Effective Date: 1/1/2025
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to outline the guidelines and procedures to prevent the poaching of customers within Baton’s network. This policy ensures fairness among partners and protects the integrity of referrals.
Policy Statement
Baton is committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful environment among our network of partners. As part of this commitment, we have established a "Pledge to Protect" agreement to ensure that partners can refer their current customers without the risk of poaching by other companies.
Pledge to Protect Agreement
To the best of our ability, we will train our sales representatives and technicians to respect existing relationships between customers and their referring companies. Partners can feel confident referring their current customers to others within the network for additional services.
You can read more about this here: Our “Pledge to Protect” Policy Explained
Qualifications to Determine Poaching
A violation occurs if a company engages in unsolicited efforts to convert a referred customer. Poaching is determined based on:
Direct Poaching: A company’s representative actively encourages a referred customer to switch providers.
Customer Complaints: Customers or referring companies report that an existing relationship was not respected and the customer switched providers due to unsolicited outreach.
Violation Reports: Reports from network partners confirming that a company poached a referred customer, leading to the customer switching services.
Preferred Resolution: Returning the Customer
While penalties exist for violations, our ideal resolution is for the offending partner to return the poached customer to the original referring company whenever possible. This reinforces trust within the network and maintains fair business practices among partners.
Examples of Poaching vs. Non-Poaching
Example of Poaching (Violation)
A customer calls in requesting a one-time service for carpenter ants. The referred company reviews the one-time service options but then actively pitches a bundled service plan to encourage the customer to switch providers.
Example of Non-Poaching (Acceptable Practice)
A customer calls in seeking carpenter ant services. The referred company reviews one-time treatment options. The customer then asks if they offer bundling if they were to switch providers. The company responds to the customer’s inquiry but does not proactively try to upsell them into switching services.
Penalties for Poaching
First Violation (Customer Not Taken)
No financial penalty.
The company will receive a formal outreach and a review of poaching policies, including the Pledge to Protect agreement.
First Violation (Customer Taken)
If a customer switches to the poaching company, a $1,000 penalty will be applied to compensate the referring company.
Preferred Resolution: The poaching company is strongly encouraged to return the customer to the original referring partner. Doing so prevents the penalty and helps maintain a positive standing with Baton and its network of partners.
Second Violation (Customer Taken or Not Taken)
A $1,000 penalty will still apply if a customer switches to the poaching company.
The partner will no longer receive current customer referrals on their account.
Opt-Out Option
Companies that do not wish to adhere to this policy and its penalties can choose to stop accepting existing-customer referrals going forward. This must be communicated in writing to Baton.
Reporting and Resolution
Incident Reporting: Any suspected poaching should be reported to Baton LLC's compliance team via Tiffany Smith at tiffany@batonleads.com.
Investigation: Baton will conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether poaching has occurred.
Resolution: If poaching is confirmed, the violating and affected companies will be notified, and penalties or corrective actions will be applied.
Review and Training
Annual Policy Review: All partners must review this policy and the "Pledge to Protect" agreement annually.
Training Sessions: Baton will provide training sessions to ensure that sales representatives and technicians understand and comply with this policy.
Contact Information
For any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact Tiffany Smith at tiffany@batonleads.com.