Gate 3 - Sell A Business
Value Acceleration Methodology™ — three gates
This page covers Gate 3. The Structured Sale™ is the execution method.
The plan is done. The Structured Sale™ is how it executes.
By the time Gate 3 starts, you have the answers from Gate 1 (what the business is worth, what you need from the sale to fund the rest of your life) and the lift from Gate 2 (the Value Builder Score work that made the business more valuable, easier to run, and more attractive to a buyer). Gate 3 is execution. The Structured Sale™ is the method: a confidential, structured sell-side process built around one outcome, your sale on your terms, on the timeline the plan called for.
From Gates 1 and 2
- A defensible valuation under NACVA Professional Standards methodology (Gate 1)
- A personal financial plan from a vetted financial planner partner (Gate 1)
- A higher Value Builder Score across the 8 Drivers of Value, with documented driver lifts (Gate 2)
- An aligned advisor team ready for the sale conversation: CPA, attorney, financial planner, M&A lead (Gates 1 and 2)
A closed transaction, on plan
- Multiple qualified buyers evaluated against your Gate 1 goals, not the first offer that lands
- A negotiated LOI and definitive agreement on terms aligned to the personal-financial picture from Gate 1
- A closing on the timeline the plan called for, typically 90 to 180 days from first market activity to wire
- A transition arrangement that matches what you said you wanted in Gate 1 about life after the business
The Structured Sale™ timeline
Three phases inside Gate 3. The same credentialed lead advisor across every one. Typical Gate 3 execution: 90 to 180 days, first market activity to closing wire.
Research & package
- Refresh the Gate 1 valuation if more than 6 months old
- Take the Gate 1 + Gate 2 work and translate into the buyer-facing package
- Build the CIM, blind teaser, financial recast, and data room
- Matterport 3D scan for businesses with a physical location
- Confirm Gate 1 goals (price, timing, transition) in the engagement letter
Output: Buyer-ready package built on Gate 1 and Gate 2 work.
Go to market
- Multi-channel outreach: regional buyer network, PE / family office, strategic acquirers
- Pre-screening on financial capacity and NDAs before any CIM goes out
- Teaser - NDA - CIM - buyer / seller meetings, all confidential
- Managed buyer competition: multiple qualified buyers in process at the same time
- LOIs evaluated against the Gate 1 goals, not just the headline number
Output: Multiple LOIs, evaluated against Gate 1 goals.
Close
- Due diligence: we coach your responses, handle buyer requests, protect the deal
- Closing attorney drafts the definitive agreement
- Walk-through immediately before closing
- Signing at the attorney's office, seller's check issued
- Transition into post-close arrangement as negotiated in the LOI
Output: A closed transaction on Gate 1 terms.
The pace is the point. Because the Gate 1 valuation and the Gate 2 driver work are already done, Gate 3 starts at speed. We have closed multi-million-dollar deals 90 days from first market activity to wire. The whole reason the Structured Sale™ works inside Gate 3 is the speed at which we generate buyer activity, lock down offers, and create competition for the same business at the same time, all measured against the goals the plan locked in during Gate 1.
You will know what the market thinks in under 30 days.
The Gate 1 valuation gave you a defensible number for planning. The first 30 days of Gate 3 market activity tell you which buyer profiles engage, what indicative offers look like, and whether the actual market is on, above, or below the valuation. You learn what your business is worth to the actual market versus what a single broker thinks you will take, in under a month.
What sets execution apart
Three things owners notice within the first 30 days of Gate 3 execution. Each one is a structural choice, not a slogan.
Regional market expertise
We know the local buyers, industries, and how deals move across New Orleans, the North Shore, Baton Rouge, Houma-Thibodaux, and South Mississippi. Not an out-of-region firm sending junior staff.
- Coverage
- 5 Gulf South markets
- Lead advisor
- In every meeting
- Buyer pool
- Local + national
Coordinated advisor team
By Gate 3 your CPA, attorney, and financial planner already know the deal. We coordinate everyone through closing instead of starting from scratch. The same team that walked Gates 1 and 2 walks Gate 3.
- Posture
- Collaborative, not territorial
- Coordination
- Continuous from Gate 1
- Your team
- Stays your team
Decisions you understand
We teach you what we see at every LOI and every negotiation. Methodologies you can see, numbers you can verify, no opaque expertise. You make the call on every term in the agreement, fully informed.
- Methodology
- Visible & auditable
- Numbers
- Sourced & reproducible
- Lead
- IBBA Past Educator
What this looks like at the closing wire
Composite of a typical Gate 3 execution after the prior gates were run. Real deals vary; the shape stays consistent.
$4.2M commercial HVAC sale, 142 days first activity to wire
Family-owned mechanical contractor, 14-year operating history, two principals exiting together. Gates 1 and 2 produced a NACVA-standard valuation, a Freedom Point read on personal-financial readiness, and a Value Builder Score lift of 17 points over a 9-month Gate 2 sprint. Gate 3 started with a refreshed valuation and the Gate 2 driver work already documented.
