[Lender Of Gold]

Buddy I understand what you're saying lol, but it's just if I'm a guy that's doing 95% of the work of our sales cycle (which is the production of a qualified lead, of whom is a merchant currently in the market for alternative financing and who fits the generic qualification for underwriting) there's no way I'm about to give up at least 50% - 80% of my new deal commissions as well as potentially get paid nothing on renewals, just to work with "some guy" who is supposedly "the closer". The sale is made at the beginning of the process when the lead is generated, there's nothing to "close".

Just to add to this: to any guys currently working at any shop or sending to a lender where their renewals aren't paid. pick up your balls and leave to go find other outlets that do. That's like an unalienable right and you deserve better (assuming you did your diligence on any signed agreements)

thanks to everyone in the 'community' for their honest feedback. It's been a pleasure reading everyone's individual 'take' on my question; which I interpret as a commentary on the market.
It seems that no one is whole heartedly recommending a move from Referral Rep to ISO.

I'll keep watching and learning as much as I can from my small corner of the industry
I'm taking the steady as she goes approach for now

Good luck sir. The payoff indeed is huge but the amount of risk to undertake being an individual ISO is just as high if not higher. It really comes down to the family/life situation of the salesman as well. Got a guy with 3 kids. Excellent closer and prospector, years in the business. But to handle all the work of setting up and maintaining the infrastructure of an efficient shop would leave him almost no time to enjoy the finer things in life, or his family. Contrast this to the single, early-20s sales prodigies with no family and minimal personal overhead who can take the leap with not much to lose (and add about 5 spam emails from gmail addresses to my inbox every day)