The team here at More Floods, Inc. knows that floods are bound to happen and someone has to be hired to clean up the damage left behind. The goal at More Floods is to equip you as a water damage restoration specialist to get more of those jobs to you. We know that you are offering the very best water restoration services, and that clients who rely on you to repair water damage in their home will be more than satisfied with your work. Unfortunately, being among the best in the business does not always guarantee tons of water damage repair work will be constantly knocking at your door. This is where referrals come in.
Referrals are most often generated from plumbers who have been called by homeowners who have excess water in their home. That plumber then passes on the information of a water restoration specialist and in exchange they receive a fee for that referral.
The Cost of Referral Fees Keep Rising
When we first opened Power Dry, the water damage restoration business was a completely different industry. Insurance deductibles were only $100 and there were no formal referral programs in place. Now, we are amazed by how quickly everything has changed. For many companies, plumber referrals have become the main source of their business and they pay high fees for those referrals. At the low end, there are companies bragging of referrals as low as $300 for a phone call; at the high end water restoration companies are paying over $1500 for a valid lead from a plumber.
The Problem with Rising Referral Fees
Of course, the rising cost of referral fees is a problem because it is more money out of your pocket. But, there is another reason these unreasonably high referral fees create a problem in our industry—plumbers are referring homeowners to water damage restoration companies based on how much they are willing to pay when they should be referring companies based on the quality of their work and the trust they have built over a long relationship. So, what we are seeing frequently in the water damage restoration company is that homeowners can’t necessarily trust their plumbers to refer them to a reputable and trustworthy professional because their plumber is focused on how much money they can make.
At More Floods, We Don’t Believe You Have to Play the Game.
Here’s the good news, at More Floods we don’t believe you have to pay ridiculous referral fees in order to compete in our highly competitive industry. We believe it is more than possible to remain relevant and profitable while generating honest referrals from plumbers you know and trust.
In the end, it comes down to refusing to do business with plumbers who are only handing out referrals to make money. Moving forward, we suggest you focus on building long-term relationships with contractors who are willing to refer you because they trust you and they know you do quality work. We have seen how profitable it is to work with a diverse handful of contractors who want to refer homeowners to the company who is truly the best for the job.