What is a CIM and do I need one to sell my business?

The CIM (also called an offering memorandum, or 'the book') is the primary marketing and information document in a business sale. It comes after a one-page teaser and a signed NDA, and before the letter of intent. Its job is to give a serious buyer enough to make a credible offer without handing sensitive details to tire-kickers or competitors.

A good CIM usually covers: an executive summary; company history and ownership; products or services; customers and contracts (often anonymized); the management team and staffing; 2-3 years of financials with normalized SDE or EBITDA and defensible add-backs; growth opportunities; and a clear, honest reason for selling. Accuracy matters - anything you overstate here gets caught and repriced in due diligence.

Do you need one? It depends on the buyer and the deal size. For a very small, simple sale to an individual buyer, a tight financial summary may be enough. But for any process involving private-equity firms, search funds, or strategics - where pricing is on EBITDA and diligence is rigorous - a professional CIM is effectively expected and materially helps your outcome. DealSeam is not a traditional business broker; it helps owners package the business and introduces them to qualified buyers where there's a fit.