The Steps
It's totally free and very simple to post a listing. You set the compensation you're willing to pay for each referral and describe the types of referrals you'd like to receive.
Users can either send referrals to businesses already listed on Refural.com OR they can send referrals to new businesses to invite them to participate. Sending a referral only takes about a minute and there is no sign up necessary.
When a user sends a referral, we pre-screen it to make sure it matches up with the business listing and does not contain incomplete or irrelevant information. Then we notify the business that a user has sent them a referral. They then have the opportunity to accept and pay for the referral. Once they complete payment, we immediately give them the referral's information along with an emailed copy.
Once we receive payment from the business, we hold the funds for the validation period (default is 7 days unless the business chooses a longer period). If at any time during this period the business finds that the referral is not legitimate, we will refund their payment and discard the referral. Once this period expires, we will send the user their hard earned compensation.
Immediately following the validation period, users will receive their compensation. Then the process starts all over again!
Common Questions
What is considered a legitimate referral?
A legitimate referral is a real person that you know is looking for a specific service or business. It also must be relevant to the business you are sending the referral. It is not a random person that you think might need a service. Remember, the business has every right to reject your referral so don't waste their time, our time or your time sending referrals that aren't legitimate.
Why would a business pay for a referral they haven't seen yet?
We Pre-Screen all sent referrals to make sure the information matches up with the business listing. We also validate the email address to make sure it's a real person submitting the referral. Even after a business has paid for the referral, we will refund their payment if they find that the referral isn't legitimate. We've also implemented additional options for businesses who would like to specify a longer validation period and include provision such as 'the referral must become a client or customer'.
What if a business decides that a referral isn't legitimate or meet their provision?
If a business requests a refund, we'll require them to provide details and then we'll evaluate the referral and if need be, contact the actual referral. If we decide that the referral doesn't meet the business's criteria or provision, we'll refund their payment.
When a business pays for a referral, how do I know the payment information is secure?
When a business pays for a referral, their payment information isn't stored, rather it is securely processed by PayPal and then securely deleted. We never see your payment details and neither does anybody else. We take all of the latest precautionary measures to protect your information.
During the validation period, who determines if the referral is legitimate or not?
Both the business and Refural.com determine if a referral is legitimate. If a business feels that the referral they've paid for is not legitimate, they'll contact us and we'll investigate. We won't let users take advantage of businesses and we won't let businesses take advantage of users. Mediator, babysitter -- call us what you will.
How do users get paid?
After the validation period is over, we automatically send the user their compensation by email. They may receive this compensation by accepting the paypal payment. If they don't have a paypal account, they can quickly create a free account. It's the fastest and most secure way to get the money into the hands of the users.
So where in this process does Refural make money?
The simple answer is we don't really make much money. Before we send the user their compensation, we take 15% to help cover processing fees. So in the end, we make a few nickels and dimes.