Referral programs for painting gigs falling flat, anyone else?

Man, I've been running a small painting outfit for 8 years now and tried setting up a referral program last summer, offering $100 gift cards for Benjamin Moore paint to anyone who sends a solid lead that books. We're in the Carolinas here so word of mouth usually spreads fast with all the new builds popping up, but I've only gotten two referrals in six months and one ghosted me after the quote. It's frustrating because I see guys in the Painting Contractors Facebook group bragging about their systems pulling in steady work, but mine feels like a waste. I even mentioned it on r/paintingbusiness and got some vague advice, but nothing that stuck. Watched a bit of Idaho Painter on YouTube talking about upselling add-ons like trim work to existing clients instead, maybe that's where I'm missing the boat. Anyone got a simple referral tweak that actually works for residential jobs?

Screw these cheapskate homeowners who take the referral cash and never follow through, it's the same BS across every trade group I'm in.

Haha, tried gift cards once and ended up with a client referring his cousin who wanted me to paint his shed for free 'cause family discount.

How do you track if the referral actually came from your program without sounding pushy?

Same here, been chasing referrals for trim and cabinet jobs but they dry up quick after the holidays.

PE-backed companies are scooping up all the good leads with their fancy apps, leaving us independents scraping for scraps.

Those big outfits with their referral bonuses are killing the little guy, it's infuriating how they're pricing us out of commercial too.

FieldPulse has a built-in referral tracker that's dead simple, integrates with your invoicing so you don't forget to pay out.