Business Buyer’s Mandate & Deal Scorecard

Description

Define the Business Worth Buying Before You Start Looking

Brokers pay attention to buyers who know exactly what they want. A buyer who simply wants a business gets every listing in the drawer. A buyer with a written mandate gets the call when the right deal appears.

IWS turns your ambition into that mandate. We define the businesses worth pursuing, the deal-breakers that save you months, and a scoring system that lets you judge every opportunity by the same rules.

Who This Is For

• First-time buyers ready to start a serious search
• Owners planning an add-on acquisition
• Investors and search-fund operators who want consistent screening

What You Receive

• A concise acquisition mandate: preferred business types, acceptable economics, geography, buyer resources, and deal-breakers
• Scoring weights tailored to your goals
• A reusable Excel screening scorecard
• A PDF search brief ready to share with brokers and intermediaries

How It Works

1. Place your order. Your confirmation arrives immediately, with a short list of what to start gathering.
2. Complete your intake. Within two business days, IWS emails a questionnaire built for this service, plus a secure link for your files.
3. Confirm the scope. IWS reviews your materials and confirms the scope and your delivery date in writing. Your turnaround clock starts here.
4. Receive your work. Your finished deliverables arrive digitally in about 7 business days, followed by one round of clarifications and corrections.

Example: Translating an Acquisition Ambition Into a Workable Mandate

Illustrative example: a hypothetical scenario showing how this assignment works in practice.

Picture a first-time buyer who wants a manufacturing business under $5 million. The search immediately turns up owner-dependent machine shops, seasonal job shops, import-heavy distributors, and companies far outside the buyer’s operating strengths.

IWS would convert the ambition into clear criteria for industry, geography, size, revenue quality, and management depth, including explicit disqualifiers. With the mandate and scorecard in hand, the buyer evaluates every listing consistently and speaks to brokers with authority.

Your Assignment at a Glance

• Scope: One buyer or buyer group, one acquisition strategy, and one primary geography
• Turnaround: about 7 business days, counted from the day your intake is complete and IWS confirms your scope
• Delivered as: Editable buyer mandate, Excel screening scorecard, and PDF search brief
• Included: one round of clarifications and corrections
• Have ready: Your objectives, capital and financing assumptions, operating capabilities, geographic preferences, and desired acquisition size
• Investment: $495, fixed price

Related Assignments

Target lists, owner outreach, broker representation, and valuation opinions are separate assignments. When you are ready to build a pipeline, see the Off-Market Acquisition Target List. When a specific deal appears, see the Business-for-Sale First-Look Review.

The IWS Scope Promise

Every assignment begins with a written scope confirmation, before any work starts. If your project calls for more than this package covers, IWS tells you up front and you choose: expand the scope, narrow the project to fit the package, or cancel for a refund. Once IWS confirms your scope and begins work, service fees are non-refundable. See the IWS refund policy.

Why IWS for Business Buyers

IWS practices what it publishes. In 2023, Anthony Raymond Michalski acquired International Wealth Success itself, putting the buy-a-business methods taught in the IWS catalog to work on a real transaction. Buyers who work with IWS get research and screening shaped by the buyer’s side of the table, backed by six decades of IWS teaching on financing acquisitions with other people’s money. For the financing side of your deal, see The OPM Advantage and The Leverage Code.

Questions Clients Ask

I am still deciding between buying and starting a business. Is this a fit?

Yes. Building the mandate forces the questions that settle that decision: how much capital you can commit, which skills you bring, and what income you need. Many buyers find their answer during intake.

When does the turnaround clock start?

The day your intake is complete and IWS confirms the scope in writing. A fast intake means a fast delivery.

How does IWS handle my confidential information?

Your materials serve your assignment alone. Sensitive financial records travel through a secure upload link, and IWS keeps your project confidential from start to finish.

Ready to begin? Add the Business Buyer’s Mandate & Deal Scorecard to your cart, and your intake arrives within two business days.

Move forward boldly . . .

IWS provides research, writing, analysis, and business-planning services. Funding, investment, acquisition, and approval decisions rest with the lenders, investors, sellers, and agencies involved. For legal, tax, accounting, investment, and securities matters, IWS recommends your licensed professional advisers.