Know a company with years of data?

A good referral begins with a conversation about whether the business owner wants to explore the opportunity. Explain the idea in plain language and ask whether an introduction would be welcome. Do not promise a valuation, name a guaranteed buyer, or imply that an archive has already qualified. Your role at this stage is to establish interest and permission, not to negotiate a transaction for the company.

You do not need to collect the company’s records to make the opportunity understandable. A broad description of the business, its systems, and its years of operating history can provide enough context for a first discussion. Keep confidential details out of informal messages and avoid forwarding internal material to demonstrate potential value. The owner should control what is described and who receives any later information.

Referral compensation should be discussed and agreed in writing before relying on it. Clarify who is eligible, what counts as an accepted referral, how an existing relationship is handled, and which events must occur before a payment could become due. Ask about exclusions, timing, and any conditions affecting the arrangement. Do not treat an introduction by itself as evidence that compensation has been earned.

The calculator retained on this page illustrates the original design’s five percent scenario. It is not a referral agreement, an offer, or a prediction of a transaction amount. Changing an example value demonstrates arithmetic only. The actual arrangement would need its own agreed terms, and the underlying business opportunity would still require evaluation. Keep the illustrative scenario separate from any promise you make to a prospective referrer or owner.

Prepare a concise description of the company, your relationship to it, and the reason the owner is interested. Include the categories of records they are comfortable describing and identify the person who can discuss authority and next steps. If some information is uncertain, label it as such. A referral brief should reduce confusion about the opportunity, rather than create an impression that qualification or permission has already been completed.

Where possible, let the owner review the description before it is shared through any later channel. Confirm the preferred contact and the boundaries of the introduction. For example, permission to introduce a person does not mean permission to circulate customer records or export an archive. Keep the first conversation small enough that the owner can understand what is happening and decide how much further to proceed.

The introduction route on this site opens a contact form configured for a referral inquiry. It prepares a downloadable local brief; it does not send an introduction, notify a team, or create a referral record in a live service. Use the form to organize the context while keeping the owner’s permission and any proposed referral terms clearly documented outside the calculator example.

After a later introduction, the company still needs to assess its records, establish the relevant authority, and decide whether any proposed agreement makes sense. Keep those decisions with the owner and the appropriate reviewers. A helpful referrer can clarify the relationship and facilitate a conversation without taking control of the archive or treating an early expression of interest as a completed deal or a guaranteed payment.