Most buyers call for integration help after something has already gone wrong. A branch manager quit, a top account went quiet, or the first month of combined numbers does not reconcile. By then you are not planning an integration. You are repairing one, and repair costs more than planning ever did.
I have done this from the inside, as an operator and not as an outside adviser. That experience is why this page is short on promises and long on specifics. Below you will find who this work is for, who it is not for, three ways to work together, and a self-assessment of ten questions so you can decide whether now is the right time to bring in help. If the answer is no, you will know that too.
Who this is for
Building Results works with company presidents, PE-backed operators, general managers, and the finance, sales, operations, and HR leaders who end up running an integration on top of their day job. The typical target is a business with roughly $2M to $50M in revenue, bought by a lower-middle-market or buy-and-build acquirer.
The center of gravity is multi-location field service, installation, and distribution businesses. These are businesses where the value walks out the door every evening: technicians, branch managers, counter staff, and the salespeople who hold the customer relationships. Lose the wrong few people and the customers follow.
Who it is not for
If you bought a single-location software company, a business with no field staff and no branches, or a pure financial asset you plan to hold untouched, the integration problem here is different and this is probably not the right fit. If what you need is a diligence provider, a lawyer, an accountant, or a lender, hire those. This work starts where they stop, and it does not replace them.
How I think about the work
Integration starts before the close, not on day 1. It begins with what the seller has told their people, what the data room says about key-person risk, and what you actually need this business to keep doing.
Then comes the decision most buyers skip: the operating model. You choose, on purpose, between preserve and strengthen, selectively integrate, or substantially consolidate. One size does not fit all, and the wrong choice quietly destroys value.
After that the order of work is simple. Remember that one issue is never just one issue: the late invoice is a billing problem, a system problem, and a customer problem at once. And a growth number without an owner is a wish.
The change itself follows ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement), and I plan for the valley of despair, because performance dips before it climbs.
Is this the right time to bring in help?
Each question is yes or no, and each yes tells you something specific. Read what it tells you. This is a judgment aid, not a score.
- 1. Is the close within the next 90 days, or already behind you by less than a year? Yes means the timing is right. The choices that matter most, the operating model and the retention map, are still cheap to make.
- 2. Is this your first acquisition, or your first in this type of business? Yes means you do not yet have a repeatable method, and you will pay for that learning inside the deal.
- 3. Is one person, usually the seller, the real holder of key customer relationships? Yes means your retention and account transfer plan is the first job, and it needs an owner now.
- 4. Is the operating model still undecided: preserve and strengthen, selectively integrate, or substantially consolidate? Yes means you are about to make that choice by accident. Make it deliberately before the first system or policy changes.
- 5. Is your leadership team already at capacity running the existing business? Yes means integration will be done in the margins and will slip. Someone needs dedicated capacity for it.
- 6. Are you buying more than one business this year, or planning to? Yes means a method you can repeat is worth more than any single deal. Think advisory, not a single project.
- 7. Do you have synergy numbers in the model that nobody personally owns? Yes means those numbers are wishes. They need an owner, a date, and a place on the ledger.
- 8. Do you already see warning signs: turnover, slow collections, a customer asking questions, a manager gone quiet? Yes means start with stabilization. Fix the leak before you plan the growth.
- 9. Does your lender, board, or partner expect a tracked integration plan? Yes means you need something written, owned, and reported against, not a conversation in a hallway.
- 10. Do you have a capable internal integration lead with the time and authority to do the job? Here a yes can mean you do not need me. Run it yourself with the integration playbook, and call if you hit a hard decision.
If several of questions 1 through 9 are a yes, a conversation is probably worth having. If question 10 is your only yes, it probably is not. Either way, you decide.
Three ways to work together
Scope and terms are set in conversation, based on your deal. I do not publish pricing here because the right engagement depends on the number of locations, the operating model, and how much of the work your team can carry.