Confidential outreach reached both individual buyers (SBA-qualified) and regional strategics. Four buyers ran management meetings inside 45 days. Three LOIs landed. Exclusivity granted to the strategic with the cleanest terms and the strongest reps-and-warranties posture, not the highest headline price, because that LOI matched the Gate 1 transition-arrangement goals.
Closed in 142 days from first market activity to wire, with a transition consulting agreement in place for both principals.
- Sale price
- $4.2M
- Days to close
- 142first activity to wire
- Qualified buyers
- 11NDA & CIM-stage
- LOIs received
- 3
- Final / asking
- +8%premium to ask
How the Structured Sale™ compares
The honest read on where each path actually fits, and what it costs you in time, certainty, and seat at the table.
| Duran Structured Sale™ | Main Street Broker | Investment Bank | DIY / FSBO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target deal size | $1M-$25M revenue | Under $2M revenue | $25M+ revenue | Any |
| Buyer pools worked | Individual + PE + strategic | Individual buyers | PE + strategic | Whoever finds you |
| First market signal | Under 30 days | 3-6 months | 60-90 days | Open-ended |
| Pre-market diagnostics | ✓ NACVA + VBS from Gates 1-2 | × Asking-price guidance | ✓ Full QoE | × None |
| Lead advisor seniority | Credentialed senior, every meeting | Variable | Senior on pitch, junior on execution | You |
| Typical fee structure | Engagement fee + success | Success-only | Retainer + success (Lehman) | None / DIY costs |
| Certainty of close | High (managed competition) | Moderate | High (when fit) | Low |
Common Gate 3 questions
The questions we hear from owners moving from planning into execution.
How is this different from just selling the business?
The mechanics of the sale are the same, the preparation behind it is not. Owners who arrive at Gate 3 through the EPI Value Acceleration Methodology start the process with a defensible valuation, a documented Value Builder Score lift, a coordinated advisor team, and a personal financial plan already in place. That preparation typically translates into faster close, stronger negotiating posture, and a transaction that matches what the owner said they wanted before the first buyer was contacted.
If you have not done Gates 1 and 2 and want to go straight to a sale, see our Sell A Business hub for the direct sell-side track.
How long does Gate 3 actually take?
90 to 180 days from first market activity to closing wire, on the Structured Sale™. The fastest closes we have run on multi-million-dollar deals have been at the 90-day mark. The slowest are typically slowed by buyer financing, due diligence on documentation gaps, or seller-side decisions taking longer than expected.
Gate 3 generally executes faster than a cold sell-side engagement because Gates 1 and 2 already produced the valuation, the score work, and the documentation buyers will ask for.
What if the Gate 1 valuation is now stale?
If the Gate 1 valuation is older than about six months, we refresh it at the start of Gate 3. Rush refresh: 24 hours for a calculation update, 72 hours for a conclusion of value. Significant changes in the financials, the market, or the industry trigger the refresh regardless of age.
How do you find buyers we haven't already talked to?
Three channels: regional buyer relationships built over 15+ years in the Gulf South, PE and family-office outreach to sponsors actively looking in your revenue band and industry, and strategic-buyer mapping (competitors, vertical-integration plays, geographic expansions).
By the time we reach the LOI stage you have typically heard from buyers you would not have found on your own, and from buyers who would never have called you cold.
Will my employees, customers, or competitors find out we're selling?
The Structured Sale™ is built around confidentiality at every stage. NDAs gate everything before the teaser, the teaser is industry-blind, and the CIM only releases after NDA execution. Site visits are scheduled outside business hours when needed. We have closed deals where the only people inside the company who knew were the seller and one trusted advisor.
What does the engagement fee structure look like in Gate 3?
We charge an engagement fee at the start of Gate 3, applied against the success fee at closing. The engagement fee funds the buyer-facing package (CIM refresh, data room build, buyer profile), positioning, and outreach. Total compensation is heavily weighted to the success fee at closing, because we only win when you win.
Engagement letter spells everything out before you sign anything. Existing Gate 1 / Gate 2 clients get credit for prior work where applicable.
Credentials & experience
Duran Advisors' senior leadership is among the most credentialed sell-side advisor groups in the Gulf South, with active certifications across M&A, exit planning, value growth, and main street brokerage, plus IEPA board involvement and a past IBBA Educator role.
- M&AMI
- CM&AA
- CM&AP
- CEPA
- CVGA
- CVB
- CAIM
- CMSBB
- IBBA Past Educator
- IEPA Board
- 20+ Years
Start Gate 3
A 30-minute confidential conversation. We will pick up the work from Gates 1 and 2, scope the Gate 3 engagement letter, and outline what the first 30 days of market activity will look like.