Deal Sourcing: Find a Business to Buy
What is deal sourcing? Deal sourcing is finding businesses that fit your goals and getting to an accepted letter of intent (LOI). The Exit School offers done-for-you and done-with-you deal sourcing, and we recommend every buyer pursue off-market deals in addition to public listing sites.
Two ways to work with us
- Done for you: Our team sources and screens opportunities for you. Best for busy professionals who want qualified deals brought to them. Your role: review deals, meet sellers and decide.
- Done with you: You source deals with our coaching, tools and templates. Best for buyers who want to learn sourcing and run their own search. Your role: build your pipeline, reach out to owners and screen deals.
Why we recommend off-market deals
- Businesses on public listing sites draw many competing buyers, which pushes prices up and terms toward the seller. Off-market deals come from reaching owners directly before they list, so there's less competition and more room to structure a fair deal. We recommend buyers work both channels at once.
What's included
- Buy box definition: industry, size, location, earnings and budget
- Off-market outreach using our seller outreach templates
- Monitoring of broker and marketplace listings
- Screening with our deal evaluator and green and red flags list
- LOI coaching using our buyer-protecting LOI template
How it works
- Define your buy box and financing range.
- Build a pipeline from off-market outreach, brokers and listing sites.
- Screen deals against your criteria.
- Submit an LOI and negotiate acceptance.
- Move straight into due diligence.
Frequently asked questions
What is an off-market business?
A business whose owner would sell but hasn't listed it publicly. You reach it through direct outreach or referrals.
Where do you find small businesses for sale?
Off-market outreach to owners, business brokers, and online listing sites. We recommend using all three.
What is done-for-you deal sourcing?
Our team finds and screens businesses that match your criteria and brings you the ones worth pursuing.
What is a buy box?
The criteria a business must meet for you to pursue it, such as industry, revenue, earnings, location and price.
What happens if my deal falls through in due diligence?
You return to deal sourcing with sharper criteria and start again.