Field Manual for Authority Brands
Your guide to coaching franchise owners on TradeEngage: the referral community that turns every job, every customer, and every partner into the next lead.
Last Updated 7/14/26
The ROI Opportunity: Why Referrals Matter
Referrals are the highest-ROI channel in home services — most owners agree, but very few have a system.
Median CAC
vs. 15–20% on Angi, Google Ads, or LSA
(Roughly a 10x cost advantage!)
Cost Per Lead
vs. $150–200 on Angi and $100–300 on Google Ads
More Referrals
when service professionals are paid instantly (Gamified and puts money back in the ecosystem!)
Revenue in 30 Days
generated for a restoration company from customer & business referrals
TradeEngage Platform
TradeEngage is a referral community with an AI-powered workflow and payments platform — not a lead marketplace. Four channels, managed in one place with automated instant payments, AI-powered referral submission, and direct CRM integration.
Customer-to-Customer Referrals & Influencer Marketing
Every happy customer becomes an influencer who refers friends and family.
Local Business Referrals
Peer-to-peer partnerships within your family of brands and other home service companies.
Co-Branding & Marketing
Franchisees advertise with each other through flyers, co-branded emails, and shared customer bases.
National Partnerships (forthcoming)
National call centers routing local jobs down to franchisees by territory.
Customer-to-Customer Referrals
Every happy customer is a marketing channel. Word of mouth is already happening — this puts a system around it.
Automated Campaigns
Email and SMS campaigns ask every customer for a referral after a completed service, with monthly nudges.
Instant Affiliate Links
Customers post on social media instantly — influencer marketing built for local home services.
Performance Rewards
Instant payouts or gift cards — framed as a gift to the friend, not just a payout to the referrer.
"Gift giving becomes the symbol of the value placed on a relationship." — John Ruhlin, Giftology
Local Business Referrals
Build peer-to-peer referral partnerships within your affiliate partners and other home service companies in your market.
Be the One-Stop Shop
When a customer calls with a problem you don't service, you always have a trusted partner to send them to.
Extend Beyond the Owner
Techs, CSRs, and sales reps refer directly from the mobile app or Chrome extension.
Instant Payouts
Every referrer earns with instant payouts to a virtual wallet — incentive arrives the moment the referral is made.
AI-Powered Submission
A quick video or note from the job site becomes a structured, routable lead.
At the end of every call, just ask: "Is there anything else we can help with?"
National Partnerships
TradeEngage integrates into the call centers of national companies — bringing national-scale volume to local teams.
National Capture
National brands and large retail locations route service requests their own teams can't fulfill.
Auto-Routing
Jobs route automatically to local franchisees by service territory and trade — no prospecting required.
AI Follow-Up
AI voice agents follow up with leads and refer out jobs that can't be serviced by the receiving location.
Pre-Qualified Leads
High-intent leads from brands customers already trust — volume an individual owner could never access alone.
Co-Branding & Marketing
Franchisees advertise with each other and leverage each other's customer bases. Every job is a marketing impression.
Co-Branded Flyers
Unique QR codes on door hangers, invoices, and email signatures — customers scan to book with you or your partner.
Co-Branded Email Campaigns
Trusted partners feature each other in post-service customer communications — warm introductions at scale.
Partner Logos on Referral Links
Your brand appears in front of your partners' customers after every one of their jobs — and theirs on yours.
Preferred Package for Authority Brands Customers
Your owners get preferred pricing secured by Authority Brands — a $5,000 annual value for customer and B2B referrals.
$1,200/year
Join Today. The remainder covered by Authority Brands. Plus earn a 10% royalty rebate on every cross-brand referral.
Submit and receive 5-10 referrals and a franchisee is "in the money" through royalty credit and lower CPA on TradeEngage.
< 10
Referrals submitted
< 10
Referrals received
Royalty Program Key Rules
Authority Brands Referrals Only
The rebate only applies to referrals made to other Authority Brands franchisees, not outside the network.
Must Use TradeEngage Platform
Referrals must be submitted through TradeEngage to qualify for the rebate.
No Same-Owner Referrals
Referrals between a single franchise owner's multiple locations do not count for the royalty credit.
5-Location Cap Per Franchisee
For franchisees with multiple locations, only up to 5 locations per franchisee may be enrolled in this promotion.
Applied January 2027
Royalty rebates will be credited in January 2027 based on referred revenue through December 31, 2026.
Next Steps for Ops and Marketing Teams
Questions?
Reach out to us any time. Materials and information will continue to be provided.
Progress Reports
Every week all FBCs will receive a progress update. Every 2-3 weeks we'll schedule a standing accountability call.
Reward for Top Performers
We'll sponsor a trip to Miami for top performers. Details coming soon!
Next Steps for Franchise Owners
Join Today
Book Demo
Ideal Referrals Across Every Brand (1/3)
CSRs and Field Teams come across referral opportunities at every call and every job, whether it's work that's blocking you or a customer asking about another service. Refer any type of job but your affiliate network provides these services.
Ideal Referrals Across Every Brand (2/3)
Ideal Referrals Across Every Brand (3/3)
Key Talking Points to Franchisees (1/2)
It's More Than Business Referrals
This is also influencer marketing — enabling customers to refer other customers with affiliate links, automated campaigns, and instant rewards.
Most Markets Aren't Onboarded Yet
Only Atlanta is live. Owners who join now set their fees, claim their partners, and bank royalty rebates.
You're Leaving Revenue on the Table
Large retail locations and franchisees will send cross-promotion links after every job — be in position to receive them.
20 mins to Launch Customer Referrals
You can start turning your customer. Franchisees can start turning their customers into a marketing channel right away. It only takes 20 minutes to onboard.
Key Talking Points to Franchisees (2/2)
"I already belong to BNI."
BNI works — for the owner, one hour a week. TradeEngage extends those same relationships to every tech and CSR, every day, with no standing meetings — and leads are hot because your partner is standing in the customer's home.
"I don't have any Authority Brands companies nearby and this is just an AB initiative. This is not a good market"
You can invite real estate agents and companies outside TradeEngage. The platform is open to your whole local network, plus 1M home service companies and customer campaigns that work anywhere.
"I've got too much going on and it takes too long to onboard."
Single locations onboard in about 15 minutes, self-guided. The TradeEngage customer success team handles campaign setup, integrations, and training.
"I don't come across referrals."
10–25%+ of inbound calls are disqualified — out of territory or outside your services. Those are leads you already paid for. Referring them out recoups that marketing cost instead of writing it off.
Deployment Strategy
Customer Referrals: Companies in All Markets Should Onboard Now
All companies can onboard onto the customer referral solution at any time. No market activation required — generates inbound leads from day one.
Business Referrals: Key Markets First, Prioritized by Demand/Backlog
Future near-term markets include Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Denver, Phoenix - more updates soon. Owners see active partners and real referral volume instantly.
Onboarding:
Fast & Supported
Single locations onboard in 20 minutes self-guided. Multi-location operations get a sequenced rollout with 1:1 marketing and call center consulting.