“Verbatim

Know how an acquisition target's leaders think, 12 to 18 months before the deal

The Target Company Watchlist from Verbatim, a product of The Art of Service founded by Gerard Blokdyk, is Verbatim Team at USD 299 a month for 5 seats, set up for corporate development teams. Put a target's founder, managers and company name on the shared watchlist, and Verbatim watches 900+ business podcasts and alerts the team the next morning when they are quoted, every quote linked to the second, with REST API and MCP access for your own AI tools.

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Sounds like your pipeline of targets?

relationships start 12 to 18 months before a deal conversation
“If you are starting to develop a relationship with the company about a 12 to 18 months before there's any kind of a transaction related conversation, you have a pretty good sense for who these people are, how they like to work.”
MG
Michael Gupton
M&A Science ·
How they work 12 to 18 months, 70, 80% Share this moment

Framework

The Eighteen-Month Target Trail

It lays the months before a deal out as a trail with three cairns: what to collect about how the target's leaders talk.

The Eighteen-Month Target TrailIt lays the months before a deal out as a trail with three cairns: what to collect about how the target's leaders talk. Customers: how they talk about the people who pay them. Their team: how they talk about hiring, culture and people. Money: how they talk about margins, growth and risk.Customers: how they talk about the people who pay themCustomershow they talk about thepeople who pay themTheir team: how they talk about hiring, culture and peopleTheir teamhow they talk about hiring,culture and peopleMoney: how they talk about margins, growth and riskMoneyhow they talk about margins,growth and riskThe Eighteen-Month Target TrailIt lays the months before a deal out as a trail with three cairns: what to collect about how the target's leaders talk. Customers: how they talk about the people who pay them. Their team: how they talk about hiring, culture and people. Money: how they talk about margins, growth and risk.Customers: how they talk about the people who pay themCustomershow they talk about the people whopay themTheir team: how they talk about hiring, culture and peopleTheir teamhow they talk about hiring,culture and peopleMoney: how they talk about margins, growth and riskMoneyhow they talk about margins,growth and risk
Eighteen month stones; at each cairn, collect what the leaders said on one theme.

What should you listen for in a target's interviews?

  1. Customers. Do they name customers' problems, or only their own product?
  2. Team. Who do they credit, and how do they describe a hard hire?
  3. Money. How do they talk about margin, growth and the risks they take?
  4. Change. What did they say they would never do, and did they do it?
  5. Consistency. Does the story hold across shows and months?

An M&A practitioner said on a podcast that teams who start a relationship 12 to 18 months before any deal talk know who the people are and how they work. Interviews let the team start listening on day one.

How does it work with your AI tools?

Verbatim Team includes the REST API and MCP. Your team's AI can search everything a target's leaders said, run a client pack per target with saved questions, and cite every answer to the second. The watchlist alerts arrive by email the morning after a name is said.

Frequently asked questions

How early should we track an acquisition target?

Practitioners describe starting relationships 12 to 18 months before any deal talk. The Verbatim Target Company Watchlist lets a corporate development team start listening on day one: what the target's leaders say on 900+ business podcasts, alerted the next morning and linked to the second.

How do we assess a target's culture before diligence?

Listen to how the leaders talk about customers, their team and money, across many interviews over time. The Verbatim Target Company Watchlist collects those moments in their own words, so the team can compare the story across shows and months before the first meeting.

Can we monitor what a founder says publicly?

Yes, on podcasts. Put the founder's name and company on the Verbatim Team watchlist, and Verbatim alerts the morning after either is quoted on a business podcast, with the exact words and a link to the second. Verbatim quotes short moments; the full episode belongs to its publisher.

Does it work with our AI tools?

Yes. Verbatim Team includes the REST API and MCP, so AI tools that accept a remote MCP server can search what a target's leaders said, run a saved client pack per target, and cite each answer to the second it was said.

How much does it cost?

The Target Company Watchlist is Verbatim Team: USD 299 a month, or USD 3,588 a year billed once, for 5 seats. More than 5 seats, custom terms or invoicing is a request on the enterprise page, and Gerard replies by email.

How many targets can we watch?

Verbatim Team shares watchlists of up to 100 names and phrases across its 5 seats, and up to 50 client packs. A typical target uses a few entries: the company, the founder and two or three managers.

Start listening on day one

Shared target watchlists for 5 seats, USD 299 a month.

Set up target watchlists

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