Private equity firms that are fighting for deal flow in the crowded lower middle market are turning to buy-side intermediary firms to hunt for proprietary opportunities.
Working with a buy-side deal advisor is meant to provide clarity in the market. Why, then, do firms often feel like they are in the dark in these engagements, only hearing from the advisor for the occasional deal?
At TruSight, we believe working with a retained search firm should be a partnership built on transparency and collaboration. We strive for clarity in what is all too often an opaque deal sourcing process. Our private equity clients get visibility into our research and outreach timetables, the progress of every target on their pipeline, and the engagement levels of the business owners we are approaching on their behalf.
Part of that is a result of our culture, rooted in demystifying the process and empowering our clients with better information, and ultimately, proprietary deal flow. Secondarily, we have implemented technology and processes to make things more clear.
So, what does it look like in practice?
It is not uncommon for some search firms to take weeks or months building out a comprehensive list of research before outreach even begins. Every day you spend waiting is another day that a business owner is talking to another buyer.
TruSight aims to have an initial target list within the first week and outreach beginning no later than two weeks. And with our “always-on” pipeline, new research is presented throughout the life of the engagement, meaning a continuous stream of new targets and outreach on a rolling basis.
It is not enough to just hear that conversations with an owner are progressing – you want to see it. Through our CRM, TruSight shares the visual pipeline of where every target in your list stands, including company data, proprietary call notes with owners, and the next steps in the deal process.
We provide both weekly or biweekly update calls to review your pipeline of targets, show you where conversations stand, and how companies are progressing through the funnel.
How do you know that your story is resonating with business owners? If a firm is simply sending email blasts, you may never know. With business owners receiving solicitations every day, it is more critical than ever to look behind the curtain of your outreach campaign.
In addition to a consultative process ensuring that the right messaging is being delivered, TruSight provides insights into email metrics like open, click, and read rates, as well as metrics around who is engaging the most with your strategy. This data is used to craft high-priority target lists and guides how and when we progress with our outreach campaign. We can anticipate when to change messaging or provide fresh insights to your targets so that the outreach, and leads, never get stale.
Learn more about how TruSight's proprietary buy-side deal sourcing service can enhance your deal origination efforts by scheduling a call with us today.