Exit Mergers & Acquisitions is the premier, full service business broker for marketing and web agencies in the United States
Get Ready Now with “Coach to Sell”
To maximize your valuation, you’ll need to organize your business, align your team and
present your financials to conform to buyer and lender expectations. Period. Those
expectations can run counter to conventional wisdom or accustomed practice.
That’s the reality of M&A. If you’re 12–36 months from exit, this is where real money is made. When you execute strategically you don’t just sell — you drive your multiple. That’s what our Coach to Sell engagement is built for. We’re not just “getting you ready.” We’re repositioning your business through a buyer’s lens. Here’s what it looks like.
Valuation
ESTABLISH THE TARGET
Before you can improve value, you need a baseline; where are you today? We benchmark your current value, identify what’s achievable, and detail what you need to get there.
Structure
FINANCIALS PROPERLY
Buyers and bankers hate messy books. If you have a great business with crappy reporting, you’re just going to catch grief. You want cash flow clarity that ties to returns. We help you normalize earnings (SDE/EBITDA), identify and rationalize add-backs, and present financials the way lenders and buyers expect to see them.
Shift
FROM TAX STRATEGY TO VALUE STRATEGY
Most agencies are run to minimize taxes; we did ours. Buyers want businesses run to maximize transferable profit. We help you rethink discretionary spend, owner benefits, and expense structure to support valuation — not just tax outcomes.
Move
THE SLIDERS THAT DRIVE MULTIPLES
- Quality of earnings (clean, defensible, repeatable)
- Persistence and predictability of revenue (contracts, retainers, MRR, churn)
- Client portfolio (concentration, number, type)
- Demonstrated new business engine (we know this business has churn; how have you mitigated it)
- Growth trajectory (trending, demonstrated growth but rarely a rocket ship)
- Service mix and positioning (specialization commands premiums)
- Owner’s involvement in the business (less is more), org chart and key personnelYou may be surprised how much room for improvement can be quickly identified and adopted in your company.
Reduce
OWNER DEPENDENCE
The founder-led business presents challenges at the sale. If it can’t run without you, buyers discount — or walk. We’ll help you shift relationships, decision-making, and delivery away from the owner and into the organization. The goal: a business that’s transferable, not personal.
Operational & Organizational
ALIGNMENT
Buyers pay for businesses that are predictable and scalable. We help tighten reporting, clarify roles, improve processes, and ensure your operation can withstand scrutiny. This isn’t theory — it’s what survives diligence.
Grow
THE business (intentionally)
- Recurring revenue over project spikes
- Margin expansion over resume-builders that pay poorly
- Niche dominance over generalization
How the Engagement Works
This can be structured as:
1
Periodic advisory
2
Project engagement
3
Ongoing check-ins
with defined milestones and hands-on guidance
We meet you where you are — and build a plan to get you where you want to be. Scope and fees vary depending on your specific position and trajectory.
We’re Ready. Are You?
The Exit Team is ready to guide you through the process. We have the proven selling processes, documentation, forms, marketing materials and buyers ready to help you exit successfully. If you’ve reached this part of the page, you’re probably ready for the next step. Start with a short conversation, a Quick Look Valuation, and go from there.
We’re ready; let’s go!