INSIDE PRIVATE ADVISORY

Stop Time Killing Your Exit

A trade buyer wants 90 days of exclusivity, and every week brings another list of questions. Ivanka Menken uses the Deal-Time Leverage Map inside Private Advisory, a 12-month engagement at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, to put a clock on the sale: dated decision points, a limit on requests, the price logic in writing and your walk-away terms. You leave with one page that shows where a drawn-out process hands leverage to the buyer, and how to take it back.

Apply for Private Advisory, AUD $5,000/mo, 12 monthsBook a 20-minute intro call

The Deal-Time Leverage Map is a tool inside Private Advisory, not a separate product. Ivanka does not value businesses, negotiate for you or give legal or financial advice.

THE SALE, AS IT WAS RUNNING

Ninety days of exclusivity, and no date that decided anything.

  1. THE BUSINESSa family-owned services business, first sale talks22 people, $4.2m
  2. THE PROCESSexclusivity asked for, requests added every week90 days
  3. THE MAPdecision dates, a request limit, walk-away terms1 page

THE RULE

“Every week of the sale has a date that decides something, or it is the buyer’s week, not yours.”

Your dates and terms will be your own.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

More time, and less price

  1. 01A buyer wants a long exclusivity period and you think more time makes the deal safer.
  2. 02Every call ends with another information request, and nobody has said when they stop.
  3. 03You cannot say, in writing, how the buyer got to the price or what would make you walk away.

THE SALE, AS IT STANDS

  • Exclusivity: 90 days, signed
  • Information requests: added every week
  • Decision dates: none
  • Price logic: in the buyer’s head
  • Walk-away terms: not written

The buyer has the clock. The founder has the work.

THE EXAMPLE CASE

The founder who thought more time made the sale safer

  1. 01

    THE MOMENT

    Week six, and a fourth list of questions

    It is week six of a ninety-day exclusivity. The buyer has sent a fourth list of questions, this one about two customers you thought were settled. Your operations manager has spent three weekends on the data. On the last call, the buyer mentioned that the price might need another look once the answers are in. Nobody has set a date for anything.

  2. 02

    WHAT THEY HAD TRIED

    Sign the exclusivity, answer everything

    In this case, the founder ran a family-owned services business of 22 people at about $4.2m revenue, in first sale talks with a trade buyer. The obvious fix was to agree the 90 days the buyer asked for and answer every request quickly, to show good faith. Each fast answer brought a new list, and every list gave the buyer another reason to revisit the price.

  3. 03

    WHAT IVANKA NOTICED

    A sale with no clock

    Ivanka noticed the deal had no dates that decided anything, no limit on what could be asked, and no written logic for the price. The founder treated time as protection. In practice, every open week belonged to the buyer, who could distract the team, raise doubts and negotiate down while the founder kept doing the work.

THE DIAGNOSIS

An open-ended process, not a doubtful buyer

The real problem was not buyer seriousness. It was a process with no end points, which moved leverage to the buyer one week at a time.

The reframe: time is a term of the deal. Decide the dates, the request list and the walk-away terms before the next call, and the sale either moves on those terms or stops costing you weeks.

Time is a term of the deal. Write it down like the price.

THE COST OF STAYING STUCK

Every open week costs the team’s attention, gives the buyer another reason to revisit the price, and keeps the business in limbo for staff and customers.

THE TOOL

The Deal-Time Leverage Map, for one services business

The Deal-Time Leverage Map is how Private Advisory puts a clock on a sale. It lays the process out as dated decision points, shows each place where an open week hands leverage to the buyer, and replaces it with a date, a limit or a written term the founder brings to the next call.

