Business broker listings (BizBuySell, BusinessesForSale)
Companies actively for sale
Active sellers; lower market
State business registrations (Secretary of State)
Company formation date, registered agent, officers
Identifying owners of private companies
Industry association member directories
Companies in target industries
Industry-specific deal sourcing
LinkedIn (owner/founder search)
Business owners by industry, location, company size
Direct outreach to owners
D&B / Dun & Bradstreet
Company financials, employee count, SIC/NAICS codes
Filtering by revenue and industry
PitchBook / Crunchbase
Funded companies; past M&A activity
Add-on acquisitions; growth equity
Trade publications
Industry trends; companies mentioned
News-triggered outreach
Tax and licensing databases
Professional practices (medical, dental, legal, accounting)
Practice acquisitions
Commercial real estate records
Company locations; lease expirations
Operational intelligence
SBDC and SBA resources
Small businesses by region
Lower middle market
Owner and founder intent signals
Signal
What it suggests
Outreach approach
Owner age (60+)
Potential succession planning; retirement
"Have you thought about your transition plan?"
Listed on broker site
Actively exploring sale
"I saw your listing. We may be a good fit..."
Recent key employee departures
Operational challenges; potential fatigue
Empathetic; focus on partnership
Declining industry trends
Owner may want to exit before further decline
Industry expertise; timing sensitivity
Partner/co-founder departure
Remaining owner may want liquidity
Offer to discuss options
Revenue plateau (industry data)
Growth ceiling; may want capital or exit
Growth equity angle
Health or personal events
May trigger exit consideration
Sensitive; referral-based approach preferred
Competitor acquisitions
Market consolidation; owner sees peers selling
"Your competitors are consolidating. Here is what that means..."
Professional advisor change
New accountant or attorney may suggest exploring options
Connect with the new advisor
Cold Email Templates
PE firm to business owner (exploratory)
Section
Content
Subject line
"[Company] - partnership discussion"
Opening
"I lead investments in [industry] companies at [PE firm]. We have partnered with [X] companies like [comparable portfolio company] to help them [grow / expand / transition]..."
Why them
"What stands out about [Company] is [specific observation: market position, reputation, growth, geographic coverage]"
What you offer
"We provide capital, operational support and industry expertise to help [industry] companies reach their next stage, whether that is expansion, acquisition or succession planning"
Low pressure
"I would welcome a conversation even if timing is not right now. Many of our best partnerships started with an introductory call months before anything formal"
CTA
"Would a brief introductory call be of interest?"
M&A advisor to owner (sell-side)
Section
Content
Subject line
"Market conditions for [industry] businesses"
Opening
"I advise [industry] business owners on strategic transactions. The current market for [their niche] businesses is strong, with multiples at [X-Y]x EBITDA..."
Value
"I recently helped [comparable company description, without naming] achieve a [X]x multiple, [X]% above initial expectations"
Education
"Even if a sale is not on your radar now, understanding your company's current market value helps with long-term planning"
CTA
"Would a confidential, no-obligation valuation discussion be useful?"
Search fund to owner (acquisition)
Section
Content
Subject line
"Acquiring and operating a [industry] company"
Opening
"My name is [Name]. I am an entrepreneur backed by [investor group] specifically looking to acquire and operate one [industry] company for the long term..."
Differentiation
"Unlike PE firms that buy, optimise and sell, I plan to run this business personally for 7-10+ years. I am looking for a company I can build a career around"
Criteria
"I am looking for companies with [$X-$Y] in revenue, [X]+ years in business, strong customer relationships and an owner who wants to know their legacy continues"
CTA
"If you have ever considered your options, I would welcome a conversation. No pressure, no timeline"
PE firm to intermediary (deal flow)
Section
Content
Subject line
"[PE Firm] - [industry] investment criteria"
Opening
"I wanted to introduce [PE Firm] and share our investment criteria in case you have or encounter relevant deal flow..."
Criteria
"We invest [$X-$Y] in [industry] companies with [$X]+ revenue, [X]%+ EBITDA margins and [specific characteristics]"
Track record
"Our portfolio includes [X] [industry] companies, and we have closed [X] transactions in the past [X] years"
Value to intermediary
"We move quickly (LOI within [X] weeks of CIM), do not retrade, and close [X]% of deals we put under LOI"
CTA
"Would a call to discuss our criteria in more detail be helpful?"
Outreach Sequencing
Business owner outreach sequence
Email
Timing
Content
Goal
Introduction
Day 1
Introduce firm; explain why their company is interesting
Open conversation
Industry insight
Day 10
Share relevant industry data (M&A activity, multiples, trends)
Demonstrate expertise
Case study
Day 21
"We helped a [similar company description] achieve [outcome]" (no names without permission)
Social proof
Market update
Day 35
"The [industry] M&A market has [changed/strengthened]. Here is what that means for companies like yours"
Stay relevant
Soft close
Day 50
"I know the timing may not be right now. When might it make sense to reconnect?"
Learn timeline
Compliance Considerations
Regulation
Requirement
Impact on outreach
CAN-SPAM
Commercial email must include opt-out, physical address, honest subject line
Standard email compliance
SEC regulations
Cannot make specific return promises; must disclose material facts
Avoid promising specific outcomes
State solicitation laws
Some states require broker-dealer registration for M&A advisory
Ensure proper licensing
Confidentiality
Deal discussions are inherently confidential
Never reference specific deals or company names without permission
FINRA (if applicable)
Broker-dealer communications must be fair, balanced and not misleading
Review outreach with compliance
Metrics
Target
Open rate
Reply rate
Meeting rate
Notes
Business owner (cold)
30-45%
3-8%
2-5%
Personal; non-corporate email common
Business owner (warm referral)
50-70%
15-30%
10-20%
Referral dramatically increases response
Investment banker / M&A advisor
35-50%
5-12%
3-8%
Always looking for buyers
Corporate development
25-35%
3-6%
2-4%
Process-oriented; formal
Accountant / attorney (referral source)
30-40%
4-8%
3-6%
Relationship-building focus
Family office
25-35%
3-6%
2-4%
Selective; relationship-driven
Building Deal Sourcing Prospect Lists
When compiling prospect data from state business registration databases (HTML, CSV), industry association directories, broker listing sites, LinkedIn research, PitchBook exports (CSV), professional licensing databases (PDF), trade show exhibitor lists and referral network contacts, upload the files to Email Extractor to extract and deduplicate email addresses. Business owners appear across multiple state registrations, industry associations and professional directories, so deduplication prevents contacting the same owner through overlapping outreach campaigns and maintains the professional impression essential for deal sourcing.
