The teaser is one page. It's the first thing a buyer sees about the deal. It decides whether the buyer signs the NDA or files the email under "review later" (i.e., never).

Most teasers fail in the same three ways: generic hook, weak headline metric, buried lede. Each failure compounds. A teaser with all three doesn't move the buyer to action.

This post walks the 90 second test, the 1 page structure that converts, the anonymization rules, and the headline metric choice that decides whether the teaser actually does its job.

The 90 second test

Buyers read teasers in 90 seconds. They scan, they decide, they move on. The teaser that earns an NDA does three things in those 90 seconds:

1. Establishes that the business is in a sector the buyer cares about
2. Communicates one compelling fact that distinguishes this business from peers
3. Provides enough financial framing to gauge fit

A teaser that does these three is a working teaser. A teaser that buries any of them is filler.

The 3 failure modes

Failure 1: generic hook

The teaser opens with industry boilerplate. "[Company] is a leading provider of [generic product] to the [generic vertical] market." The buyer's eye glazes. Industry-speak doesn't trigger the "I want to learn more" instinct.

The fix: lead with the most specific, most differentiated fact. Not "leading provider" but "the only national provider of pediatric specialty dental services with EBITDA margins above 20 percent." Specific beats generic every time.

Failure 2: weak headline metric

The teaser shows TTM revenue without context. $25M revenue means nothing alone. Is it growing? Is it profitable? Is it diversified?

The fix: the headline metric should be the strongest single number about the business. If revenue growth is the strongest fact, lead with growth (3-year CAGR of 22 percent). If margin is the strongest, lead with margin (28 percent EBITDA margin in a sector that averages 12 percent). If concentration is favorable, lead with diversification (top 10 customers under 30 percent of revenue).

Failure 3: buried lede

The most compelling fact is on page 2 or in the financial table. The buyer doesn't get to it.

The fix: most compelling fact in the headline or the first paragraph. Subordinate everything else. If it can't fit on a 1 page teaser without being hidden, the teaser is too long.

The 1 page teaser structure

A working teaser fits on one page (8.5 x 11 portrait, or A4). The structure:

Header (5 percent of the page)

• Anonymized deal codename: "Project Lighthouse"
• Confidentiality footer: "Confidential. Distributed under existing NDA or NDA on request."
• Banker contact: name, firm, email, phone

Headline metric (10 percent)

One sentence at the top. The strongest single fact about the business. Sets the tone for the rest of the page.

Example: "Pediatric specialty dental services platform with $42M revenue (28 percent EBITDA margin) growing 18 percent YoY across 14 clinics in 4 states."

Business overview (25 percent)

3-4 sentences describing what the business does. Anonymized but specific. Avoid industry-speak; use concrete language.

Example: "[Company] operates 14 single-specialty pediatric dental clinics across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The clinics serve commercial-payer insurance with strong reimbursement contracts. Revenue is roughly 60 percent commercial insurance, 25 percent Medicaid, 15 percent self-pay. Each clinic averages $3M revenue with 2.5 dentists."

Customer/market position (15 percent)

What the business's competitive position is. Specific market data, not adjectives.

Example: "Top 5 in pediatric dental services in Texas by revenue. Average tenure of patients 7+ years (driven by stickiness through pediatric-to-adolescent care continuity). Customer acquisition cost trends down with brand maturity in core markets."

Financial highlights (20 percent)

A small table. TTM revenue, TTM EBITDA, growth rates, EBITDA margin. Sometimes a 3-year history.

| Metric | TTM | 3-yr CAGR | |---|---|---| | Revenue | $42.1M | 18.2% | | EBITDA | $11.8M | 24.5% | | EBITDA margin | 28.0% | (expanding from 22%) |

Specific numbers, not ranges. Ranges signal you're hiding something.

Transaction parameters (15 percent)

What's being sold and what the seller wants:

• Transaction type (sale, recapitalization, growth equity)
• Anticipated closing timeline
• Process structure (broad auction, limited process, direct conversation)
• Banker's name and firm

Example: "Project Lighthouse is a sell side advisory mandate for a sale or recapitalization. Transaction targets close in Q1 2027 via a competitive process. Sponsored by [Banker Firm]."

Footer (10 percent)

NDA logistics, key dates, banker contact (repeated):

• "Indications of Interest due [date]"
• "Management presentation week of [date]"
• "Banker contact: [name, email, phone]"

What to anonymize

The teaser is "blind." Buyer doesn't know the company name yet. But anonymization shouldn't gut the teaser's specificity.

Anonymize: company name, founder name, exact location (substitute "Texas" for the city), specific customer names (refer to "Top 10 customers"), specific brand names of products if they'd identify the company.

Keep specific: sector and subsegment, financial metrics (revenue, EBITDA, margins, growth rates), customer counts and concentration, market position descriptions, geographic footprint at state or region level.

The anonymization rule: enough that a competitor can't identify the company without an NDA, but enough specificity that a sophisticated buyer can underwrite the deal.