The Deal-Time Leverage Map, for one services business saleAt the top, the buyer's clock: a 90-day exclusivity bar from day 0 to day 90 with four request lists landing on days 7, 14, 28 and 42, growing each time, and a dashed price line sagging from left to right, labelled price, revisited. In the middle, three leaks with their fixes in gold: open exclusivity, 90 days with no review date, fixed to 60 days reviewed on day 30; requests with no end, fixed to one list closed on day 14; price logic unwritten, fixed to confirmed in writing on day 30. At the bottom, the founder's clock in gold: 60 days with decision points on day 0 heads of terms, day 14 request list closed, day 30 price logic in writing, day 45 terms against the walk-away terms, and day 60 in a gold ring, sign or stop. Dates and lists are an example. Underneath, the rule to copy.WHO OWNS THE CLOCK (EXAMPLE)1THEIR CLOCK: 90 DAYS, NO DATESDay 0Day 901234four request lists,and the next one?price, revisited each week2THE THREE LEAKSOpen exclusivity90 days, no review dateRequests with no enda new list every weekPrice logic unwrittenrevisited as answers arrive360 days, reviewed on day 303one list, closed on day 143confirmed in writing, day 304YOUR CLOCK: 60 DAYSDAY 0Heads of termsDAY 14Request list closedDAY 30Price logic in writingDAY 45Terms vs walk-awayDAY 60Sign or stopTHE DEAL CLOCK, AS WRITTENEvery week has a date that decides.One request list. Price logic in writing.Walk-away terms before the next call.On the last date: sign, or stop.

Tap a part. The dates are an example; your clock and terms will be your own.

Deal-Time Leverage Map · a framework by Ivanka Menken

What it is

It is one page. Along the top, the deal clock from heads of terms to signing, with dated decision points. Under it, the three leaks: open exclusivity, unlimited requests and unwritten price logic. Each leak gets its fix in gold: a shorter period with a review date, one agreed request list, the price logic and the walk-away terms in writing.

What it replaces

It replaces an open-ended exclusivity, answering every question the day it arrives, and a price that can be revisited whenever new information turns up.

It sits inside Private Advisory, where a sale is one of the big decisions of the year, worked through in the fortnightly sessions and a Clarity Day. Ivanka does not negotiate, value the business or give legal advice; the founder takes the map to their adviser and lawyer.

THE MAP, AS WRITTEN

  • 01Exclusivity: 60 days, not 90, with a review on day 30
  • 02Day 14: one agreed information request list, closed
  • 03Day 30: answers delivered, price logic confirmed in writing
  • 04Day 45: draft terms against the written walk-away terms
  • 05Day 60: sign, or stop and reopen other conversations
  • 06New requests after day 14: traded for time, not added free

HOW IVANKA WORKED WITH THEM

From an open process to a dated one

In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to lay out every request received so far and the date each one arrived, then to say what they would need to see to sign and what would make them walk away. Together they wrote the deal clock: a shorter exclusivity with a review date, one request list, the price logic in writing and the walk-away terms. The founder took the map to their adviser and lawyer before the next call with the buyer.

THE DEAL-TIME LEVERAGE MAP, AS WRITTEN

Exclusivity
A set number of days, with a review date half way.
Request list
One list, agreed and closed; anything new is traded for time.
Price logic
How the buyer reached the price, written down and confirmed.
Walk-away terms
What would end the talks, decided before the next call.
Review
At every decision date, against the walk-away terms

Your dates and your terms will be your own.

THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

  1. 1The one thingA sale with 90 days of exclusivity and no clock.
  2. 2The numbers22 people, $4.2m, a fourth request list in week six.
  3. 3The storyMore time makes the deal safer.
  4. 4The commitmentDates, one request list and walk-away terms before the next call.

THE QUESTIONS

  • What has the buyer asked for, and when did each request arrive?
  • Which date in this process decides anything?
  • How did the buyer get to the price, in writing?
  • What would make you walk away?
  • Who on your team is carrying the requests?

Before the next session, the founder took the map to their adviser and lawyer, put the dates and the request list to the buyer, and brought the buyer’s response back to the session.

WHAT CHANGED

A sale that moves on dates

Over the engagement, every sale conversation runs on a dated clock, requests come through one list, the price logic is in writing, and the founder knows the terms that would end the talks before they sit down.

BEFORE

  • Exclusivity with no review date.
  • Requests answered as they arrive.
  • A price that could be revisited any week.
  • No written walk-away terms.

