Most business owners fail diligence before diligence even starts.
Pre-Diligence: Home Services is the tactical guide to preparing your HVAC, plumbing, electrical, generator, roofing, or home service company for a successful sale.
Written by an operator who is actively diligencing companies today and knows current market multiples, buyer expectations, and what actually kills deals.
Industry Praise for Pre-Diligence
Top operators and dealmakers from the home services world on Pre-Diligence: Home Services.
Tommy Mello
Founder, A1 Garage Door Service · Author, Home Service Millionaire
"I've been on both sides of these deals, and the owners who win are the ones who got ready years before they sold. This is the readiness playbook I wish every operator had sitting on their desk." (Tommy)
Tommy Mello built A1 Garage Door Service from a single Phoenix location into one of the largest residential garage door companies in the country, operating in roughly 20 states. In 2026, KKR agreed to acquire the business in a reported deal valued at around $2 billion. He is also the author of Home Service Millionaire and host of The Home Service Expert podcast.
Tom Howard
Author, Fetching Million$ · Bought and sold 30+ companies
"I've bought over 30 companies and worked both the buy side and the sell side. One mistake still cost me over 40 million dollars. I wish I'd had the things Steven teaches in this book before I ever went to sell." (Tom)
Tom Howard helped grow Lee's Air, Plumbing & Heating from a few million in revenue to more than $140 million, and he knows the contracting business as well as anyone in the trades. He has bought over 30 companies across both the buy side and the sell side, and he is the author of Fetching Million$.
Jim Swetman
Founder, Power Alliance · Sold Home Power Systems (2019)
"I sold my company without a roadmap like this, and I felt every gap in the process the hard way. If you're an owner heading toward an exit, read this first and save yourself the surprises I walked into." (Jim)
Jim Swetman founded and built a backup power business, Home Power Systems, which he sold in 2019. He went on to found Power Alliance, a best-practices group that helps standby generator businesses run and grow stronger. Having been through a sale himself, he knows firsthand where owners get caught off guard.
Patrick Gillin
Managing Director, BGL & Company
"Founders master their business over decades, then run one sale and learn the expensive lessons when the stakes are highest. I wish all my founder clients would run this playbook before they go to market." (Patrick)
Patrick Gillin is a Managing Director at BGL & Company, an M&A advisory firm, where he guides founder-owned businesses through the sale process. He has sat across the table from owners at the single most important transaction of their lives, which gives him a clear view of what separates a clean exit from an expensive one.
Why This Book Exists
Most contractors run great businesses.
But walk into diligence completely unprepared.
This book was written by an operator who is in the market right now, actively running diligence on companies, seeing what buyers accept, what they reject, and what kills deals at the last minute.
It is not theory. It is not a framework built in a classroom. It reflects what is happening in real transactions, at real multiples, with real buyers and sellers in the home services space today.
Pre-Diligence gives owners the insider view, so they can prepare their company with the same information buyers use to evaluate it.
What You Will Learn
The complete exit preparation framework.
Preparing Your Financials
Clean books, add-back schedules, EBITDA normalization. What buyers actually look at.
Building a Real Data Room
Organize your documents before buyers ask. Sellers who come prepared command higher multiples.
What PE Buyers Look For
Understand the private equity diligence checklist and where most sellers get surprised.
Eliminating Deal-Killing Risks
Identify and resolve the issues that quietly kill deals 60 days into the process.
Succession Planning
Reduce key-person risk and build a management team that can operate without you.
Transferable Company
Turn an owner-dependent operation into a transferable business a buyer can run and grow.
Official Trailer
See why sellers fail diligence before it starts.
Watch the trailer for Pre-Diligence: Home Services, then grab your copy on Amazon.
Included Free with the Book
Four seller tools. Free with your copy.
Every copy of Pre-Diligence: Home Services unlocks all four companion tools at no extra cost. Preview them below, then request access to unlock everything.
AI Readiness Assessment
A full sell-readiness score across 7 diligence categories, powered by AI, in minutes.
Seller Data Room
The exact folder structure professional buyers expect, ready for your documents.
AI One-Sheet Creator
A confidential, professional teaser that gets brokers and buyers interested.
Free Call with the Author
Talk exit strategy with an active M&A operator. No pitch, no agenda.
The Series
Pre-Diligence is becoming a series.
This book focuses on the home services industry. Future editions will cover other industries and include additional expert co-authors.
The goal is simple.
Help founders prepare their companies for successful exits, long before the sale process begins.
If you plan to sell your business someday,
preparation starts now.
Get your copy of Pre-Diligence: Home Services on Amazon and unlock all four companion tools free with your purchase.
Every copy unlocks the AI assessment, data room, teaser creator, and a free call with the author.