The Seller Sets the Ask, You Set the Anchor
Adopting (or even discounting) the seller's inflated figures in a Letter of Intent (LOI), which leads to difficult renegotiations, sunk costs, and failed deals once true operational risks are uncovered.
This video comes from a deeper article about how you can get better and deeper insights into a Lower-Middle Market (LMM) business you are looking to acquire...pre-LOI. You don't have to bid blind. You don't have to negotiate against yourself. You don't have to sink 5-figures or 6-figures into post-LOI due diligence to find operational gaps that could be found pre-LOI.
0:00 - Who Speaks First
1:57 - The Sequence Runs Backward
2:34 - What Kills Deals in LOI?
3:51 - How to Assess pre-LOI
4:54 - Setting the Anchor on Their Truth