Overview
When you refer a customer through Baton, you’re not just sending them away — you’re making sure they get connected to a trusted resource that can actually help them. This article explains exactly how we connect referred consumers to the right provider, and how your preferences guide every step of that process.
🧩 How Referrals Are Matched
Once you send us a referral — whether by phone, text, CRM, or the Baton platform — our system immediately looks for the best possible fit in our network.
Matching Criteria
We match referrals based on:
Service Type: The exact service the customer needs (e.g., termites, raccoon removal, attic cleanup).
ZIP Code: Only companies whose active Service Areas include the customer’s ZIP are eligible.
Availability: Baton checks whether the company is actively accepting referrals at that moment.
Priority in Queue: Determined by bid amount, number of referrals given, and quality feedback from past customers.
The Pledge to Protect: For current-customer referrals, only companies that have agreed to respect existing relationships are eligible.
💎 If No Premium Partner Is Available
Our mission is to help every customer who reaches us — even if there’s no active Baton partner for their exact service and location. In those cases, we:
Look to your preferences first: If you’ve told us there’s a specific company you always want us to send to, we’ll route the call there if possible.
Use trusted fallback options when no premium partner is available: If we can’t match a referred customer to a vetted, paying Baton partner for their specific need or area, we’ll still make sure they get help. Depending on the situation, this could mean:
Connecting them to a Marketing Partner — an external, vetted network of providers that can still monetize the lead (though often at a lower payout).
Referring them to a Basic Partner — a highly rated local company that offers the needed service, even if they aren’t in our paid network (no payout, but keeps the customer happy).
Directing them to a Government Organization — such as local animal control for nuisance wildlife, the Department of Fish & Wildlife for protected species, or other agencies for regulated issues.
Sharing an Industry Association resource — like a trade association’s member directory or hotline, often helpful for niche services or in areas with thin coverage.
Providing Other Resources — vetted organizations, websites, or articles for cases where neither operators nor government can help (e.g., sanitation or health-related issues like “scabies” calls in pest control).
🎛️ How Your Preferences Shape Referrals
Your referral instructions are built into our system so we can:
Avoid unwanted connections: We’ll never refer a customer to a company you’ve marked as “Never Refer To,” and we won’t send you leads from a source you’ve chosen to avoid.
Always honor your “priority partners”: If you’ve flagged certain companies as “Always Refer To” when available, we’ll route matching customers there first.
Maintain trusted relationships: We protect you from receiving referrals from companies you don’t want to work with, and protect your customers by enforcing the Pledge to Protect.
💳 How You Get Paid
Whatever the receiving company pays for your referral, Baton splits the fee 50/50 with you.
Credits are automatically applied to your Baton account.
Example: If the receiving company bids $60 for a termite job, your company gets $30 in credit.
Payouts (if not all applied to inbound referrals) are issued monthly via check or ACH (through Melio).
Need Help?
If a referral you submitted wasn’t credited or matched properly, contact the Baton Support Team or email client.success@batonleads.com. We’re happy to look into it.