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 click Interested.

When you find a deal that fits, tell the seller you're interested and send a message to start the conversation. Replies come directly to your email inbox.

This guide walks you through reviewing materials and contacting sellers on Direct Listings and on deals our AI sourcing agent found.

Step 1: Select Interested on a Direct Listing

Open the deal and select Interested. The seller receives a notification. For paid buyers, this also unlocks the available teaser, NDA, and message button on the deal page.

Note: Some sellers don't upload a teaser or NDA. We show these materials when the seller provides them.

Step 2: Read the materials and message the seller

Read the teaser if one is available. If there's an NDA, download and sign it. You can upload the signed copy from the NDA step on the deal page.

Select Message seller to introduce yourself. Say who you are, why the deal fits, and what you want to discuss. If you signed an NDA, attach it to your first message to help start the conversation.

Step 3: Continue in your email inbox

PrivSource sends your message to the seller by email. When the seller replies, the response goes directly to the email address on your PrivSource account.

PrivSource doesn't host back-and-forth messaging. Our job is to make the introduction. From there, the conversation, and the path to the CIM, moves to your inbox.

Step 4: Contact sellers on deals we found

Our AI sourcing agent also tracks down deals that fit your mandate from brokers, M&A advisors, and bankers across the market. Some of these sellers prefer to be contacted through their own website. When that's the case, we note it at the top of the deal page.

Select View full listing and follow the contact or NDA instructions on the seller's website. Use Save to Pipeline to track the deal in PrivSource.

A found deal with the seller’s contact instructions and View full listing marked

Frequently asked questions

Does clicking Interested send my signed NDA?

No. Interested notifies the seller. Sign the NDA if one is available and attach the signed copy to your first 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 View full listing and follow the seller's instructions on their 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, search for live deals in [industry] located in [geography] with [minimum EBITDA or revenue]. Show me the top matches with revenue, EBITDA, and location, pull full 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

  • “Search PrivSource for healthcare services deals in the Midwest with $1M+ EBITDA”
  • “Pull the details on the second deal and summarize the risks”
  • “Draft and send an intro message to the seller”

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.

Workflow

  1. Call privsource_whoami if unsure whether the account has deals access.
  2. Call search_deals with filters for companies/deals for sale.
  3. Page through results with page and per_page.
  4. Call get_deal with a deal id from search_deals when the user needs full details.
  5. 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.

Filter Meaning

All search filters describe the company/deal for sale, not the buyer's own profile.

  • industry: target deal industry.
  • location: target deal location.
  • revenue_min and revenue_max: annual revenue of the company for sale, in whole US dollars.
  • ebitda_min and ebitda_max: EBITDA/cash flow of the company for sale, in whole US dollars.
  • margin_percent_min and margin_percent_max: margin percentage of the company for sale.
  • deal_type: investment/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.
  • 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 and respond to shared mandate matches.
Use update_buyside_mandate_match with review_state: in_pipeline to save the deal to the pipeline (Interested on a direct listing).
Use not_a_fit for Not a fit, and to_review to undo.
If the deal has no mandate match, use set_deal_interest with interested: true.
Use interested: false to undo the unmatched-deal response.
Direct deal responses apply to sibling mandates for the same buyer and deal.
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 downloads the NDA, signs it, and uploads the signed copy there.
The server reports signature_method: download_re_upload and signed_at after receipt.
This workflow does not provide electronic signatures or a file-upload MCP 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.
Use the dashboard link for file attachments and signed NDA uploads.

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