A business exit consultant helps owners of mid-market companies prepare for, time, and execute the sale of their business at the highest possible valuation. The job is not simply to find a buyer. The job is to make the business worth finding — and worth paying a premium for. That preparation work is what most business owners skip, and it is why most businesses that go to market either do not sell or sell for less than the owner expected.
Scott Sylvan Bell is a business exit consultant specializing in mid-market companies between $10 million and $250 million in revenue. His Exit Ratio 360™ system is a nine-framework, 360-point scoring model that evaluates every dimension of a business that buyers examine — and quantifies the gap between where the business is today and where it needs to be to command a premium multiple at exit.
What a Business Exit Consultant Actually Does
The work begins well before a business goes to market. Most exits that fail or underperform do so because the owner started the process too late — six months before wanting to sell rather than two to three years before. A business exit consultant evaluates the company against the criteria buyers actually use, identifies the gaps that suppress valuation, and builds a plan to close those gaps before the business is listed or shopped to buyers.
That work spans financial preparation, leadership depth, systems documentation, customer concentration analysis, revenue quality assessment, and market positioning. The Exit Ratio 360™ framework covers all nine of these dimensions with scored benchmarks and specific action items at each level.
The Exit Ratio 360™ Scoring System
The Exit Ratio 360™ system scores a business across nine frameworks totaling 360 points. The frameworks are LAUNCH (30 points), SCORE (100 points), SELL (40 points), SCALE (50 points), DRIVER (60 points), EXIT (40 points), BENCH (40 points), the LEAD Model (40 points), and the THREATS Framework. Every business also passes through the READY Gateway before scoring begins. The total score and the pattern of scores across frameworks tells the owner exactly where value is being created and where it is being destroyed — before a buyer ever sees the company.
Who This Is For
The Exit Ratio 360™ consulting engagement is designed for founders and owners of mid-market businesses who are within two to five years of a planned exit, who have received a valuation that was lower than expected, or who have been through a failed sale process and want to understand what went wrong. It is also for business owners who are growing aggressively and want to ensure that growth is building enterprise value — not just revenue.