Methodology
Three phases. The first one can end the engagement – and sometimes should.
Phase 1 exists to answer one question: can this business be sold? We do not proceed to preparation until that answer is established in writing. This is a preparation process, not a transaction process.
HOW WE WORK
Here is the entire process and we are not part of the last step.
Ten steps across roughly eight weeks of diagnosis, then remediation only if it is warranted. Step 6 can end the engagement, and sometimes should.
Our fee is identical whether you sell, hold, or close. We receive nothing from a transaction, so nothing in this process is bent toward producing one.
- PHASE 1
- FEASIBILITY
about 8 weeks
1
STEP 1
First Conversation
30-45 minutes. No cost, no obligation
A conversation, not an intake form. We ask why now, what you want the next chapter to look like, and what worries you about it. We offer a mutual NDA before you tell us anything specific.
If a feasibility engagement is not the right step for you, we say so here – at no charge.
2
STEP 2
Engagement & Document Request
1 week
A written scope: what is included, what is not, and a fixed retainer set by revenue size, industry complexity, and scope -agreed before any work begins. No success fee. No transaction-based compensation of any kind.
We then issue the document request list-the same list published openly on this site, so nothing about it is a surprise.
3
STEP 3
Owner Objectives & Exit Intent
1-2 weeks-Diagnostic area
Is the exit horizon actually defined one to three years, three to five, or undecided? Does price matter more than speed, or the reverse? Is a family successor a real plan or a hope? Have post-retirement cash needs been calculated?
Most failed exits begin here, not in the financials.
4
STEP 4
Financial Reality & Recast
2-3 weeks Diagnostic area
Five years of statements tested against tax filings. We separate legitimate owner add-backs from the earnings a buyer will actually credit, measure customer concentration, and model whether cash flow survives your departure
Books built for tax minimization routinely make a strong business look weak. Recasting them correctly and detensibly is often the highest-return work in the engagement.
5
STEP 5
Ownership, Organization & Legal
2-3 weeks Diagnostic areas 85
The cap table and any undocumented family arrangements. Buy-sell and shareholder agreements. Owner dependency could a manager run this without you? Key-employee contracts. Leases, loans, major customer and supplier agreements. Trademark and IP registration.
In diligence, an undocumented agreement is treated as no agreement at all.
6
STEP 6
The Verdict
1 week Delivered in person, not emailed
A written determination with the reasoning behind it, every red flag found, and what each one costs in valuation terms -walked through with you in a working session.
Three outcomes are possible. One of them ends the engagement here.
THREE POSSIBLE VERDICTS
A
Sellable as it stands
Remediation is not needed. We move directly to readiness verification and handoff.
– Continue at Step 10
B
Sellable after remediation
The business can meet buyer standards, but not yet. Phase 2 scope is defined by what the diagnosis actually found never by a standard package.
– Continue to Phase 2
C
Sale not recommended
We recommend an alternative instead -internal succession, partial divestiture, an orderly wind-down, or a defined re-review in two to three years.
– Engagement ends. Nothing further is owed.
- PHASE 2
- REMEDIATION
6 to 18 months, verdict B only
7
STEP 7
Remediation Roadmap
2 weeks
Sequenced actions with named owners, dependencies, and realistic dates – prioritized by valuation impact rather than by ease.
You approve the roadmap before any work begins, and you may stop at any point without penalty.
8
STEP 8
Execution
6-18 months Quarterly working sessions
Corporate structure cleanup. HR policy and management depth. Documenting what was only ever verbal. Resolving legal, IP, and compliance gaps.
We work alongside your attorney and CPA, never in place of them. No surprise invoices between sessions.
9
STEP 9
Readiness Re-Measurement
Every quarter
The same scorecard across all five diagnostic areas, re-run each quarter against the original baseline.
Progress becomes visible and defensible – you watch the gap close rather than taking our word for it.
- PHASE 3
- HANDOFF
10
STEP 10
Buyer-Standard Verification & Handoff
About 1 month
We verify readiness against what buyers in your sector actually require today – the standard our cross-border research exists to keep current and map realistic transition paths with their trade-offs.
Then we assemble the handoff package for transaction professionals and, if you want it, help you interview and select brokers, investment bankers, or M&A counsel.
WHERE OUR WORK ENDS
The sale process begins here - with someone else.
Valuation, marketing package, buyer outreach, offers, diligence, purchase agreement, escrow, transition. Those steps belong to a broker or an investment bank, and they are the right people for them.
We do not broker the transaction, represent a buyer, or receive any part of what the business sells for. If we did, we could not have told you honestly at Step 6 that it was not ready.
No guarantees. A feasibility assessment is a professional judgment based on information available at the time of review. CNJ Elevate does not guarantee that a business will sell, at what price, or within what timeframe.
DELIVERABLES
You receive documents, not impressions.
A
Feasibility Report
A written verdict with the reasoning behind it, the red flags identified, and what each one costs in valuation terms.
Remediation Roadmap
Sequenced actions with owners, dependencies, and realistic timelines prioritized by valuation impact, not by ease.
C
Readiness Scorecard
A repeatable measure across the five diagnostic areas, so progress is visible and defensible over time.