Proferral seeks to enable professional recommendations without the use of a traditional business card.

Jay Namboor (left) and Darryl Jose, the founders of Des Moines-based iapps24, are seeking to replace the traditional business card with Proferral, a recently released app designed to facilitate networking and professional recommendations.

The app, now available for download in the App Store and Google Play, is intended for business-to-business professionals interested in making a name for themselves in the mobile world, said Todd Razor, who handles the app’s public relations.

“The idea for Proferral came from the need for business-to-business professionals to have an official way to make recommendations or referrals for their partners in the industry or in the community, in a way that doesn’t require them to take a business card,” Razor said in a phone interview Monday.

Razor said the app is meant to sidestep that “do it later” mentality that often comes along with trading business cards. “Even if someone has the best intentions of referring your business, it may never get done,” he said.

The app is free for download and customization. A $99 annual fee is required if the user decides to launch a Proferral page.

Proferral includes features like a calendar with the ability to schedule and confirm appointments, options during the referral process — like the option to note your relationship to the person you’re referring — and a portal to offer discounts and rewards. Proferral is customizable, allowing each party to create his or her own page, just like a business card.

There are plenty of apps available for contact management and professional referrals, but Razor said Proferral intends to distinguish itself with its focus on people interested in business-to-business activity.

“Social networking is so much more marginal (in B2B industries) than it has to be with business-to-consumer industries,” Razor said.

Credits: Top image courtesy of Todd Razor. Photo of Namboor from linkedin.com.