What Is Included in an M&A Advisor Fee?

An M&A advisor fee should pay for more than introductions. Sellers should expect valuation, CIM, financial model, investment story, buyer mapping, targeted outreach, confidentiality, negotiation, and diligence coordination. Lyndon Advisory includes that work in a 2% success fee capped at US$300,000, with no retainer, monthly fee, upfront fee, or expense recharge.

For the full owner journey, read How to Sell a Business. The fee question only makes sense when it is tied to the sale process being delivered.

What Should Be Included

Workstream	What the advisor should do	Why it matters
Valuation	Build a defensible range using EBITDA, growth, risk, and buyer appetite	Sets expectations and prevents weak anchoring
Teaser	Prepare an anonymous buyer-facing summary	Tests interest without disclosing identity
CIM	Write the full investment memorandum	Gives buyers enough context to bid seriously
Financial model	Prepare normalized financials and forecast support	Reduces diligence friction
Investment story	Explain why the business is worth buying now	Raises buyer conviction
Buyer map	Identify strategic, PE, family-office, and cross-border buyers	Expands beyond obvious local names
Targeted outreach	Contact selected buyers under confidentiality controls	Creates competitive tension without public listing
Negotiation	Compare offers and negotiate price, structure, and conditions	Protects seller net proceeds
Diligence coordination	Manage buyer questions and document flow	Keeps momentum through closing

CFI’s CIM overview is a useful baseline for what serious buyer-facing materials contain. A fee proposal that excludes meaningful materials should be compared against a broker or listing process, not a full sell-side advisory process.

Lyndon’s Included Scope

Fee term	Lyndon Advisory model
Success fee	2% of enterprise value
Cap	US$300,000
Retainer	None
Monthly fee	None
Upfront fee	None
Expense recharge	None
Included work	Valuation, materials, model, story, buyer map, outreach, negotiation, diligence
Payment trigger	Completed transaction only

Axial’s 2026 M&A Fee Guide shows how varied lower-middle-market pricing can be across engagement fees, success fees, and expense policies. The seller’s comparison should therefore combine price and scope.

Lower Fee, Same Core Work

The right question is not “which advisor charges less?” It is “which advisor delivers the work that can improve value, certainty, and seller control at a sensible total cost?”

Seller risk	Scope question
Paying less but getting a listing	Will the advisor directly contact a curated buyer map?
Paying less but preparing materials yourself	Who writes the CIM and model?
Paying less but losing confidentiality	Is there a blind teaser, NDA, and owner approval gate?
Paying less but getting weak negotiation	Who negotiates economics, conditions, and timing?

“A lower advisory fee only helps the seller if the process remains complete. The fee should buy the work that creates buyer confidence: valuation, story, materials, buyer logic, outreach discipline, and negotiation.”

— Daniel Bae, Founder & CEO, Lyndon Advisory

Next Step

Situation	Best next step
You want to compare scope and fee	Use the fee calculator
You want Lyndon’s published scope	Review Lyndon fees
You want to test whether your business fits	Submit a confidential valuation inquiry

For related fee checks, read M&A Advisor Fee Schedule, M&A Advisor Success Fee Percentage, Fixed Fee vs Success Fee M&A Advisor, and Transparent M&A Advisor Fees.