5 Proven Best Practices for Summer Dealmaking

Kari Lukovics
July 20, 2016

Tags

Last year, we reported on deal activity heating up especially in hot sectors. Despite market uncertainty thanks in part to Brexit and the U.S. presidential election, deal flow on Axial has been stable over the past few months.

Though summer vacations may mean there are days where the work is sluggish and there’s fewer people answering calls, business development professionals are still extremely focused on deal sourcing and prospecting. Building out the top of the funnel now means more opportunities for deals closing in the fall.

We asked the business development consultancy team at Axial for best practices for staying active and productive during the summer months so firms can flourish in the fall:

“While banks might not be bringing quite as many deals to market, there’s never a slowdown when it comes to networking with business owners. High quality investment banks, especially boutique groups, use the summer months to strengthen their current relationships and meet as many people as possible to make sure they are in a good position for the fall.”

– Fredrika Slikkers

“Investment banks and private equity are all clamoring to meet CEOs at industry-specific conferences in the summer. A few popular events I can recall are NAPE for oil and gas, Fancy Food Show for all things specialty food and beverage, as well as WESTEC for manufacturing.”

– Jason Saibel

“A private equity firm I work with always holds a golf tournament during the summer months — it might be expensive but it is a much more casual way for them to figure out which banks are bringing a deal to market soon.”

– Henry Mandelbaum

“A member of mine leaves a link to their investment criteria page on the firm’s website in his out of office message so that even when he’s not responding, he’s still marketing the firm’s interests.”

– Kerri Sperling

“I think that the ‘M&A summer slowdown’ is a myth. In fact, many of the private equity groups I consult with find that being more aggressive in their calling and emailing efforts with the help of summer associates gives them a nice boost going into the fall and Q3.”