BY MONTH 6

  • A shorter period, reviewed half way.
  • One request list, agreed and closed.
  • The price logic confirmed in writing.
  • Walk-away terms decided first.

THE 12 MONTHS

  1. 12 sessions
  2. 22 sessions
  3. 3Clarity Day
  4. 42 sessions
  5. 52 sessions
  6. 62 sessions
  7. 7Clarity Day
  8. 82 sessions
  9. 92 sessions
  10. 102 sessions
  11. 11Clarity Day
  12. 122 sessions

The programme is the container: 12 months, 24 fortnightly 90-minute 1:1 sessions and three Clarity Days.

ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT

In this case, the founder put dated decision points to the buyer, narrowed the requests to one agreed list and wrote the walk-away terms before the next call. From there, the deal either moved toward signing on those terms or the founder stopped spending weeks on it.

Ivanka Menken in conversation with a business owner at a busy gathering
A sale with a clock on it, so time stops working for the buyer.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

Put a clock on the sale before the next call

Ivanka Menken runs Private Advisory for founders of A$2M to A$10M businesses facing the decisions that shape the next five years. Selling the business is one of the biggest, and the time it takes is part of the price.

This fits if a buyer is in the room, the process feels open-ended and requests keep arriving. It does not fit if you want a broker, a valuation or legal advice. The decision in front of you is the date that decides something next. Write it down before the next call.

“Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.”

R.W., founder

WHO IT IS FOR

It fits

  • You are in sale talks, or expect to be soon.
  • A buyer has asked for exclusivity or a long process.
  • Requests keep arriving and nobody has set an end point.
  • You will take the map to your adviser and lawyer.

It does not fit

  • You want the business valued.
  • You want someone to negotiate for you.
  • You want legal, tax or financial advice.
  • You are not prepared to walk away from a deal.

THE INVESTMENT

AUD $5,000

per month ex GST

12 months · 24 fortnightly 90-minute sessions · three Clarity Days

The Deal-Time Leverage Map is part of Private Advisory, a 12-month engagement at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, by application. It is not sold separately.

  • 24 fortnightly 90-minute 1:1 sessions
  • Three Clarity Days on the year’s biggest decisions
  • The quarterly five-number read
  • A Deal-Time Leverage Map for your sale
Apply for Private Advisory, AUD $5,000/mo, 12 monthsBook a 20-minute intro callSee the Private Advisory programme →

The Deal-Time Leverage Map is part of Private Advisory. It is not sold separately.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Questions about the time a sale takes

How long should exclusivity be when selling a business?

As long as the work needs, with a review date half way, and no longer. A long period with no dates gives the buyer time to raise doubts and revisit the price. Agree the length with your adviser and lawyer. Ivanka Menken helps you set the dates and the review point inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST. She does not give legal advice.

Should I answer every information request from a buyer?

Answer the requests on one agreed list, and trade anything new for time. Answering every request the day it arrives tells the buyer the process has no end, and each answer can open a new question about the price. Ivanka Menken works out that list and the order of answers with you inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST.

Why do long sale processes lower the price?

Because every open week gives the buyer more to question and more room to renegotiate, while your team carries the work and the business sits in limbo. Time is a term of the deal. Write the dates and walk-away terms first. Ivanka Menken builds that deal clock with you inside Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, alongside your own advisers.

Will Ivanka negotiate with the buyer for me?

No. Ivanka Menken works with you on the decisions: the dates, the request list, the price logic and the terms that would end the talks. You, your adviser and your lawyer run the negotiation. The Deal-Time Leverage Map is part of Private Advisory, 12 months at AUD $5,000 per month ex GST, and it is not a valuation or legal advice.

Put a clock on the sale

If a buyer is setting the pace of your sale, start with Private Advisory. The Deal-Time Leverage Map is part of it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether it fits.

Not a valuation, a broker, negotiation or legal advice.

Apply for Private Advisory, AUD $5,000/mo, 12 monthsBook a 20-minute intro call

See the Private Advisory programme →

Check deal terms before you sell →Test buyer commitment before due diligence →Test the buyer before you sell →The Private Advisory programme →