We are starting our exit runway and our advisors are warning us that preparing for due diligence will consume all of our leadership team's time. How do we prepare the massive amount of required documentation without letting our daily operational performance slide?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The fastest way to destroy your valuation is to let your current business performance slip while you are preparing for a sale. Buyers monitor your financial performance up to the exact day of closing, and any dip in revenue or EBITDA during diligence will be used as immediate leverage to renegotiate the purchase price. To manage this massive workload without distracting your team, you must apply Keith Cunningham's concept of Thinking Time to isolate your operational challenges. Dedicate specific, uninterrupted sessions to ask yourself how you might structure the due diligence workload so your leadership team can remain ninety percent focused on their daily scorecard metrics. The answer is to create a dedicated due diligence seat on your Accountability Chart. Do not pile this administrative burden on your existing Integrator or financial team. Instead, bring in an external transaction manager or assign a specific project manager to act as the single point of contact for all information requests. This dedicated individual coordinates the data room, leaving your leadership team free to focus on their quarterly Rocks and weekly Level 10 Meetings. By keeping your operational team focused on running the business, you maintain your growth trajectory throughout the entire sales process, which keeps your bargaining power strong and your valuation intact.