In short
Direct approach in four sentences.
- 01
Every approach is written individually and tailored to the company, not a mass mailing.
- 02
The rationale stays confidential, and your name is only disclosed once there is genuine interest.
- 03
You only enter the conversation once the other side is willing to talk.
- 04
The approach draws on more than 100 transactions advised on both sides in the DACH middle market.
When it fits
Five situations in which direct approach is the right step.
A specific target, no access
You have a target company in mind, but no warm line to the owner.
Get there before the process
You want to reach an owner before their company ends up in an auction process.
Add-on for the platform
Your platform needs a specific add-on, and the owner is not yet approachable.
A list without the capacity
Your team has the target companies, but no time for the personal first approach.
Confidentiality is critical
Your identity should stay protected in the first contact until genuine interest exists.
What you get
The deliverable, five components.
Discreet owner approach
A personal first approach to the decision-makers of your target companies, written individually rather than sent in bulk. Every approach is tailored to the company and its situation, without disclosing the rationale prematurely.
Sender of your choosing
The approach runs in your name or under ours, depending on whether your identity should be visible early or the first threshold should remain neutral. You decide per mandate, and we implement it consistently.
Clean, documented execution
The entire approach runs discreetly and is documented in a traceable way. You get a channel that protects your identity and records every response cleanly.
Professional reply handling
We lead the first conversation, qualify interest and willingness to talk, and filter polite declines from genuine options. You only step in once a conversation is worth having.
Clean documentation of responses
Every reaction is captured and sorted by status: open to a conversation, relevant later, no interest. You receive a running overview instead of an unsorted inbox.
Personally written
Every approach by hand, not a mass mailing.
We do not send bulk mailings. Every owner receives an individual first approach tailored to their company that does not disclose the rationale prematurely. That is the difference between a first contact that lands and a message that ends up unread in the bin.
Suitability check
Does direct approach fit your situation?
Fits, if
- You know which companies or which sector are in scope.
- You want to reach owners before a sale process starts.
- Discretion towards the market matters to you.
- You need qualified conversations, not another list.
Less so, if
- You do not yet have a defined target picture. Then we start with longlist and market mapping.
- You are looking for pure contact data without a guided approach.
Process
From the briefing to the qualified conversation.
- 01
Briefing and sign-off
We align the target profile, sender variant and tone, and define which companies will be approached.
- 02
Approach gets under way
The owners are contacted personally and in a staggered way, each contact individual, not a mass mailing.
- 03
Responses come in
Incoming reactions are picked up by us, answered and qualified for genuine interest.
- 04
Qualified conversations
Owners willing to talk are handed over to you, including context on the conversation so far.
- 05
Documented status
You receive a running, sorted overview of all responses and the status of every approach.
At its core
What matters.
100+
Transactions advised
Both sides, DACH middle market
1:1
Individually written
Every approach, no mass mailing
2 ways
Sender
In your name or under ours
Fee
The direct approach is billed via a fixed retainer for the execution plus a success-based component once contact has been established. We set the specific structure transparently in the initial conversation.
Frequently asked questions about direct approach
How can I commission a direct approach in the middle market?
You book the direct approach as an executed service, not as advice on how to do it. In the initial conversation we clarify the target profile, sender variant and scope, after which we take over the approach, reply handling and documentation. You receive qualified responses without having to build an outreach team yourself.
Is the approach made in my name or under yours?
Both are possible, you decide per mandate. Under our name your identity stays protected at the first threshold and is only disclosed once there is genuine interest. In your name, your firm appears as the sender from the outset. We implement the chosen variant consistently throughout the entire approach.
How is it ensured that the approach really stays discreet?
The approach is made individually and not as a recognisable mass action, and the rationale is not disclosed prematurely. Every reaction is recorded cleanly and traceably. This protects both confidentiality towards the market and your name.
How does direct approach differ from longlist and market mapping?
Longlist and market mapping deliver the map, that is, which companies exist and which fit your thesis. The direct approach is the next step: the personal first contact with the owners of those companies. Often the approach follows directly on from a longlist, but both can also be commissioned separately.
What happens to owners who do not want to sell right now?
A no today is rarely a no forever. Reactions that signal no interest at present but could become relevant later are documented cleanly as such. This keeps the contact traceable, without pressure on the owner, and you retain the overview of the entire field.
Who will be doing the approaching
Nick Herbig, personally accountable.
More than 100 M&A processes advised on both sides of the transaction, from skilled-trade businesses to the upper middle market. The first approach to your target companies does not run anonymously through a call centre, but is written individually and led personally.
The rationale stays hidden until there is genuine interest on the other side. Which companies are approached, and in whose name, you decide per mandate.
More about Nick HerbigReady to approach the owners of your target companies?
Tell us your investment focus and the companies in scope. We take over the discreet approach and deliver you qualified, documented responses. The initial conversation is confidential and non-binding.