For real estate percentage referrals, the commission is typically calculated based on the Gross Commission Income (GCI) your agency receives for the referred side of the transaction. Since this value isn't known until closing, you will need to manually enter this GCI amount when you credit the sale to the affiliate later (See 18.5) for the system to calculate the correct percentage payout.
      • Amount/Percentage: Enter the corresponding value based on the type selected.
    • Product Specific Commissions: (Generally not applicable for standard real estate referrals paid upon closing). This section allows setting different commission rates if the campaign is linked to a Funnel that sells multiple different Products (defined in Payments > Products) via an Order Form. You would only use this if selling specific online courses or services with varying commission levels *directly* through an affiliate-linked funnel. Ignore this for typical referral fee structures.
    • 2nd Tier Commission (Optional): Enable this only if you want to implement a multi-level referral structure where affiliates earn a smaller commission not just on their direct referrals, but also when someone *they recruited* into the program makes a successful referral. Define the 2nd tier percentage/flat fee if enabled. Keep disabled for standard programs.
  6. Cookie Settings:
    • Cookie Life (Days): Set the duration (e.g., 60, 90) for how long the tracking cookie remains active if an affiliate link is used. Again, less critical for manually attributed closings but good practice to set.
  7. Payout Terms:
    • Define when the commission becomes eligible for payout *after* it has been generated/approved in the system. Common options: Payable Immediately (upon approval), Payable After X Days (e.g., Net 15, Net 30). For real estate, since you typically only generate/approve the commission *after* closing, Payable Immediately (upon approval) might be appropriate, or you might set a short delay based on your internal payment processing schedule.
  8. Assign Affiliates: You can select existing approved affiliates from your list to add them to this specific campaign immediately upon creation. You can always add affiliates to campaigns later as well (See 18.3).
  9. Email Templates: Select specific custom email templates (for Sale Notification, etc.) to be used *only* for affiliates in this campaign, overriding the default templates set in the main Affiliate Manager settings if needed. Usually, default templates are sufficient.
  10. Save Campaign: Click to save the new referral campaign rules. It will now appear in your list of active campaigns.