We want to run a formal assessment of our exit readiness before we hire an investment banker. How do we use our EOS tools to run a diagnostic on our operations and score our gap areas?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Before you engage an investment banker or M&A advisor, you must identify your operational liabilities. Waiting for a buyer to find your weak spots during due diligence is a recipe for a price reduction. To prevent this, you can run an internal exit-readiness diagnostic using the tools you already have.

Start with your Accountability Chart. Review every seat and ask yourself if the person in that seat can run their function with zero assistance from you for ninety days. If the answer is no, you have a critical key-person risk that must be addressed immediately.

Next, review your core processes. Are they documented, simplified, and actually followed by everyone in the organization? A buyer will audit your processes to ensure consistency and scalability. If your workflows exist only in your employees' heads, your business is not transferable.

Finally, look at your Scorecard history. A healthy business should show at least two years of consistent, predictable weekly metrics. Use your leadership team meetings to list all exit obstacles as issues on your IDS® list.

Prioritize these issues and turn them into quarterly Rocks. This methodical approach allows you to systematically resolve operational gaps well before you open your data room, ensuring you present a highly attractive, institutional-grade business to prospective buyers.