Useful context beats a polished pitch.

If you cannot describe what the person actually needs in a single plain sentence, it is not ready. “They want to grow” is not a need. “They need onboarding rebuilt before their October launch” is.

You do not need to know the solution or the budget. You need to know what is in the way.

A name and an email address is a contact. What makes it useful is your context: how you know them, whether you could make an introduction, and why they might take the conversation.

You do not have to be close to them. You do have to be honest about how close you are — that is what tells the nod team how to approach it, and whether to approach at all.

Timing separates an opportunity from a note in a file. A launch date, a funding round, a contract ending, a person leaving, a system that just broke. Something that makes this month different from last month.

Knowing who owns the decision changes what happens next. If you do not know, say so — that is a much better answer than a guess, and the nod team can work with it.

Do not share anything you are not free to share. Confidential documents, information you saw because of a role you hold, or anything obtained in a way the person would object to, are not the basis for an opportunity and will not be accepted.

You also do not need to hand over someone’s contact details to start. If permission has not been given, nod will ask them first rather than use what you provide.

Some categories are closed while the relevant approvals and licences are not in place: patient or medical referrals, legal-client solicitation, insurance, securities and other regulated financial products, real-estate transactions that may require registration, and anything touching government contracts, public employment or procurement.

The current focus is non-regulated business services — technology, design, marketing, operations, manufacturing services and general consulting.

You will be told. A submission that is not accepted is closed with a reason rather than left unanswered, and it does not count against anything you share later.