The WETYR Partner Program. Refer business owners who want to buy, sell, or exit, and earn a referral fee at close. Built for attorneys, CPAs, wealth advisors, business coaches, Vistage Chairs, EOS Implementers, commercial real-estate brokers, bankers, insurance brokers, and any other Center of Influence (COI) who works with business owners. Confidential. Tracked. Paid promptly at close.
The Standard Referral Fee Schedule
WETYR pays referral fees on engagements that close. The fee schedule is published publicly so partners can model the economics without asking. We pay the same schedule to every partner — no inside deals, no rate negotiation, no preferred-tier games.
| Engagement Type | Referral Fee | When Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Sell-Side Advisory (closed transaction) | 10% of WETYR's success fee | Within 30 days of close |
| Direct Sale to WETYR (operator-buyer) | $10K-$50K flat based on deal size | Within 30 days of close |
| Buy-Side Advisory (closed transaction) | 10% of WETYR's buy-side success fee | Within 30 days of close |
| Exit / Succession Planning Engagement | 10% of first 12 months retainer | Quarterly as collected |
| Growth / Scaling Consulting Engagement | 10% of first 12 months retainer | Quarterly as collected |
| Rollup Strategy Engagement (multi-deal) | 5% across all closed deals in 24-month window | Within 30 days of each close |
Fees scale with engagement size. A $5M sell-side transaction at a 5% success fee produces a $25,000 referral fee; a $20M transaction at 4% produces a $80,000 referral fee. Transparent, no haggling.
Who Should Refer To WETYR
If you serve business owners or operators in any capacity, you are likely sitting on referrals worth real money to WETYR and real fees to you. The partner personas below see exit, succession, acquisition, and growth-stage situations more often than they realize.
M&A & Business Attorneys
You see deals in motion. When clients lack an advisor, refer to WETYR.
CPAs & Accountants
You know which clients are preparing to exit. Refer pre-sale and exit planning.
Wealth & Financial Advisors
Post-exit liquidity drives your AUM. Refer the exit, capture the wealth.
Business Coaches
Vistage Chairs, EOS Implementers, ActionCOACH, Scaling Up coaches, TAB facilitators.
Commercial Insurance Brokers
Owners who restructure coverage are often preparing transactions. Refer early.
Commercial Real Estate Brokers
Owners selling real estate often sell the operating business too. Refer the second half.
Bankers & Lenders
Acquisition lending, succession lending, exit-related credit conversations.
Business Consultants
Operations, strategy, marketing consultants who hear about exits.
Franchise Consultants & Brokers
Franchisees who want to exit or acquire other locations.
Any Other COI
Estate planners, fractional CFOs, peer-group facilitators, industry trade leaders.
Why Partners Choose WETYR
We Refer Back To You
WETYR maintains active engagements where clients need legal, tax, wealth, insurance, real estate, or coaching support. Partners who send us referrals are the first call when our clients need referrals back. The relationship runs both ways.
Public Fee Schedule
No "let's talk about fees" games. The schedule is published publicly so you can quote it to clients or model your own economics. No surprises, no negotiation, no preferred-tier dance.
You Stay In The Loop
Every referral submitted gets a tracking confirmation. You receive monthly status updates while the deal is in process. If WETYR can't engage, we tell you within 1 business day so you can refer elsewhere.
Compliant With Your Rules
Some professions (attorneys in some states, broker-dealers, certain RIA structures) have rules around accepting referral fees. WETYR offers fee-to-charity, flat finder's-fee, and reciprocal-only structures for partners whose compliance environment requires it.
We Tell Owners You Sent Them
If you sent the referral, the owner knows. We will not strip your name from the introduction or pretend we found them ourselves. Your relationship with the client is preserved or strengthened, never eroded.
Real Money, Real Quickly
A $5M sell-side transaction generates a $25K-$30K referral fee. A $20M transaction generates $80K+. A direct operator-buyer acquisition generates $10K-$50K flat. Even a single annual referral can be a meaningful add to your firm's economics.
What Counts As A Qualifying Referral
- Owner-led intro: You introduce WETYR directly to the owner via email or call. Highest conversion, highest fee.
- Warm submission: You submit the referral form below; WETYR reaches out and you confirm to the owner.
- Intel-only lead: You alert WETYR to a situation (owner you know is exiting) without making the intro yourself. Lower fee but still paid.
- Reciprocal trade: No money exchanged; you send WETYR clients and WETYR sends you clients. Many partners prefer this structure.
When You Are Paid
Transactional fees (sell-side, buy-side, direct acquisition) pay within 30 days of close. Engagement-based fees (consulting, exit planning) pay quarterly as retainer is collected. WETYR sends you a 1099 at year-end. The plain-English referral agreement documents all of this in writing — sign once, applies to all future referrals.
Ready To Refer?
Submit your first referral, or schedule a 20-min call with WETYR to discuss whether the program fits your firm's compliance environment.
Authoritative Sources & Further Reading
WETYR works alongside primary sources, regulators, and industry data providers when advising owners and operators. The references below are the same sources our advisory team uses when modeling deals, benchmarking multiples, and stress-testing assumptions. We encourage every owner, buyer, and operator to verify any data point that materially affects their decision against the underlying primary source.
Primary Federal Sources
- U.S. SBA — 7(a) Loan Program for acquisition financing eligibility, terms, and lender list.
- SEC EDGAR for public-company comparables, 10-K disclosures, and recent strategic acquirer filings.
- IRS — Sale of a Business on Section 1060 asset-allocation reporting and tax treatment of asset vs stock sales.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Industries at a Glance for wage, employment, and growth data by NAICS code.
- U.S. Census Economic Census for industry size, firm counts, and revenue distributions.
- Federal Reserve Economic Data for prevailing rate environment underwriting.
Standards & Reference Bodies
- AICPA for Quality of Earnings methodology and CPA standards governing transaction-related financial work.
- FINRA Rules and Guidance for understanding when a transaction crosses into broker-dealer territory.
- NACVA business valuation credentialing body and standards (CVA designation).
- USPAP — Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice for valuation engagement standards.
- Investopedia — EBITDA reference page for definitional alignment with our glossary.
- Harvard Business Review — Mergers and Acquisitions archive on integration and post-close value creation.
For deeper transaction-specific data, the GF Data and PitchBook private-company transaction databases publish quarterly multiple ranges by industry size band that we cross-reference against our own pipeline benchmarks. Owners considering a sale should also review the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report (free, annual) for current cost-of-capital and lender appetite data across the lower middle market. Buyers underwriting search-fund or holdco theses commonly pair Stanford GSB's Search Fund Study with the IBBA Market Pulse report, which tracks multiples for sub-$50M transactions quarterly. None of these sources replace deal-specific advisory, but they give owners and operators the same reference points professional acquirers are using on the other side of the table.
Related WETYR Resources
Every WETYR resource ladders into a structured engagement framework. Whether you are diagnosing readiness, modeling a number, or preparing for a specific transaction phase, the resources below cover the most common owner and operator workflows. All tools are free; all guides are operator-written; all engagements start with a confidential conversation.
Engagement Pillars
Decision Tools
Operator-Written
Glossary & FAQ
Checklists & Templates
Niche Coverage
If you are not sure where to start, the Exit Readiness Score takes about four minutes and produces a one-page diagnostic on the value drivers most likely to compress your multiple. From there the natural next step is either a long-form guide covering your specific situation, a focused glossary term lookup, or a confidential introductory call with our team to discuss whether WETYR's advisory or operator-buyer engagement is a fit. Our team responds to every inbound inquiry within one business day.