This tree is part of board approval for a data licensing agreement, which covers why the board sometimes has the final word. This page gives a RevOps consultant a sequence to walk during one call, using the company's own approval logic as the map. The record trail and migration risks are in the nonstandard contract approval guide.
Use the deal desk's own approval matrix as the map
Most software companies already have a written rule for who approves a nonstandard deal: a discount band for the sales manager, a deeper band for the VP of sales, payment terms beyond a threshold for the CFO, nonstandard liability language for legal. That matrix is the best predictor of who can approve a licensing discussion, because it shows how the company already delegates financial and legal risk.
Ask the RevOps head one question: "Who signs off the most unusual deal you see in a year?" The answer is usually the CFO or CEO. The CFO is often the right record owner for this conversation; the CEO signs.
The decision tree, branch by branch
- Does the approval history still exist? The RevOps head confirms where approvals live. In Salesforce, ProcessInstanceHistory is a read-only object that shows all steps and pending approval requests in an approval process, so steps and approvers are often recoverable even when field values are not. Field values are thinner: without Field Audit Trail, Salesforce keeps field history for up to 18 months, or 24 months through the API.
- Yes, several years: continue.
- Partly lost in a migration: note the gap and continue; it narrows scope but does not end the conversation.
- Do the records quote customer terms? Redlines and order forms almost always do.
- Yes: general counsel reads the customer agreements' confidentiality clauses before any scope is proposed. That reading can remove some customers entirely.
- Only internal approval notes and reasons: shorter branch.
- Who owns the record set? Usually the CFO, with the CRO for the sales process.
- Who can authorize exploring a license? The CEO. In a Delaware corporation the business and affairs of the company are managed by or under the direction of the board, unless the statute or certificate of incorporation provides otherwise, so officers act within whatever authority the board has delegated. Where that delegation reserves IP licenses to the board, the CEO takes it there.
- End: SourceX rights review. Which customers, years and fields are in scope is decided after the introduction.
SalesforceIllustrative approval chain, annotated by owner
Illustrative and fictional. A 410-person HR software company. One nonstandard deal from four years ago, described by RevOps without opening the system:
| Step in the deal record | Who acted | Created by | Whose sign-off a license would need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rep requests 32% discount and net-90 terms | Account executive | The company | CEO, with the CFO as record owner |
| Deal desk flags payment terms over policy | RevOps analyst | The company | CEO, with the CFO as record owner |
| VP of sales approves the discount band | VP of sales | The company | CEO, with the CFO and CRO consulted |
| CFO approves net-90 with a renewal uplift | CFO | The company | CEO, with the CFO as record owner |
| Customer redlines liability cap and data clause | Customer counsel | The customer | General counsel, contract by contract |
| Order form executed | Both parties | Jointly | General counsel, then CEO |
| Customer renews at the uplifted price | Both parties | Jointly | General counsel, then CEO |
The first four rows are the company's own decisions and reasoning. The last three carry the customer's words and commercial terms, which is why counsel sits on the path. A partner records this split in a sentence, not as a copy of the deal.
Who to name in the introduction, and what each cannot do
- Head of revenue operations: knows systems, years and migration gaps. Cannot agree to license anything.
- CFO: owns the approval history and makes the case that it is a company asset worth discussing. Cannot override customer confidentiality.
- General counsel: knows which customer agreements restrict reuse. Advises; does not make the commercial call.
- CEO: authorizes a first discussion and signs, taking it to the board where IP licenses are reserved to it. Does not skip the rights review.
Where the owner is not the company at all, such as a holding trust, see who can sign when a trust owns the business; for broader structures, who needs authority to approve a data partnership.
Open until SourceX reviews it
- Whether specific customer agreements allow reuse of negotiated terms, and which customers the company prefers to exclude.
- How much history survives in field values versus approval steps after the last tool change.
- What must be de-identified, whether any buyer wants these records, and on what terms.
The why data rights matter page explains why rights review comes before any of that. If the company also runs training content, the course version approval tree shows how ownership changes when outside authors are involved.
Before submitting, confirm the company has at least 50 full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. 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 90% of the data is in English. Sign the Channel Partner Agreement first; credit goes to the first valid introduction within the 90-day window once the company submits a verified application.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once the CEO has agreed to a first call, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies, and read the program terms before you introduce them.