Integration Readiness Review
A short, bounded engagement for buyers who want to know what they are walking into before they commit time and money. I read the deal the way an operator would and tell you where it is likely to break.
What you get:
- A written risk read on the deal: key-person dependency, customer concentration, change-of-control and assignment clauses, and undocumented handshake arrangements.
- A recommendation on the operating model (preserve and strengthen, selectively integrate, or substantially consolidate), with the reasoning written down so you can defend it.
- A retention map naming the critical people and what keeps each of them.
- A first 100 days laid out in sequence, with named owners, built against your real team capacity. The 100 day integration plan shows the shape.
- A list of decisions you need to make before close, and a list that can wait.
100-Day Integration Lead
I run the integration with you, as an embedded operator, from day 1 through the first 100 days and into a value plan with owners. Your leaders keep running the business. I run the integration work and hold the cadence.
What you get:
- Day 1 readiness confirmed: payroll, banking, signing authority, systems access, and the communications cascade to employees, then customers, then vendors.
- A working risk and issue log, reviewed on a fixed rhythm, with each item tied to a commercial consequence and an owner.
- Direct support on retention conversations, account transfers, and the seller transition.
- An opening baseline for people, customers, profits, and cash, and a monthly comparison against it.
- A synergy ledger that separates bankable savings and revenue from aspirational ones, with an owner on every line.
- Change leadership matched to ADKAR, including preparation for the dip.
- A handover at the end: exit criteria met, a governance rhythm in place, and a growth plan your team owns.
Fractional Integration Advisory
For buyers who close deals regularly and want a seasoned integration operator on call without a full-time hire. I help you build the method once and apply it to each deal, including roll-up and add-on integration.
What you get:
- A repeatable integration method, built around your platform and your operating model, so each add-on does not start from zero.
- A standing review of every pipeline candidate for integration risk before you sign.
- A sounding board for the hard calls: when to consolidate, when to leave a business alone, when to let a manager go.
- Coaching for your own integration leads, so capability stays in your company.
- Regular scorecards that warn you before the profit and loss statement does.
Start a conversation
Tell me what you bought or are about to buy, where it stands, and what worries you most. I will tell you honestly whether I can help and which option fits.
Start a conversationWhat I will not do
I will not promise a result. Integration outcomes depend on your people, your customers, your market, and decisions only you can make. I will not claim numbers I cannot support, and I will not tell you a plan is working because it is on schedule. I will tell you when the evidence says otherwise, including when the evidence says I should not be involved.
I also will not run your company. The aim is that when the engagement ends, your team owns the plan, the cadence, and the numbers.
Not ready for a conversation? Start with the tools
If you would rather work it yourself first, that is a fair way to begin. The playbook explains how to make the hard decisions, and the 100 day plan sequences the work. If you want to build your team's own capability, see post-merger integration training, and for templates and trackers, see the post-merger integration tools.
Get the free 100 day integration tracker
An editable spreadsheet you can assign, track, and work through with your team, with an owner and a status on every line. A useful way to see how I think before we ever talk.
One email with the download, and occasional Building Results notes. Opt out any time.
Questions
What does post-merger integration consulting include?
It covers the work of combining a newly acquired business with yours or running it alongside you: retention of key people, continuity with customers, systems and finance, the operating-model decision, synergy tracking, and change leadership. The right mix depends on your deal and the model you choose.
When should I hire an integration consultant?
Ideally before close, when the choices that matter most are still open. The second best time is the first week after close. Waiting until the numbers slip is the most expensive time to start.
Do you work with businesses outside field service, installation, and distribution?
The experience behind Building Results sits mostly in multi-location field service, installation, and distribution. Other businesses with branches, crews, and customers who buy on relationship often fit. A single-location software company usually does not.
How do the three options differ?
The Integration Readiness Review is a fixed-scope read of the deal and a first 100 days in sequence. The 100-Day Integration Lead is an operator who runs the integration with you from day 1. Fractional Integration Advisory is ongoing support for buyers who close deals regularly.