By Brett Kaufman. 8 years using relationships to build sales pipelines, from political fundraising to a 7 figure business to running matchmaking for two communities. Over 1,000 introductions facilitated.

After you close an acquisition, thank six people that week: the broker, the lender, the attorneys and the QoE team, your investors, the person who made the first introduction, and the seller. Then put a date on your calendar 90 days out to text five of them again, so the next deal or the add on comes to you first.

The wire hit on Friday. The seller handed you a ring of keys and a list of passwords on a legal pad. On Monday you are the CEO, and there are 40 employees who want to know what changes.

Nobody will blame you for disappearing into the business. But the people who got you to Friday are about to hear nothing from you for a year, and they are the same people who would send you the add on.

The week of close: six people to thank

The point is not manners. Each of these people is deciding, right now, whether you are someone they want to work with again.

1. The broker. Call. Do not text. CT Acquisitions, which buys lower middle market companies, says it plainly: every closed deal earns a five minute thank you call to the broker, a handwritten note to the seller, and, when appropriate, a public LinkedIn post that names the broker. The same page notes that brokers route their best deals to a short list of buyers who consistently close. You just joined that list. Make sure they know it.

2. The lender. Lenders rarely hear thanks. They hear about the deal that almost died in underwriting. Tell them what they did that mattered.

Closed Friday. Thank you for pushing the appraisal through when it stalled. Genuinely would not have made the date without you. Coffee on me next month?

3. The attorneys and the QoE or CPA team. Name the specific thing. The clause they caught, the add back they killed, the late night before signing.

We’re officially owners. Thanks for catching the customer concentration issue in week two. That changed the deal for the better. Grateful for the whole team.

4. Your investors. They get the formal close memo. Send a personal text before it lands, from you, the same day.

Closed. Keys in hand, team meeting Monday. Thank you for staying in when the QoE got messy. Full update Friday, and I’ll ask for your eyes on the first 90 days.

5. The person who made the first introduction. This is the one people forget. I have made over 1,000 introductions, and what I tell people is simple: whoever made the intro wants to know what it turned into. The CPA who mentioned the owner was thinking about retiring. The friend who forwarded the listing. The searcher who passed it along because it was outside their buy box. They may not even know the deal closed. Tell them, and tell them what their one introduction turned into. If you track these, it is easy. If you do not, see how to track introductions and referrals.

Remember introducing me to Tom last March? We closed on his company Friday. None of this happens without that one email. Thank you.

6. The seller. Handwritten. They just sold the thing they built, and the week of close is often harder for them than for you. Thank them for something specific about the business they built, not the transaction.

How the thanks should sound

You can see what good public thanks look like in real closing posts. When a searcher and spouse bought Highland Roofing Company, the Searchfunder announcement named the lender who financed the deal when other lenders struggled, the attorneys by name, and the QoE and tax team by name. Every person thanked in that post now has a public reason to remember that buyer.

The rule is the same in private. Name the person, name the thing they did, keep it short. I learned this in political fundraising, where I raised $3M over three years by writing down what each donor told me and using it the next time we talked. A thank you that names one real detail lands harder than a long one that could have gone to anyone.

The seller is your best source now

Treat the seller as your first deal source for the add on, not as a closed chapter. They know which competitors are tired, which owners have no successor, which supplier is quietly looking for an exit.

That relationship is also fragile. In a survey of two dozen searchers shared on Searchfunder, buyers scored their post close relationship with the seller an average of 6.6 out of 10, and 45% said it was worse than they expected. The same post gives the fix: in public, showing respect, praise and gratitude works better than criticizing how things used to be done.

So do not ask for referrals in week one. Ask once the transition settles and they can see the business is in good hands.

Day 90: five texts so the next deal finds you

By day 90 you know the business. You know what an add on would look like: a competitor across the state, a supplier, a company with the customers you want. That is the moment to say it out loud to the people from your first deal, before a year of silence makes you a stranger again.

CT Acquisitions describes the same rhythm: every 90 days, a one line email to each broker that says what you just closed and what your buy box is focused on now.

Here is how I would write the five.

The broker.

90 days in and the business is solid. Thank you again. Now looking for an add on, roofing or gutters within 100 miles of Columbus. If one crosses your desk, I’d love an early look.

The lender.

Quarter one numbers came in ahead of plan. Wanted you to hear it from me. Starting to think about an add on next year. Would love your read on what we could finance.

The seller.

Team asked about you this week. The Hendricks account renewed for three years. Any owners you know who might be thinking about what you just did? Would love your advice.

The person who made the first introduction.

Quick update on Tom’s company: 90 days in, no one left, revenue up. Your intro is still paying off. If you meet anyone else like him, I’m buying again.

The CPA or attorney on your deal. They already know your standards. They also have other clients in the same industry.

Ninety days in and the books you helped clean up are holding. If any of your clients in home services start talking about selling, I’d be grateful for a call.

Each one gives them news before it asks for anything.

What you are protecting

The broker who sold you this business has a buyer list with your name on it. Right now you are at the top, because you just closed. In twelve months of silence you drift down it, behind the buyer who texted last week. Recency beats reputation, and a closed deal does not change that.

If you kept the brokers and advisors warm during diligence, as in who to keep warm after the LOI, day 90 is easy. If you did not, it is the day to restart.

The part you will forget

You will mean to send these. Then payroll breaks, a key employee gives notice, and day 90 comes and goes in a blur of operating. The list of who to thank is in your head, and the introduction that started it all is buried in an email from last March.

That is why I built FRONT OF MIND. It keeps that list for you. It opens on your 10 minutes for today, and each person comes with one line saying why today: a follow up due, a pipeline deal quiet 7 days or more, an advisor going cold. Every draft is a text style message, 40 words max, it learns from your edits, and nothing sends without your tap. Ask Liala out loud, “who do I know that is a CPA in Columbus,” and get the right people with the reason why.

Start free with your first 25 contacts and see who comes up first.

See how it works