How to bring up a new opportunity with a long-time client without damaging trust

How do you bring a new opportunity to a long-time client?

Raise it as a question tied to something already on the client's calendar, say plainly that you may be paid if it goes anywhere, and ask permission before you say more. The owner decides, and a no costs you nothing. Done this way, a new idea reads as attention to their business instead of a pitch.

This guide is written for anyone who holds a trusted relationship with a company leader: an outsourced CFO, an IT provider, a banker, a coach, a board member. The specific opportunity here is a data-licensing introduction through SourceX, but the sequence works for any new idea you are not selling yourself.

What do you need in place before you raise it?

You need three things settled privately, before the client hears a word.

• A fit judgment. The company should have 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, records in many systems and the right to license them. If you are unsure of headcount, use the guide to finding a private company's employee count first.
• Your own rules. Check your employer, license or professional body on referral rewards and disclosure. Some roles may not accept any reward; the unpaid introduction guide covers that case.
• A clear role for yourself. You are introducing, not advising on price, tax or legal terms and not handling any records.

How do you pick the moment?

Trust is protected when the topic arrives on a natural agenda. Pick a meeting where records, systems or new revenue are already being discussed.

If none of these moments is near, wait. A cold message on an unrelated call is the fastest way to feel like a pitch.

What is the 60-second call script?

Keep it short, curiosity-first and ending in a permission question. Say it on a call or in a short note, then stop talking.

Notice the order: why you are bringing it, what it is, who decides, what you gain, then permission. If the answer is "drop it," say "understood" and move on. Do not follow up with a second pitch.

What are the steps for raising it?

1. Screen privately. Run the company fit checker or your own notes against the baseline. Stop here if it fails.
2. Choose the moment from the table above and the sponsor: the owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative.
3. Open with the question, not the answer. Use the script and ask for permission.
4. Disclose the reward and your limits in your own words in the first conversation, not later.
5. Offer a next step with no obligation, such as the sponsor applying directly at sourcex.si/apply using your referral link, or you sending a short note they can forward.
6. Hand over. After the introduction, SourceX qualifies the company, the company completes a data inventory, price and terms are agreed, buyers review, and the deal closes only if the company signs. You step back.
7. Keep a record of the date, the person and what you said, in case credit is ever questioned.

For drafting the note, the introduction email builder helps you prepare one the owner can approve before it is sent.

What mistakes damage trust, and how do you avoid them?

What does an illustrative conversation look like?

Illustrative, fictional: Dana is an outsourced CFO preparing a quarterly board pack for a regional logistics firm with roughly 180 staff, ten years of ticketing, dispatch and finance records, and a billing system due to be retired. While reviewing the pack, Dana says the script above, discloses that a reward is possible if a deal ever closes, and asks permission. The CEO asks for a short note. Dana sends it, the CEO applies using the referral link, and Dana is out of the loop except for status updates. Had the CEO said no, the next agenda item would have been the budget.

How do rewards work, and what should you say about them?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. The reward is payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. It is a share of SourceX's fee, never deducted from what the company receives.

Be ready for the client to ask about it. The guide to discussing referral rewards transparently shows how to answer without defensiveness. See the rewards page and terms for current details.

When should you not raise it?

Do not raise it if the records mainly belong to the client's own customers without consent, the data is mainly consumer personal data or protected health information, the archives have been deleted, or the owner has said they dislike exclusive licenses. Do not raise it when the client is in a sensitive period, such as a layoff or dispute, unless the topic is directly relevant. If the company already works with you through introductions from your wider network, keep the two conversations separate.

Next step

Choose one client and one calendar moment this month. If the company passes the screen, register as a partner, get your referral link, and use the script above. For the broader view of how SourceX works with partners, see how it works.