We just signed an LOI granting a buyer sixty days of exclusivity, but diligence requests are overwhelming our executive team and slowing down normal operations. How do we run the diligence process from LOI to close so the deal stays on schedule without derailing our quarterly performance?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A transaction will kill your company if your leadership team stops running the business to answer spreadsheets. The sixty to ninety days between LOI and close is precisely when performance drops, which hands the buyer the exact pretext they need to retrade your multiple.

Protect your operational rhythm by compartmentalizing deal workflow away from day-to-day execution.

- Designate a single deal quarterback. The Integrator or CFO manages data room uploads and buyer communications. The rest of the leadership team on your Accountability Chart must remain strictly focused on their quarterly Rocks, customer retention, and hitting their weekly EOS Scorecard numbers.

- Maintain standard meeting discipline. Do not cancel your weekly Level 10 Meeting to accommodate buyer phone calls. Force diligence meetings into dedicated, consolidated time blocks outside core operating hours.

- Control the Virtual Data Room aggressively. Never answer ad-hoc buyer emails with loose attachments. All inquiries must route through a structured diligence tracker with clear response deadlines. When buyers request meetings with operational managers, require advance agendas and keep the interviews strictly capped at forty-five minutes.

- Enforce the exclusivity clock. Buyers stretch diligence to create fatigue and extract last-minute concessions. Make it clear that exclusivity will not be extended unless the definitive purchase agreement is ninety percent negotiated and the delay was caused solely by third-party lender or regulatory filings. If your revenue holds steady and your team executes, you dictate the closing terms.