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Happy Wednesday!
Yesterday I covered the three people worth having in place before you make your first offer:
A CPA who understands acquisitions
An M&A attorney
An operator or advisor with relevant industry experience
Today I want to cover the practical side: how to find them, and how to structure the compensation conversation.
Whitney joined Acquisition Ace in August while on maternity leave with her third child.
Just 9 months later, she closed on a $2M commercial cleaning company in Las Vegas, putting only $90K out of pocket (including all fees and QOE).
She brought on family investors, negotiated $150K in working capital from the seller, and structured the deal to generate over $300K in cash flow after debt service. That’s over 200% ROI in year one while keeping maximum flexibility with three kids under five.
She went from corporate entertainment executive to business owner without sacrificing time with her family.
👉 Want the same kind of guidance that Whitney got (which can help you close your first deal faster)? Book a call with our team here.
How to find them
The best source is other buyers who’ve already been through the process.
Ask who they used, whether they’d use them again, and what the experience was like.
People who’ve closed deals have strong opinions about who helped and who didn’t, and a referral from someone who’s been through a similar transaction is worth more than any Google search.
LinkedIn is also useful for finding professionals with acquisition-specific experience.
The key filter is whether they’ve worked on deals in your target size range and industry.
(Inside Acquisition Ace, members get direct access to accountants, attorneys, and advisors who specialize specifically in small business acquisitions in the $500K–$5M range. To see how our community can help with your first deal, book a call with our team here.)
How to compensate them
For most first-time buyers, the simplest approach is paying hourly or on a project basis.
This is clean, aligns their time with your specific deal, and keeps the relationship straightforward.
The alternative - offering a small equity stake in exchange for their involvement - can work well when you have a strong deal but limited cash for professional fees.
Some accountants and advisors are open to taking 2-3% equity in lieu of a retainer, particularly if they believe in the business and want ongoing upside from its growth.
Either structure can work.
What matters more than the compensation model is that you’ve had the conversation before you’re under contract - so when the time comes, you’re moving with your team already in place rather than trying to assemble one mid-deal.
The real reason this matters
Speed and decisiveness in acquisitions come from preparation.
When your team is ready, you can move the moment the right deal appears.
When they’re not, you spend the first weeks of your due diligence window doing housekeeping instead of actually evaluating the business.
Most first-time buyers figure this out the hard way, after they’ve already signed an LOI and started feeling the clock tick.
Getting ahead of it is one of the simplest ways to give yourself a genuine advantage throughout the entire process.
If you'd like access to a vetted network of acquisition professionals who’ve already worked on deals like the ones you’re pursuing, the Acquisition Ace community is where that network lives.
To see if it’s a good fit for you…
👉 Book a call with my team here and let’s talk.
 | Onward, Ben Kelly PS: Check out our latest YouTube video. We reveal how one entrepreneur built a multi-million dollar pool company from scratch with no industry experience. |
This is the tool I use to find deals: SMBMarket.com
