Referrals

At a glance

Rules in force from Oct 5, 2026 1 lead waiting 1 referral question open Partner-visible

Who does what once a RelayWorks partner meets a company that could use RelayWorks: when to refer, what a referral needs, who holds the customer relationship, how leads are answered, and what a partner never promises. Agreed between Devon Acheampong, RelayWorks partner manager, and Lena Marsh, managing partner at Northgate Operations Advisory, for every Northgate consultant who refers. Mei Tanaka, RelayWorks partner operations lead, reviews referrals within one business day.

Five rules that settle most questions

1. Refer as soon as you have a real conversation with the company, not when it is ready to buy.
2. One partner holds a company at a time; the first accepted referral holds it.
3. Companies in RelayWorks' own sales pipeline are not open for referral.
4. RelayWorks sets the price; a partner never quotes, discounts or promises a price.
5. Answer every offered lead inside its three-day window, yes or no.

What a referral needs

A referral RelayWorks can act on names the company, a contact with authority over the service team, the product that fits, the team size and the handoff problem in the customer's own words. Two Northgate referrals arrived without the team size and waited until Mei asked. Mei decided a referral needs the team size and the problem in the customer's words before review starts, and Lena added both to Northgate's referral checklist.

The best fit is a service team of 15 or more people that hands work between shifts or sites every day. A team of three working from one inbox is usually not a fit yet. Refer it later, when the handoffs start.

After you refer

Each state has one owner. Read the bars as the referrals Northgate has open or closed this year; the Fenwick Distribution lead is not counted until Northgate answers it.

Under review

RelayWorks partner operations decides within one business day

Question

The partner answers; the referral waits and the day restarts from the answer

Accepted

Credited to the partner for 90 days; RelayWorks sales leads the sales cycle

Won

Commission line created at 15 percent of the signed first-year value

Lost or not accepted

The reason is shown; it never names another partner

Who holds the customer

The partner

Keeps the advisory relationship it already has. Joins the first call and the pilot review when the customer agrees. Joint calls need a certified consultant: Owen once referred a company whose team was too small to use RelayWorks, which the referral course explains, so Mei decided referral reps complete the certification before joint calls.

RelayWorks

Runs the sales cycle, sets the price and the contract, and runs the rollout steps: discovery, data preparation, configuration review, scenario testing and the handoff to the customer's team. Tells the partner each week where the referral stands.

Never

A partner never quotes a price, offers a discount, promises a feature or a date, or signs anything on behalf of RelayWorks. A partner never shares one client's information with another, and RelayWorks never tells a partner which other partner holds a company.

Credit window

An accepted referral is credited to the partner for 90 days. Ask once for 30 more days before the end date, when the customer confirms a new decision date. If the company signs inside the window, the commission is the partner's. If the window ends without a signed order, the company is open to refer again.

Leads from RelayWorks

Silver and Gold partners receive inbound requests from companies in their region. Accept or decline within three days. Accepting credits the lead to the partner from that day; declining with a reason lets RelayWorks offer it again while the company still wants an answer.

The Fenwick Distribution notice first went to a consultant who was on leave, which cost Northgate a day of its window. Devon decided leads go to the partner admin and the named referral contact, and Lena named herself and Owen as Northgate's contacts.

Referrals by month show the rhythm the rules aim for: steady referrals from real conversations rather than a rush before a quarter ends.

Owners and dates

Who agreed these rules

• DA
  Devon AcheampongPartner manager, RelayWorks, passes leads and hears disagreements

• MT
  Mei TanakaPartner operations lead, RelayWorks, reviews referrals

• LM
  Lena MarshManaging partner, Northgate Operations Advisory, partner admin and lead contact

• OP
  Owen PryceSenior consultant, Northgate Operations Advisory, refers and is the second lead contact