Contact a seller about a deal

Use this when

you found a deal you want to pursue and want to know what happens after you select Save.

Save deals that fit your mandate, complete the advisor’s next step, and continue the conversation in your email inbox.

Step 1: Save the deal

Open the deal and select Save. It moves to your Pipeline. For a Direct Listing with PrivSource messaging, Save also notifies the seller of your interest. It does not send a personal introduction or a signed NDA.

Membership unlocks available materials and seller contact. A seller message can also unlock that specific Direct Listing for a free buyer. Saving alone does not unlock paid access.

Step 2: Review the teaser and NDA

Select View teaser when a teaser is available. If the advisor requires an NDA, select Sign NDA.

On desktop, select Fill and sign. Select a detail or a tool, then select its position on the document. Use Text, Signature, Initials, Date, or Check as needed. Review every page, then select Done to submit the signed file.

The NDA editor with Signature and Done marked

You can instead download the NDA, sign it outside PrivSource, and upload your signed copy. Use this option on mobile. Submitting the signed NDA sends it to the seller and moves the deal to Waiting on advisor. You do not need to send a separate message.

A saved deal with the NDA controls marked

Step 3: Send a message when needed

For a deal without an NDA, select Message advisor. After the NDA step, select Send a follow-up message if you want to add a note.

Review the draft, explain why the deal fits, and select Send. Use Write my own to replace a pending draft, or Rewrite to request another draft. Nothing sends until you select Send.

A saved deal with the message draft and Send marked

Step 4: Follow an external contact route

Some advisors use their own website, including some seller-posted Direct Listings. Select View full listing to read the listing. After saving, select Contact advisor and follow the displayed contact or NDA instructions.

Saving these deals does not send an inquiry. After you contact the advisor, select I already reached out to move the deal to Waiting on advisor.

A found deal with its external contact route marked

Step 5: Track the reply

Replies arrive in your email inbox. Open the deal from Pipeline and select Timeline to review recorded messages and NDA activity. Update the stage when you connect or receive the CIM.

See Manage your deal flow for advisor nudges and Pipeline stages.

Frequently asked questions

Does selecting Save send my signed NDA?: No. Save records your interest. Use Fill and sign on desktop, or upload your signed copy. Submitting the signed NDA sends it to the seller separately from a message.
Why is there no teaser or NDA?: Sellers don't always upload these materials. We include them when available. Ask the seller for anything else you need.
Where will I see the seller's reply?: In your email inbox. PrivSource sends the first message by email and doesn't host the conversation in PrivSource.
What if the seller prefers contact through their website?: Select Save, then Contact advisor, and follow the instructions on the advisor’s website.

Do this with Claude

Connect PrivSource to Claude once and run this workflow from a conversation. Same account, same access. Set up the connection

Starter prompt

Full workflow guide →

Copy into Claude

Using PrivSource, list my mandates and help me choose one to review. Show its strongest deal matches with revenue, EBITDA, and location. Pull available details on the most promising ones and tell me which are open to outreach. Don't send any messages until I approve a draft.

Then try

“Show the strongest matches for my healthcare services mandate”
“Pull the details on the second deal and summarize the risks”
“Draft and send an intro message to the seller”
“Which deals in my Pipeline need action?”

Agent instructions

The skill file PrivSource publishes for this workflow. Give it to any agent that supports skills, or read it to see exactly what the tools do.

Raw SKILL.md

Show the full instructions

PrivSource Deal Search

Deal tools are buyer-side. They search acquisition opportunities available to the authorized buyer account and can send outreach when a deal is contactable.

Deal tools require approved Deal Network access, the same as the dashboard. A pending or missing approval returns an error that names the condition.

Call privsource_whoami first. Use search_deals only when the account has All Deals access. Otherwise use list_buyside_mandates and get_buyside_mandate_matches to find deals that fit the buyer’s mandate.

Workflow

Call list_buyside_mandates and help the buyer choose a published mandate.
Call get_buyside_mandate_matches for that mandate.
Page through results with page and per_page.
Call get_deal with a deal id from the mandate matches when the user needs full details.
Call send_deal_outreach only after the user has selected a deal and asked to send a message. It sends a real message to the seller, so confirm intent and message body first.

`search_deals` filters

Filters describe the company for sale, not the buyer’s profile.

industry and location: the target company’s industry and location.
revenue_min and revenue_max: annual revenue in whole US dollars.
ebitda_min and ebitda_max: EBITDA/cash flow in whole US dollars.
margin_percent_min and margin_percent_max: margin percentage.
deal_type: investment or deal type.

Output Handling

Summarize deal fit cautiously. If the user asks for details not present in the returned data, say the data is not available rather than inferring it.

When the buyer account has buyside mandates, get_deal responses include mandate_matches — how the deal matched the buyer's published mandates, with a fit band, explanation, and review state. Mention a strong mandate match when summarizing the deal, and use update_buyside_mandate_match (see the buyside mandates skill) to record the buyer's verdict on it.

Outreach Handling

Use send_deal_outreach only when the deal response has outreach_available: true.
A sent message moves the buyer's saved Action needed matches for the deal to Waiting on advisor. Read the updated mandate_matches in the response.
Pass buyside_mandate_id to send for one mandate. Only that mandate's saved match moves.
The body can include {First Name} for recipient personalization.
If outreach is not available, explain that the deal is not currently contactable rather than trying another channel.

Shared deals and next steps

Free buyers can read their shared deals, public Direct Listing profiles, and respond to shared mandate matches.
Use update_buyside_mandate_match with review_state: in_pipeline to save the deal to the Pipeline, the same as Save in the dashboard. On a Direct Listing, Save tells the seller.
Use not_a_fit for Not a fit, and to_review to undo.
Interest always goes through a mandate match. Take the match id from get_deal mandate_matches.
update_buyside_mandate_match changes only the given mandate match. If the deal matched several mandates, ask the user which ones to answer.
For a deal with no mandate match, use save_deal_to_pipeline. It saves the deal to the general Pipeline, like Save in the dashboard. saved: false removes it.
Read materials_available and outreach_available after each response.
Free buyers need an upgrade or a seller message that unlocks that shared deal.
Do not expose seller identity or recover missing material links from other sources.
For an eligible NDA, open nda_submission.upload_link in the dashboard.
The buyer signs there. A Direct Listing with a PDF NDA can be signed in the browser. Other NDAs are downloaded, signed, and uploaded.
signature_method shows how to sign (in_browser or download_re_upload). signed_at appears after receipt.
Signing and file uploads stay in the dashboard. MCP has no signing or file-upload tool.

get_deal includes the dashboard message_history and connected state.
Message history is empty while deal materials are locked.
When connected and materials are open, seller_contact identifies the advisor who sent the message.
Each message lists attached files with a download_url. Sending attachments and uploading signed NDAs stay in the dashboard.

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