Taming The SBA Acquisition Timeline

Heather outlines how to manage the intense 90 day window between a signed Letter of Intent (LOI) and closing an SMB acquisition. She emphasizes that because 75 percent of signed LOIs fail to close, you must act as a heroic project manager by pulling forward high risk diligence items immediately. Heather recommends assembling a specialized deal team—including a loan broker, an M&A attorney, and a Quality of Earnings (QoE) provider—before even submitting an LOI. Success depends on shifting the focus from your own growth projections to proving the business’s historical stability and managing the complex, geometric growth of communication between buyers, sellers, lenders, and attorneys as the closing date approaches