A lower middle-market M&A advisory firm needed to reach business owners considering exits. AI agents helped them connect with owners at the right moment—before they talked to other advisors.
* Company identity anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Results verified.
This M&A advisory firm represents sellers in the lower middle market ($5-50M in revenue). Their average engagement is $15-30M enterprise value, with success fees of $400K-800K.
Finding business owners at the right moment is the hardest part of their business. Most owners don't decide to sell until they're burned out or facing a triggering event. By then, they've often already talked to competitors.
They deployed 5 AI agents targeting business owners showing exit-readiness signals:
Messaging focused on education rather than selling: industry valuation trends, what buyers are looking for, and how to position for a premium exit. The approach positioned them as advisors, not salespeople.
"We closed two transactions from AI-sourced meetings—$1.8M in fees. The ROI is astronomical. The AI reached owners who were thinking about exit but hadn't talked to anyone yet. That's the holy grail in our business."
See how AI sales agents can help M&A advisors find exit-ready sellers.