TradeEngage connects franchise owners to 1M+ home service companies—not just your family of brands. Our database includes independent companies and other franchises, plus members of local BNI chapters, chambers of commerce or other local referral groups. It also includes business owner or general manager contact information including names, email addresses and mobile phones, making it easy for you to connect with any local partner.
Plus, business owners, account administrators and business development teams can invite their existing partners to join. When companies migrate their existing referral partnerships to TradeEngage, they typically see a 60% uplift in referrals. Additionally, any local referral partner you invite gets free access to TradeEngage. They can refer and receive jobs to and from your company, while accessing a limited version of the platform.
TradeEngage is the perfect way to take your referral network to the next level!
- Migrate your existing partnerships onto the platform – Your referral partners already trust each other, so you'll hit the ground running. Each referral partner member can sign up and immediately connect with each other.
- Streamline referrals – Instead of tracking referrals manually or through emails and texts, your CSRs and technicians can submit referrals in just 2-3 clicks using the TradeEngage Chrome extension or mobile app.
- Automate payments – No more chasing down referral fees. TradeEngage handles all payments automatically, so your partners get paid when jobs close. If you didn't pay referral fees previously, they are the answer to getting more CSRs and technicians involved!
- Track everything – Get real-time visibility into referral volume, conversion rates, and revenue generated across your group.
- Contact TradeEngage about coordinating a referral challenge exclusively for your group. Wouldn't your CSR or technician want to win extra cash or a trip to Miami…?!
Business Owners and account Administrators maintain complete control over referral partners. Techs and CSRs do not have the option to select a referral partner at any time.
TradeEngage also includes an Open Network feature that intelligently addresses situations where you don't have an established partner for a specific service. When a tech or CSR refers a service where no approved partner exists, TradeEngage uses AI to route the referral to the top-rated partner in the area based on Google Reviews, peer ratings (coming soon), and their propensity to refer jobs back to you. This serves two purposes: it ensures your customer gets the service they need, and it kickstarts a potential new referral partnership that can become a valuable referral source for your company.
The Open Network helps you expand your referral ecosystem organically while maintaining quality standards through data-driven partner selection. If you prefer to work exclusively with pre-approved partners, you can disable the Open Network from Settings and maintain a closed network.
TradeEngage automatically handles multi-territory routing based on the homeowner's address. When a user refers a job, they enter the homeowner's address or zip code. The platform routes the referral based on two factors: the homeowner's location and your ranking of referral partners.
The referral goes to the first-ranked partner that services that specific zip code according to their service territory. If your company is connected to two franchise owners with the same brand, the referral automatically goes to whichever owner has territorial rights for that homeowner's address.
This eliminates the confusion and awkward conversations that happen with traditional referrals when multiple owners share a brand in the same region. The system ensures each lead goes to the correct franchise owner based on contractual territories, not guesswork.
TradeEngage is built on trust, and the platform economics naturally discourage junk leads. Referral partners—both owners and techs—value their reputation, response time, and quality of service over quick referral fees. If a tech refers a misclassified job or service the homeowner didn't want, it reflects poorly on them and damages their credibility with partners.
Misuse of TradeEngage is extremely rare—it's happened only once. The platform has built-in safeguards to prevent abuse: alerts flag multiple jobs at the same homeowner address, referrals with limited detail, or unusually high volumes during a short timeframe.
TradeEngage also works with owners and account administrators to monitor referral quality with integrations. Partners who consistently send low-quality leads or fail to reciprocate can be deprioritized or removed from your network. The system rewards good actors and naturally filters out bad ones—making quality control far easier than with traditional lead sources like Google LSAs.
TradeEngage handles all tax forms automatically through our secure third-party payments partner, Stripe. If a user meets the IRS reporting threshold—currently $600 in gross payments for the year—Stripe will generate and provide Form 1099-K on their behalf and send it by email at year-end. There's no additional administrative burden on the owner or their accounting team.
The annual commitment ensures marketplace stability and consistent service quality for everyone on the platform. It prevents fluctuations in participation due to seasonality or capacity shifts, which helps maintain reliable coverage, faster response times, and a trusted network.