---
title: "Go to Market — Sell-Side Brokerage | Exit Engine"
description: "Sell-side brokerage: CIM, targeted buyer outreach, LOI negotiation, diligence management, and close — run by the team that built your value. 6–12 months."
url: https://exit-engine.com/services-brokerage.html
last_modified: 2026-09-10
---
# Go to Market

Go to Market is Exit Engine's sell-side brokerage phase: CIM, targeted buyer outreach, indications of interest, LOI negotiation, definitive agreements, and close. The same team that engineered your value runs your deal — net-after-tax, timeline, and legacy protected.

## Engineered to market. Negotiated to close.

By the time we go to market, the business is tuned, the QofE is built, the data room is ready, and the value-gap analysis has been turned into the buyer narrative. We don't list and hope. We go to market on a coordinated schedule against a curated buyer list — and we negotiate from a position of preparation, not pressure.

## Go-to-market sequence

1. PRE-MARKET · **CIM & teaser preparation.** · Confidential information memorandum, anonymized teaser, data room build-out.
2. OUTREACH · **Targeted buyer list.** · Curated strategics, sponsors, and operator-buyers — sized to your goals, not the firm's quota.
3. IOI / LOI · **Indications & letters of intent.** · Bid management, structural negotiation, exclusivity protection.
4. DILIGENCE · **Diligence management.** · Buyer Q&A coordination, retrade defense, condition tracking — backed by the work we did in Consulting.
5. CLOSE · **Definitive agreements & close.** · Coordination with your attorney through purchase agreement, escrow, R&W insurance, working capital true-up.

## What we negotiate for

### Net-after-tax

The number that hits your account — not the headline price.

### Deal structure

Cash at close vs. earnout vs. seller note. Risk allocation that fits your goals.

### Reps & warranties

Indemnity caps, baskets, escrow. Protections you can live with for years.

### Transition terms

Your role post-close. Earnout protection. Legacy and team commitments.

The same partners who scored your Exit Readiness Scorecard, built your Value Study, ran your Value Acceleration Map, and led your Consulting — those are the people negotiating your deal. Continuity is the leverage. We don't transfer you to a "transaction team" the day we go to market.

- **Duration:** 6–12 months
- **Prerequisite:** [Consulting](https://exit-engine.com/services-consulting.html) gate passed
- **Representation:** One side per deal — never both
- **Outcome:** Close on engineered terms

## Questions owners ask about going to market.

### What is Go to Market?

Go to Market is Exit Engine's sell-side brokerage phase: CIM and teaser preparation, targeted buyer outreach, indications of interest, LOI negotiation, diligence management, definitive agreements, and close. It is Phase 5 of the pathway.

### How long does a sale take?

Typically six to twelve months from launch to close, following the pre-market preparation completed in earlier phases.

### Do you represent buyers as well as sellers?

No. Exit Engine represents one side of any deal — never both.

### What kinds of buyers do you approach?

A curated list of strategic acquirers, financial sponsors, and operator-buyers, sized to your goals rather than to a listing quota.

### What do you negotiate for?

Net-after-tax proceeds rather than the headline price; a deal structure (cash at close, earnout, seller note) that fits your goals; reps-and-warranties protections you can live with for years; and transition terms covering your post-close role, earnout protection, and commitments to your team.

### Do I have to complete the earlier phases first?

Go to Market begins once the Consulting gate is passed, because the preparation is what protects the price in diligence. Where it serves the owner better, Exit Engine will hand the transaction to a broker it trusts rather than run it in-house.

### How is Exit Engine paid for a sale?

Fees are not published. Brokerage engagement terms, including any success fee, are set out in writing before the engagement begins.

### What is a retrade, and how do you defend against one?

A retrade is a buyer lowering price or terms during diligence based on what it finds. The Value Study and Consulting phases close those findings in advance, and during diligence the team coordinates buyer Q&A, tracks conditions, and defends the agreed terms.