SIX STEPS, NO surprises

About as long as one more renewal season.and every step of it written down.

MOST ACQUIRERS PUBLISH NOTHING — NO STEPS, NO TIMELINE, NO LIST OF WHAT THEY'LL ASK FOR. WE PUBLISH ALL OF IT, BECAUSE AN OWNER WHO KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS NEXT CAN'T BE PRESSURED BY WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

READ IT, PRINT IT, SHOW YOUR ACCOUNTANT

A phone and coffee on a wooden kitchen table by a morning window

.01

Confidential intro callno data, no commitment

YOU TELL US ABOUT THE AGENCY IN WHATEVER DETAIL YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH. WE TELL YOU EXACTLY HOW WE WORK AND ANSWER EVERY QUESTION YOU BRING. NOTHING IS RECORDED, NOTHING IS SHARED, AND NOTHING OBLIGATES YOU.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED NOTHING BUT THE QUESTIONS ON YOUR MIND. NO DOCUMENTS, NO NUMBERS, NO PREPARATION.

HOW LONG ONE CALL, 30-45 MINUTES — SCHEDULED AROUND YOUR DAY, INCLUDING EVENINGS.

.02

Mutual NDA, then data reviewpaper before numbers, always

BEFORE A SINGLE DOCUMENT MOVES, WE BOTH SIGN A MUTUAL NDA. THEN WE REVIEW THE BOOK TOGETHER — WHAT YOU WRITE, WHO YOU WRITE IT WITH, AND HOW WELL IT RENEWS. YOU SEE EVERYTHING WE LOOK AT.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED COMMISSION STATEMENTS, A BOOK-OF-BUSINESS SUMMARY, CARRIER APPOINTMENTS, AND LOSS RUNS WHERE RELEVANT.

HOW LONG ROUGHLY TWO WEEKS ONCE THE DATA ARRIVES — WE WORK AT YOUR GATHERING PACE, NOT OURS.

.03

A verified-data offerthe reasoning shown, in writing

YOU RECEIVE A WRITTEN OFFER PRICED FROM THE NUMBERS WE VERIFIED TOGETHER, WITH THE REASONING ON THE PAGE. NOT A TEASER BUILT TO SHRINK LATER — THE NUMBER WE OPEN WITH IS THE NUMBER WE INTEND TO CLOSE ON.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TIME TO READ IT, AND ANYONE YOU TRUST TO READ IT WITH YOU. TAKE THE OFFER TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT — WE'D RATHER YOU DID.

HOW LONG DAYS AFTER REVIEW, NOT WEEKS — AND YOU TAKE AS LONG AS YOU LIKE TO DECIDE.

.04

Diligence and agreementconfirming, not renegotiating

DILIGENCE EXISTS TO CONFIRM WHAT WE ALREADY VERIFIED — NOT TO REOPEN THE PRICE. WE DRAFT THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSITION PLAN TOGETHER, INCLUDING WHEN AND HOW YOUR STAFF AND CLIENTS HEAR THE NEWS.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED YOUR ATTORNEY OR ACCOUNTANT AT THE TABLE IF YOU WANT THEM — WE ENCOURAGE IT — PLUS STANDARD ENTITY AND LICENSE RECORDS.

HOW LONG TYPICALLY FOUR TO EIGHT WEEKS, DRIVEN MOSTLY BY HOW FAST PAPERWORK MOVES ON BOTH SIDES.

.05

Closemostly signatures

FUNDS MOVE AS THE AGREEMENT SAYS THEY DO — NO ELEVENTH-HOUR CONDITIONS, NO SURPRISE HOLDBACKS THAT WEREN'T ON PAGE ONE. BY THE END OF THE DAY, THE HARD PART IS BEHIND YOU.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED SIGNATURES, AND THE PLAN WE ALREADY WROTE FOR TELLING YOUR PEOPLE — ON YOUR SCHEDULE, IN YOUR WORDS.

HOW LONG A DAY — AND MOST OF IT IS COFFEE.

.06

A transition honoredon your terms, to a written end date

YOUR NAME STAYS ON THE DOOR THROUGH THE TRANSITION. CLIENTS ARE INTRODUCED WITH YOU, NOT INSTEAD OF YOU. YOUR ROLE — DAILY, OCCASIONAL, OR PURELY CEREMONIAL — IS DEFINED IN WRITING, AND SO IS THE DAY IT ENDS.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED WHATEVER ROLE YOU WANT IN THE HANDOFF — SPELLED OUT IN THE AGREEMENT BEFORE CLOSE, NOT IMPROVISED AFTER.

HOW LONG WRITTEN AROUND YOU — COMMONLY A FEW MONTHS TO A FULL RENEWAL CYCLE.

A fountain pen resting on a closed folder under a brass desk lamp

A handshake in silhouette against a dusk window

.THE OTHER LIST

What we never do— as binding as the six steps above.

NO PRESSURE TACTICS. NO EXPIRING OFFERS, NO MANUFACTURED DEADLINES — WRITTEN INTO OUR LOIS.

NO RETRADING. WE DO NOT LOWER AN OFFER BUILT ON NUMBERS WE VERIFIED OURSELVES.

NO TEASER NUMBERS. WE WILL NOT QUOTE A PRICE BEFORE THE NDA AND THE DATA — A NUMBER WITHOUT VERIFICATION IS A SALES TACTIC, NOT AN OFFER.

NO CALLS BEHIND YOUR BACK. YOUR STAFF, CLIENTS, AND CARRIERS HEAR NOTHING FROM US BEFORE THE MOMENT WE AGREED ON.

NO SHOPPING YOUR INFORMATION. YOUR DATA IS SEEN ONLY BY THE DEAL TEAM AND NEVER LEAVES OUR HANDS — THE FULL PROMISE IS AT /SELLERS/CONFIDENTIALITY.

NO OPEN-ENDED OBLIGATIONS. YOUR TRANSITION HAS AN END DATE ON PAPER, AND WHEN IT ARRIVES, YOU'RE DONE.

A ledger book, calculator, and glasses in a pool of lamplight

WANT THIS PAGE AS A ONE-PAGE SUMMARY FOR YOUR ADVISORS? IT PRINTS CLEANLY — OR ASK IN THE FORM AND WE'LL SEND ONE.

Start step one — a confidential call.the only step that asks nothing of you.

Start the conversation