The short answer, explained
A referral is a handoff. Before it, you own the relationship and the introduction. After it, the company owns the sales conversation, the proposal, the contract and the delivery. In a well-run program the person you referred hears from the company quickly, is treated with the care you would expect for someone you know, and is never pressured in a way that reflects badly on you.
Behind the scenes, several things happen at once. The program logs the referral, either from your tracked link or from a referral you submitted. A sales team member reviews it and reaches out. The prospect may book a call, request a quote or buy online. If they become a client, the deal is tied back to your record, and commission is calculated according to the program's terms.
The referral follow up process, stage by stage
Most business referral programs move through the same stages, even if the labels differ.
- Recorded: the referral is attributed to you through your link, code or a submitted referral.
- Contacted: the company reaches out, ideally referencing your introduction so the prospect knows it is expected.
- Discovery: the company learns what the prospect needs and whether the service fits.
- Proposal or quote: the prospect receives pricing and a plan, and may ask questions or negotiate.
- Decision: the prospect buys, pauses or declines. A pause is common in business sales.
- Paid and credited: once the client's payment is collected, commission is credited to your balance.
- Paid out: commission is paid on the program's schedule, often once a minimum balance is reached.
The it-depends factors
How long this takes depends on what you referred. A small purchase made online can move from click to payment in a day. A business service with a proposal, several decision-makers and a procurement step can take weeks or months. Programs also differ on when commission is earned: some credit it on a signed contract, others only when the client's money is collected, and many deduct commission if a sale is refunded.
Visibility varies too. Some programs tell you nothing until a payment line appears. Others show a status for each referral. The best show you activity in near real time, which helps you judge whether a short note from you would help or would be unwelcome. Finally, your own obligations do not end with the handoff. If your profession requires disclosure or records, keep them. Check your profession's rules on referral fees; some professions restrict or prohibit them, and your regulator, firm or attorney is the right source for your situation.
What happens at Random Income after you refer
At Random Income, the handoff is explicit. Strategic Partners are 1099 independent contractors, never employees, and their job ends at the introduction. After you share your link or upload a referral, single or by CSV, Random Income does the rest: discovery, proposal, delivery and support. You never quote a price or chase a signature.
What you can do is watch. Your back office shows every click, form and quote request on your referrals, so you know when someone opened a proposal, came back to pricing or went quiet. When a referral buys, commission is credited. On stack products it is a percentage of retail calculated on redline: 20% when the client buys entirely online untouched and 12% when an in-house Random Income rep works the deal, adjusted pro-rata to redline if we negotiate the price. Business offers pay 50% of what the business pays us, and for those offers the business closes and delivers its own product after the referral, with an email alert on every referral.
Payouts run on the 21st of the month after Random Income is paid, once your balance reaches $500; smaller balances carry forward to the next payout cycle. Before your first payout you upload an ID and a W-9, and you receive a 1099-NEC. Recurring commissions last as long as the client keeps paying, and refunds and chargebacks are deducted. The fuller walk-through is our guide to how referral partner programs work.
Common mistakes partners make after the handoff
The first mistake is going silent with the person you referred. A brief note a few days later, asking whether the conversation was useful, is courteous and often surfaces a question you can route to the company. The opposite mistake is hovering: chasing the prospect on the company's behalf, forwarding pricing or pushing for a decision. That turns you into a salesperson and puts the relationship at risk.
Other mistakes are administrative. Partners forget to complete payout requirements and wonder why money has not arrived. They assume commission is earned on signature when the program pays on collection. They do not keep their own simple log of who they referred and when, which makes any question about attribution harder to settle. A few minutes a week in the back office prevents nearly all of it.
A typical timeline, described in plain terms
Here is how one introduction often unfolds. On the day you refer, your back office shows the click and, if the prospect is ready, a form. Within a short time our team reaches out, references your introduction and books a discovery conversation. Over the following days or weeks, the prospect receives a proposal and may ask questions or request changes; you see the quote request appear. Then comes the decision, which in business sales can be quick or can wait for a budget cycle.
If the client buys, nothing is credited until their payment is collected. After that, commission appears in your balance and is paid on the next scheduled date once you reach the minimum. If the client is on a monthly service, the cycle repeats each month they keep paying. Throughout, your role is the one you started with: the trusted person who made the introduction and checks in when it helps.