Offering construction referral fees to brokers

[Bennet Sebastian]

Hi all,

I'm a commercial GC here in the Orlando market which like many other markets has seen a slow down in commercial construction activity. So I'm thinking of ways to get the phone to ring and I'm considering whether or not to offer, and how I would structure, a referral fee for brokers who bring me a client. I know a lot of brokers in town and so that's been my primary source of leads. Most brokers have never asked for a fee but a few have which makes me wonder if I should reconsider my "don't pay to play" stance on the matter. I usually buy them a gift certificate to a nice restaurant and most importantly make their clients happy. But brokers generally pay each other referral fees for referring clients that are either not in their wheelhouse or not in their market so there is some inherent expectation of being compensated for referrals. I'm not sure if they ask this from other allied service providers like lenders, closing attorneys, inspectors, etc. 

Would a referral fee be an incentive to refer one GC over another all other things being equal? If so what would you feel would be a fair fee? Also, what disclosures would be required to be made to the client? Should the fee be paid directly to the agent or should it go through their brokerage house? Should I clear this with their managing brokers first? 

Am I opening up a can of worms that I won't be able to close?

I'd like to hear from some of the brokers here on this topic. 

Thanks