What belongs in the book before anyone tours
Three years of tax returns plus year-to-date, a serialized machine list, and a nameless concentration schedule decide whether you have a recast or a reconstruction project. Documents needed to sell is the checklist sibling. How it works is the sequence. If you are selling a manufacturing business, do not draft a CIM that claims “recurring revenue” before those three files exist.
Census CBP 2023 counted 284,452 manufacturing establishments (Source: Census CBP). Most are small enough that a unique process-plus-town sentence identifies the shop. Keep the legal name out of the first CIM if the teaser was blind. Keep customer logos out until a later ring.
Main Street manufacturing in BizBuySell’s 2021–2025 set cleared at a 2.75x median SDE (Source: Iconic / BizBuySell). The CIM may show the recast. It may not invent a PE turn.
How the CIM differs from the teaser and the letter
The teaser is nameless marketing: region, process family, size band, certificate category, recast range. The CIM is the NDA room. The letter of intent is the freeze. How do I keep a sale confidential is the method FAQ. This page stays on the book.
BizBuySell’s 2025 manufacturing median time to close was 223 days (Source: BizBuySell). Spending that clock on a CIM that hides WIP classes, customer-owned tools, or a stale Phase I is how exclusivity dies.
| Artifact | Audience | Identifiers | Job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blind teaser | Unscreened inquiry | None | Start an NDA |
| CIM | NDA buyers | Limited; still no logos | Support a letter |
| Data-room drop | Short list | Names, contracts | Support diligence |
| LOI | Chosen buyer | Deal terms | Freeze peg, dirt, exclusivity |
What a CIM must not promise
It must not promise a multiple. Size-band math lives on valuation. It must not promise a $5 million 7(a) close because the buyer likes the certificate (Source: SBA). It must not treat customer-owned tooling as seller iron. It must not treat a 2018 Phase I as current All Appropriate Inquiries.
Public listings are optional. The default for most plants is a quiet buyer list so the estimator does not learn from a screenshot. The FAQ index owns the question. The owner URL owns the full selling sequence.
What is the first document I should gather before anyone drafts a CIM?
Three years of tax returns plus year-to-date, a serialized machine list, and a nameless concentration schedule. Those three files decide whether you have a recast or a reconstruction project. A CIM written before those files exist is a costume. Documents needed to sell is the checklist. This FAQ will not steal that title.
Do not list publicly unless you accept screenshots. The default for most plants is a quiet buyer list so the estimator does not learn from a marketplace. The CIM still withholds customer names until a later ring. The teaser stays blinder still.
A CIM must not promise a multiple. Size-band math lives on valuation. It must not promise a 7(a) close because the buyer likes a certificate. It must not treat customer-owned tooling as seller iron. It must not treat a 2018 Phase I as current All Appropriate Inquiries. Those costumes are how a 223-day median becomes a year.
The FAQ index owns the question. The owner URL owns the full selling sequence. After a signed NDA, the book presents the recast, the iron, the process, and nameless concentration so a serious buyer can write a letter. It is not the teaser. It is not the valuation. Three years of tax returns plus year-to-date, a serialized machine list, and a nameless concentration schedule decide whether you have a recast or a reconstruction project. A CIM written before those files exist is a costume. Public listings are optional. The default for most plants is a quiet list.
The teaser starts an NDA. The CIM is the NDA room. The letter is the freeze. Keep the legal name out of the first book if the teaser was blind. Keep customer logos out until a later ring. Do not promise a multiple, a 7(a) close, or a 2018 Phase I as current AAI.
Three years of tax returns plus year-to-date, a serialized machine list, and a nameless concentration schedule decide whether you have a book or a reconstruction project. Spend the 223-day median on those files, not on a costume CIM that hides WIP classes or customer-owned tools. The complete selling guide owns the sequence. This FAQ only names the book.
If two questions sound similar — teaser versus CIM — open both child pages. They are split on purpose so each H1 owns one artifact. The book still withholds customer names until a later ring. Public listings remain optional. Screenshots remain real. Do not treat this FAQ as the underwrite. Read the owner. Then gather the three files.
Jason Taken is a business broker with HedgeStone Business Advisors. He is not an appraiser or an investment banker. Educational information only. After you read the owner URL, book a confidential intro call if the file is real.