Am I the only one who thinks referral partners always get treated like the backup plan?

Joel Black · 2026-10-03T21:55:03.73639+00:00

I run a small design shop in Portland and we've been doing this referral thing with two other agencies for about 8 months now. Every single time one of them brings us a client, it's because their in-house person quit or they're slammed and it's due yesterday. Meanwhile when we send them work, we're supposed to feel lucky they even answered. Last month we sent them a $14k project and got nothing back, not even a thanks. It feels less like a partnership and more like we're the spare tire they keep in the trunk. Does anyone actually have a referral deal where both sides treat it like a real 50/50, or is this just how it always goes?

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Am I the only one who thinks referral partners always get treated like the backup plan? | Agency Partnerships - Talk Freely