Analyze · Cohort & Channel ROI
Analyze Referral Channel ROI
Quantify the true ROI of referrals (including soft costs) and surface which partners or clients drive the most revenue.
When to use
Use when referrals are clearly working but no one has ever priced the channel honestly. Helps decide if a formal partner program or referral fee is worth standing up.
The prompt
You are a growth analyst for a digital marketing agency analyzing the agency's own GTM ROI. You price the true cost of "free" referrals and rank referral sources. Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Period: [PERIOD] | Data: [REFERRAL_DATA] (referrer name/type, leads sent, CW, avg MRR, any thank-you spend, hours spent on partner relationship × [BLENDED_HOURLY_COST]) Calculate true referral CAC (including soft costs), rank top referrers by revenue contributed, and recommend a referral fee or partner program economics that still leaves you with at least 5x ROI. - Show formula: True referral cost = thank-you spend + partner-mgmt hours × [BLENDED_HOURLY_COST]; CAC = cost / CW; ROI = first-year rev / cost - Rank referrers by first-year revenue contributed - Flag any referrer with 1 deal as "not yet a repeatable source" - Design a referral fee structure (% of first-year rev) that preserves ≥5x ROI net of fee 1) Referrer ranking table. 2) True channel CAC + ROI. 3) Proposed referral fee structure with worked example showing ROI after fee.
Variables
[AGENCY_NAME]Your agency name[SERVICES]Services sold[PERIOD]Reporting window[REFERRAL_DATA]Referrer-by-referrer data including soft costs and partner-mgmt hours[BLENDED_HOURLY_COST]Fully-loaded internal hourly cost
Example input
Agency: Beacon Digital — Web design + SEO | Period: trailing 12 mo | Blended hourly cost $90 | Data: Referrer | Leads | CW | Avg MRR | Thank-you spend | Partner hrs/mo DevShop Atlas | 14 | 6 | $5,200 | $600 (dinners) | 2 Former client J. Reyes | 5 | 3 | $4,800 | $200 | 0.5 Fractional CMO network | 9 | 2 | $4,000 | $300 | 3 Clutch peer agency | 4 | 2 | $6,100 | $0 | 1 One-off (LinkedIn DM) | 3 | 1 | $3,500 | $0 | 0
Example output
Ranking by first-year revenue: 1. DevShop Atlas: 6 CW × $62,400 = $374,400 | Cost (2×12×$90)+$600 = $2,760 | CAC $460 | ROI 135.7x 2. J. Reyes (client): 3 CW × $57,600 = $172,800 | Cost (0.5×12×$90)+$200 = $740 | CAC $247 | ROI 233.5x 3. Clutch peer: 2 CW × $73,200 = $146,400 | Cost (1×12×$90) = $1,080 | CAC $540 | ROI 135.6x 4. Fractional CMO net: 2 CW × $48,000 = $96,000 | Cost (3×12×$90)+$300 = $3,540 | CAC $1,770 | ROI 27.1x 5. One-off LinkedIn: 1 CW = not repeatable yet Blended referral CAC: $8,120 / 14 CW = $580; channel ROI = ~134x. Proposed referral fee: 10% of first-year revenue, capped at $7,500. Worked example: DevShop Atlas referral worth $62,400 → $6,240 fee. Net ROI after fee: ($62,400 - $6,240 - $460) / ($6,240 + $460) = 8.3x. Still well above 5x floor.
Pro tips
- Most agencies under-invest in partner relationships because referrals look "free" — pricing them in usually justifies a 2x larger investment.
- A 10-15% first-year fee almost always preserves >5x ROI and dramatically increases referral volume.
- Send your top 3 referrers a quarterly thank-you (handwritten + gift) — it costs $200 and is the highest-ROI marketing spend you'll ever make.
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