There are numerous avenues where genuine income can be made by an individual as long as the person can be a connector or facilitator to a service provider and their clientele.
Individuals engaging in these practices have been able to make huge from bridging the gap between buyers and sellers or service provider and their clientele especially when they are higher net-worth persons.
In a society like ours, there are a lot of opportunities in various business and service sectors that a contractor/facilitator can leverage. They identify the needs of both parties (Sellers/buyers or service providers and clients), while they make use of their networks to bridge the gap, and service-related activities are carried out to the satisfaction of both parties.
Speaking with the CEO, Temabid Logistics Ltd, Mr. Dare Adeyemi, asserted that, this type of contractor/ facilitator work has been going on for a long time where a person makes money from connecting businesses, buyers, and sellers service with their clientele, by acting as a middle man or facilitator to make the deal sail through.
“In some capacity, I have done that in the real estate sector, there abounds so many people who are into this form of business, as they are well remunerated either through referral or commission-based model,” he averred.
According to him, “you can earn a commission or referral fee from service providers for every client you connect them with, as it requires building relationships with service providers in various sectors and establishing agreements on the commission or referral fee structure.”
He buttressed that, acting as a lead generator by potential clients with service providers would benefit both charge service providers for leads that meet specific criteria or have a higher likelihood of converting into paying customers. So many have made their fortune from such business transactions.
However, he added that, a service directory or online platform can be created to link up service providers with their services, and clients can browse and connect with them. This can easily be monetized on this platform by charging service providers a fee to list their services or offering premium placement for better visibility.
While suggests that, for a society like Nigeria, a subscription-based model might not be easy for those engaged in making a living from this, as nothing compares to word of mouth/referrals.
He said: “I have a friend whose background was in civil service but today, he makes over a million in some transactions just from commissions as he links up service providers with clients, and what he does ranges from Real Estate, building materials procurement, agriculture, land sale, electronic appliances and security gates and so on.”
He expressed that, “individuals can even kickstart a functional service centre for linking service providers and clients. While making sure the type of services their clients seek are professionals whom they can recommend and then negotiate for their commissions or fees as they have in their pool and access to a network of these pre-vetted professionals.
“We can take a cue from the event planning and management services where you connect clients with various service providers such as venues, safety officials/bouncers, caterers, photographers, decorators, DJs, entertainers/musical bands. You can charge a fee or commission for your event planning services or negotiate discounts and commissions with service providers.”
Similarly, additional value-added services can be rendered such as monitoring or supervision of the work process for clients to ensure a hitch-free delivery of the required service.
It is worth noting that building a successful business as a connector requires establishing trust, building a strong network of providers, and consistently providing value to clients and partners.
Hence, conducting thorough market research, a clear revenue model, and a focus on delivering excellent customer service with the recommendation of professionals, buyers, and sellers or execution of sales will yield income for the referrer while creating mutually beneficial connections between service providers and clientele.
