The questions arrive early, often by text, usually from a CEO who likes you and wants a quick read. That is exactly when a guess feels harmless and does the most damage.
Why "I don't know" protects the introduction
Three reasons make the honest gap safer than the confident guess.
A paid recommender owns what they say. The FTC's Endorsement Guides, written for advertising, say endorsers may be liable for statements they make in the course of an endorsement, such as a representation they know or should know to be deceptive, and that a non-expert can be liable for unsubstantiated claims about a product's performance. A partner who will be paid if a deal completes is in a similar position: a figure you repeat becomes your claim.
The program keeps some facts from you on purpose. Under the program terms, partners never receive access to other partners' records, applicant documents or confidential buyer information. Estimates shown in the partner portal or calculator are projections, not promises. The company's payout is fixed per dataset in a Dataset Deal Confirmation after SourceX's review. Many of the questions you will hear are, by design, ones you cannot answer.
One caught guess discounts everything else. A CEO who later learns that your "probably six figures" came from nowhere will reread every other sentence you sent.
Three kinds of answer
Before replying, sort the question.
| Kind | What it covers | How you answer |
|---|---|---|
| Yours to verify | The published reward terms; what you saw or were told firsthand | Answer now, in your own words, and send the link |
| Published, not yours to stretch | Screening criteria and process steps on SourceX's own pages | Quote or link the page; add nothing to it |
| Unknown to you | Payout, buyer, acceptance, license terms, security controls, timing for this company | Say so, say who knows, offer the route |
The uncertainty and escalation response bank
Eleven questions partners commonly hear, with what you can stand behind and who can answer the rest. The lines are starting points; say them in your own voice.
| The contact asks | What you can verify | A line you can use | Who answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| "What would our data be worth?" | Nothing about this company; SourceX fixes dataset, net payout and terms in a Confirmation after review | "I can't put a number on it, and nobody can before SourceX has reviewed the records. The amount is set in writing for each dataset." | SourceX, in the Confirmation |
| "Who's buying it?" | Partners receive no confidential buyer information | "I'm not told, by design. SourceX licenses the data itself and deals with the buyers." | SourceX, within what its agreements allow |
| "Will we qualify?" | The published checks: 50 or more full-time employees at peak, documented history, rights, an authorizing CEO | "Here are the published checks. Whether you pass is SourceX's call in review." | SourceX review; the fit checker for a first read |
| "Would our customers' data be involved?" | Client-owned material is usually not a fit, per SourceX's screening page | "Records that belong to your customers usually aren't a fit. What your contracts allow is for your counsel and SourceX's rights review." | The company's counsel and SourceX |
| "How do they protect the data?" | Nothing you can describe firsthand | "I can't speak to their security. Ask SourceX for its documentation in writing before anything is shared." | SourceX directly |
| "How long does it take?" | The published sequence: review, one Master agreement, a Confirmation per dataset, delivery, payment | "I know the steps, not the timing for you. SourceX can estimate once it has looked." | SourceX |
| "Do we give up our data?" | Any license is set out in agreements the company signs | "Whatever is licensed, and on what terms, is in the agreement you'd sign. I don't know what yours would say." | SourceX and the company's counsel |
| "Who else has done this?" | Nothing you may share; other companies' involvement is confidential | "I can't share other companies, and I won't make one up. Ask SourceX what it can share." | SourceX |
| "What do you get out of it?" | All of it: the published reward | "SourceX pays me the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap, meaning what it actually pays you; it's paid separately, never out of your payout, and only after a deal completes and you're paid." | You, now |
| "Can you get me a number by Friday?" | There is no deadline on your side | "No, and I'd be wary of anyone who could. Nothing here runs on my calendar." | Nobody; decline |
| "Is SourceX legitimate?" | Its published terms, which give its legal name and address | "Here are its published terms with its legal address. Judge them yourself, and ask SourceX what I can't answer." | The company, from SourceX's own documents |
The "what do you get" row is the only one where the answer is entirely yours, and it should come before anyone asks. The FTC's endorsement guidance sets the standard: a connection the listener would not expect, and that could change the weight they give your recommendation, should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.
