The buyer wants us to agree to a long term Transition Services Agreement that keeps me tied to the business for two years after the close. How do we structure our Accountability Chart during our exit runway to negotiate this advisory period down to a few months?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Buyers demand long-term Transition Services Agreements when they are terrified that your departure will cause the business to collapse. If you are still the primary problem solver, key relationship holder, or strategic decision maker, the buyer will force you to stay on to protect their investment.

To negotiate this advisory period down to a minimum, you must use your exit runway to render yourself completely redundant on the Accountability Chart. Start by reviewing every seat you currently occupy and delegate your responsibilities to your leadership team.

Ensure that your Integrator is fully running the daily operations and facilitating your Level 10 Meeting™. Your leadership team must own their respective seats and demonstrate that they can hit their quarterly Rocks without your daily oversight.

Document your transition plan and share it with the buyer during negotiations. Show them that you have already stepped back from daily operations and that your leadership team has been running the business independently for the last six to twelve months. By proving that the company is a self-sustaining machine that does not depend on your daily presence, you remove the buyer's anxiety and gain the leverage needed to negotiate a short transition period.