Multiple buyer tiers

Some processes use 2-3 versions of the teaser:

Tier 1 (broad outreach): anonymized, generic financial metrics, broad sector framing. Sent to 100+ potential buyers.

Tier 2 (qualified buyers): more specific, named subsegment, tighter financial detail, possibly a "qualifying" question that gates further information. Sent to 30-50 buyers who are qualified.

Tier 3 (direct conversation): essentially de-anonymized. Sent to 5-10 buyers in direct dialogue, with company name and full data on request.

Most LMM processes use only Tier 1 plus optional Tier 3 for direct conversations. Tier 2 adds complexity without much benefit unless the buyer pool is fragmented.

When to send the teaser

Three options:

Cold outreach (most common)

Banker emails the teaser to a buyer who has not previously expressed interest. Subject line: "Project [Codename]: [sector] sell side opportunity."

The teaser is the entire pitch. Buyers respond by signing the NDA or passing.

Warm follow-up

Banker has a prior relationship with the buyer (past deal, past conversation). The teaser is the first formal artifact in a pre-existing conversation. Higher conversion rate but smaller pool.

Process letter accompaniment

For tighter processes, the teaser goes out alongside a process letter (rules of the auction). This signals to the buyer that the process is structured and there are deadlines.

Headline metric choice by sector

Different sectors lead with different metrics. The teaser's headline should reflect what buyers in the sector underwrite on:

• SaaS: ARR, NRR (net retention), gross margin, growth rate
• Services: revenue, EBITDA margin, customer concentration, revenue retention
• Consumer: revenue, gross margin, growth rate, brand strength signal
• Industrial: EBITDA, capacity utilization, geographic footprint
• Healthcare services: revenue per location, margin, regulatory standing
• Distribution: revenue, gross margin, supplier concentration, customer concentration
• Manufacturing: EBITDA margin, capacity, key customer count

The wrong headline metric is a self-inflicted wound. A SaaS teaser leading with revenue (instead of ARR plus NRR) signals the banker doesn't understand SaaS valuation drivers.

Common teaser mistakes

Three mistakes that show up in 30 percent of LMM teasers:

Mistake 1: marketing language

"Industry-leading," "best-in-class," "premier provider," "trusted partner." All filler. Buyers read these phrases as a signal that the banker has nothing specific to say.

The fix: replace adjectives with data. "Top 5 in segment by revenue" beats "industry-leading."

Mistake 2: all the financials, no growth thesis

The teaser shows TTM but not 3-year history. The buyer can't tell if the business is accelerating, decelerating, or flat. Without growth context, the multiple is uncertain and the teaser is harder to underwrite.

The fix: 3-year revenue and EBITDA history, even abbreviated. CAGR labeled. Growth assumption (seller's view) noted.

Mistake 3: hidden customer concentration

The teaser glosses over concentration. The buyer signs the NDA, reads the CIM, discovers concentration on slide 30, and disengages.

The fix: lead with concentration in the teaser if it's reasonable (top 10 customers under 35 percent of revenue is solid; under 50 is acceptable). If concentration is high, frame it constructively (long-term contracts, retention history).

For the broader concentration disclosure question, see Customer concentration in the CIM.

Tools and references

For the buyer list construction that decides who gets the teaser, see the Buyer Outreach Tracker.

For the NDA that follows the teaser when buyers express interest, see the M&A NDA Template.

For the CIM that follows the NDA, see the CIM Template Outline.

Bottom line

The teaser has 90 seconds to earn an NDA. Three failure modes: generic hook, weak headline metric, buried lede. Each can sink the teaser independently.

One page. Headline metric in the first sentence. Specific financial table. Anonymized but specific business overview. Concrete market position. Transaction parameters. No marketing language.

Lead with the strongest fact. Subordinate everything else. If it can't fit on one page without hiding something, the deal isn't ready for outreach.

FAQ

How long should a teaser be? One page. Buyers won't read more in the 90 seconds they spend on first review.

Should the teaser include the company name? Almost never. Teasers are blind. The buyer learns the name after signing the NDA.

How specific should financials be in the teaser? Specific dollar figures (TTM revenue, TTM EBITDA, growth rates). Ranges signal hiding. Specific numbers signal confidence.

Should the teaser mention the asking price? No. Asking price comes in the process letter or LOI stage. Teaser is for buyer interest qualification.

How long does it take to write a good teaser? 3 to 5 hours for a first draft. Most teasers go through 2 to 3 revisions before sending. The banker's senior partner should review.

How many teasers does a typical LMM process send? 50 to 200 depending on sector breadth. Specialized sectors (SaaS in vertical X, healthcare services in subsegment Y) get 50 to 75. Broader sectors (industrial distribution, professional services) get 150 to 200.

Should I send the teaser as PDF or in the email body? PDF attachment with a 2-3 sentence email body. The email body should reference the teaser ("see attached for Project [codename]"). PDF preserves formatting and appears more professional.