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 sign an LOI, keep five groups warm: the brokers who are not on this deal, the owners you passed on, the lender you did not pick, your investors, and the advisors who send you owners. One short text to each this week, then about 10 minutes a week until close.

The LOI came back countersigned on Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning your calendar is QoE kickoff, lender call, attorney call, data room. You know exactly how the next 60 days go. Every hour belongs to one deal.

That is the right call for the deal. It is the wrong call for everyone else in your phone.

I have watched this happen to good operators. They meet the right people, have real conversations, then disappear for six months inside diligence. By the time they come up for air, someone else has the relationship. It is the reason I built FRONT OF MIND.

What the next 90 days actually look like

The clock starts now. Exclusivity periods commonly run 30 to 90 days, with 45 days the most common, according to Acquisition Stars, an M&A law firm. For SBA 7(a) deals the same firm recommends 90 days minimum with a 120 day closing deadline, because underwriting, appraisal and SBA approval cannot be rushed.

Livmo, a sell side advisor, describes the stretch from LOI to close as 60 to 90 days of diligence and legal negotiation, and says that in its own deals roughly 1 in 5 that reach LOI never close.

Diligence findings, valuation gaps and thin investor support are the top reasons LOIs die, which I covered in what to text when your LOI falls through. That page is for the day it breaks. This one is for the day it starts, so the list on that page is still warm if you ever need it.

The no shop binds the seller, not you

A no shop clause is one of the few LOI terms that is usually binding, and it is aimed at the seller. They cannot shop the business. In most letters, you can still take calls.

On a Searchfunder thread about exactly this, the replies were direct: you can keep your options open, signing a second LOI is where it gets tricky, and it is reasonable to tell the broker on deal one that you are still looking. Read your own letter. Then act like a buyer who intends to close and expects to buy again.

1. The brokers who are not on this deal

Brokers prune their buyer lists. A buyer they hear is under LOI can quietly drop a few rungs, because they assume you are off market for a quarter. If that deal dies in week seven, you are starting from the bottom.

Tell them yourself, the first week.

Quick update, we signed an LOI on a home services deal and plan to close in Q1. Still want to see anything $1M to $3M EBITDA in the Southeast. Keep me on your list?

An LOI is proof you can get to terms. Say it that way. For the longer version, see staying top of mind with brokers during a 12 month deal cycle.

2. The owners you passed on

There is always a runner up. The owner who said “maybe next year.” The deal you set aside to sign this one. They were warm two weeks ago. In 90 days they will be cold.

Do not mention the LOI. Give them something about them.

Saw your crew on the new hospital job. Looked great. Still happy to grab coffee whenever the timing question comes back up.

If the live deal closes, you have a second acquisition conversation already in motion. If it dies, you have a real one to restart.

3. The lender you did not pick

You are talking to your deal lender daily. The one who quoted you and lost is the one who goes silent. If financing wobbles late, a second lender who already knows your story is the fastest backup you can have.

Went with another lender on this one, but I appreciated how fast you turned the quote. Would love to keep you close for the next deal.

Thirty words. It keeps the door open without asking for anything.

4. Your investors

They know you are under LOI. What they do not get is a rhythm. Short updates on a fixed day build the trust you will need when diligence turns up something ugly and you need them to stay in.

Ask them one question each time. “Anyone in your network who knows this industry?” Investors hear about other businesses too, and they send them to the searcher who stayed in touch.

5. The advisors who send you owners

CPAs, estate attorneys, wealth managers, the banker who made your last introduction. They meet owners at the moment the owner starts thinking about selling. They also do not track your deal calendar. To them, silence just looks like you stopped buying.

Hi Dana, heads down on a deal right now, but still buying. If a client starts thinking about retirement, I’d love to be the first call.

A 10 minute weekly routine

Diligence does not leave room for a big outreach plan. It leaves room for one block a week. Here is how I would run it. Pick a day and keep it.

• Week 1: One text to every group above. This is the only heavy week. Maybe 15 people.
• Every week after: Two brokers, one runner up owner, one advisor. Four texts, about 10 minutes.
• Every other week: A three line investor update. What moved, what is open, one ask.
• Once a month: The lender you did not pick, plus anyone who replied and you have not answered.

The rule underneath it: nobody who sources your next deal goes 60 days without hearing from you. Recency beats reputation, and a signed LOI does not reset it.

The part you will not do by hand

You will mean to run this routine. Then the QoE flags working capital, the lender wants new projections, and the weekly block disappears for a month. The routine fails at exactly the moment it matters, because you are the one who has to remember it.

FRONT OF MIND runs that list for you. It opens on your 10 minutes for today, and each person has a one line reason why: an advisor going cold, a broker who posted a new listing, a follow up due with the owner who said not yet. 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 lends on SBA deals,” 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