Three questions from one CEO, answered twice (Illustrative)
Illustrative. A 190-person engineering consultancy with sixteen years of project files and design-review notes in one document system. The partner manages the firm's IT vendor relationships and mentioned SourceX in passing. That evening the CEO texts three questions: "What's it worth, roughly? Who's the buyer? And what's in it for you?"
First reply, as drafted: "Probably six figures for a firm your size. I think it's one of the big AI labs. I get a small finder's fee, nothing major."
Reply from the bank: "Honest answers: I can't estimate it, because SourceX sets the amount in writing per dataset after it reviews the records. I'm not told who the buyers are; that's deliberate. And I'd be paid a referral reward by SourceX, the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap, which is what it actually pays you, never out of your payout. If you want the first two answered properly, the route is a short application. Applying doesn't commit you to anything."
| In the first reply | Why it fails | In the bank reply |
|---|---|---|
| "Probably six figures" | A payout guess with no review behind it | The amount is set per dataset after review |
| "One of the big AI labs" | A buyer claim the partner cannot know | Buyer details are withheld from partners by design |
| "A small finder's fee, nothing major" | Shrinks a real financial interest | The reward stated with its base, formula and payer |
| No next step | Leaves the CEO to chase you | One optional route, with no commitment |
How to escalate without losing the thread
- Write the question down in the CEO's words, with the date. "Can you check something" turns into a different question by the time it reaches anyone else.
- Say who will answer, and how. Before the company applies, company-specific questions are answered in SourceX's review. After it applies, put the question to SourceX through your partner account, quoting it exactly.
- Forward the written answer. Do not paraphrase SourceX's reply into your own promise; send it with the CEO's question above it.
- Keep a log. Question, date, who answered, where the answer lives. If attribution or a reward is ever questioned, dated records are what the program decides from.
- Leave legal questions to counsel. If the CEO wants a lawyer's view first, encourage it; the lawyer-first guide covers how to step back.
Never answer on SourceX's behalf in writing, and never pass the CEO's contact details further than they agreed to; the guide to sharing business contact details explains why permission comes first.
What you can say with confidence
Some things are fully verifiable, and saying them plainly makes the gaps easier to accept.
The opportunity. SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation. It checks a company's history, systems and rights; the company signs one Master agreement, and a short Dataset Deal Confirmation then fixes the exact dataset, net payout and terms. SourceX licenses the data and pays the company. How buyer demand shapes what a dataset is worth is explained in why buyer demand changes the value of a data opportunity.
Your incentive. SourceX pays partners, on a referred company's first qualifying transaction, the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap, separately and never deducted from the company's payout; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. It becomes payable only after the Acquisition Partner's final written acceptance of the complete, validated dataset, completed handoff, the Acquisition Partner's payment to SourceX, SourceX's payment of the company, finance approval and your own tax and payment details; the deadline is 60 calendar days after the later of acceptance and handoff. Illustrative arithmetic, not a promise of earnings: a USD 100,000 Actual Supplier Payout would mean a USD 55,000 reward, and a USD 400,000 payout a USD 70,000 reward; a transaction below USD 100,000 does not qualify unless SourceX agrees in writing. The payout milestones guide walks through each condition.
Fit facts, and a next step that needs nothing from you
The published checks you can share: 50 or more full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded; years of records the company created itself; rights to license them, which material belonging to clients usually lacks; and a CEO who authorizes the discussion and signs for the company. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English. The company fit checker gives a preliminary, non-binding read.
On your side, you sign the SourceX Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; nothing is credited until the company's verified application arrives, the earliest valid introduction within the 90-day attribution window then takes the credit, and a company never has two credited partners.
The next step you offer is optional and has no clock on it: if the CEO wants the unanswerable questions answered by the people who can answer them, a short application starts SourceX's review. If not, the conversation ends on good terms, with nothing promised. For a plain-language tour of the program rules, see the referral terms explained.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
When a contact's questions show real interest and you have answered only what you can verify, register as a referral partner, match the company to the fit requirements and keep the program terms close for the next question.