President's Message

The Annex Referral Program

Did you know:

• The Annex Alliance was created in 1997 with ten people and has grown primarily by referrals to nearly 5,000 IT professionals in BC?
• 95% of Annex projects result from referrals or repeat client business from an original referral?
• By referring consultants and projects to Annex, you can earn a supplementary (and potentially substantial) income stream?
• The #1 beneficiary of the Annex Referral Program has earned over $125,000 in lifetime referral fees?

What is the Annex Referral Program?

In the last six months, the Annex Referral Program has received a lot of attention.  It has been featured in

• BC Business magazine
• PROFIT magazine
• Dynamic Entrepreneurs of the 21st Century, a book by Canadian best-selling author, Michael Caldwel

Simply put, the Annex Referral Program allows anyone to earn a passive income by referring people and projects to Annex.

How Does the Annex Referral Program Work?

If you refer a new consultant, you will earn $1/hour for every hour that person bills through Annex.  Not just the first project—EVERY project.

If you refer a project that Annex wins, you will earn $2/hour for every hour Annex bills on that project.  Not just from one person on the project—from EVERY person on the project.

Referrals are processed and paid out monthly by Annex.  You receive a detailed audit statement showing how you earned your referrals this month plus the good part – a cheque!  For ongoing referrals, we will even set you up on EFT so the money is deposited directly into your bank account.

Remember—$1 for people, $2 for projects.

Who is Eligible?

Anybody!

No, really.  Consultants and clients.  IT industry professionals.  People not in IT.  You, your Mom, your sister, your friends.

Benefits of the Annex Referral Program

There are many:

• Earn a passive income
• Support members of the IT community
• Supplement your IT budget
• Help your community through charitable donations

Let’s look at each benefit.

Earn a Passive Income

Do the math!

The average Annex project in 2009 was 15.5 months in duration, or 2500 billable hours.

If you refer a consultant Annex uses on a project, then on average you will earn $2,500.

If you refer a 1-person project that Annex wins, then on average you will earn $5,000.

Now imagine that the consultant you referred works on several projects with Annex.  Or better yet, imagine that you refer multiple people to Annex who work on multiple projects.  I encourage you to do the math.

Now imagine that you refer several projects per year.  Or better yet, a 4-person team project!  Yup, that math is even better (and you thought you hated math in school).

Support Members of the IT Community

By referring people and projects, you help IT professionals in our community make a living and feed their families.  Some people refer work to Annex for this reason alone, especially IT veterans interested in giving back to the industry that has been good to them throughout their careers.

Supplement Your IT Budget

Annex receives numerous client to client referrals.  In one case, a senior manager referred a project to Annex within his sister’s organization.  As per the Annex Referral Program, the manager was entitled to $2/hour for the project referral.

But the manager could not accept referral fees personally due to company policy.  It was suggested that the referral fees get applied as credits on Annex invoices for work in progress at the organization.  This approach was openly discussed and approved by the company’s executive management team.

This particular IT department benefitted from a reduction in services costs.  The savings were achieved because a manager made a connection.  Annex took care of the rest, including all the administration related to the invoice credits.

Warning: This out-of-the-box thinking could actually stretch your IT budget dollars!

Help Your Community Through Charitable Donations

Coming soon: the Annex Corporate Social Responsibility Referral Program, allowing you to donate referral fees to the charity of your choice.  Help us donate tens of thousands of dollars to worthwhile causes in our community.

How to Earn Referral Fees—Just Ask These Questions

Earning a passive income from referral fees is as simple as asking the right people the right questions.

Question 1: “Are you an IT consultant or thinking of becoming one?”

If the answer you hear is “yes”, then contact Annex or have that person contact Annex.  If we don’t already know them, we will track you as the referrer and you will earn referrals every time we work with that person on all future projects – forever!

Question 2: “Do you need any IT help?”**

If the answer you receive is “yes”, then contact Annex or have that person contact Annex.  If we are not aware of the project and Annex wins the work, you earn referrals from every consultant on that assignment.

** I know, I know, this is a vague question.  For the curious among you, here is the type of work we do in the IT industry.  Don’t worry, you don’t need to understand it to refer it: software development, network infrastructure, business analysis, project management and management consulting.  We do it all in IT.

Simply refer a person or project to Annex and then walk away.  No other work required!

Conclusion

Referrals may not fund your retirement dreams, but they might pay for your next summer vacation or help you achieve your charitable donation goals.  Annex pays more than $100,000 per year in referrals.  You can earn your share and help the community just by asking simple questions.