Closed-loop referral playbook
Stop losing people after referrals by making every handoff visible, time-bound, and outcome-tracked, so your team can act fast and report with confidence.
What is it?
A practical system for turning “we sent it” into “we know what happened.” It gives you a shared definition of “handoff complete,” a standard referral packet, a follow-up cadence, and a simple tracking sheet that becomes your single source of truth.
Who is it for?
It’s for justice support and other high-trust service teams that refer people to partners and then lose visibility, leading to rework, client frustration, and weak outcomes reporting. It’s especially useful when referrals happen across email, forms, spreadsheets, and side channels.
A clear “handoff complete” standard with time targets and simple disposition codes, so silence stops being the default outcome.
A one-page referral packet structure that reduces back-and-forth and protects privacy through consent and safe-contact rules.
A repeatable operating rhythm: 7-day follow-up cadence, calm escalation path, and a shared tracking sheet with a weekly review that keeps loops from reopening.
What you will walk away with
FAQs
What does “closed-loop” actually mean?
A referral is only closed when the partner confirms what happened and you record the outcome. “Sent” is activity, not success.
How do we handle privacy and safety in referrals?
Confirm consent, share the minimum necessary, document safe contact rules, limit internal access, and use approved transfer methods. Stop improvising through personal inboxes.
Do we need new software to do this?
No. Start with the definition, packet, cadence, and one shared sheet. Tools come later when volume and reporting needs justify them.
Who owns closing the loop?
Name a single owner for follow-up and tracking (even if it rotates). The sender submits and logs the referral, the program lead handles partner relationship repair and escalations.
What if partners do great work but never send outcomes back?
Make it easy. Use a tiny set of disposition codes and a one-question status reply tied to a tracking ID. Escalate calmly when silence becomes a pattern.
What should we measure first to prove it’s working?
Keep it small and defensible: receipt confirmed rate, known outcome rate, median days to first contact attempt, median days to outcome, bounce-back rate, and top reasons for “not accepted.”
Get the closed-loop referral playbook
We will email you the Closed-Loop Referral Playbook and useful follow-up resources. Unsubscribe anytime.
Turn your playbook output into clear next steps
In 30 minutes, we will review your top 3 bottlenecks and top 3 trust risks. You will leave with a prioritized next step that fits your mission and capacity.
30 minutes. Clear priorities and a next step you can act on.