Do the sales numbers in your deal add up?

Sales diligence for PE deal teams Bring a deal you're working on. We go through the sales numbers together and work out what to ask management.

Bring a live deal

Financials have to reconcile. Sales numbers don't.

Sales numbers are judgment calls: pipeline stage, forecast category, what counts as a qualified opportunity. You could ask a hundred questions. What matters is knowing which three count.

Close dates that keep slipping into next quarter, so the forecast keeps missing its mark

Pipeline coverage padded with early-stage deals that are unlikely to close soon

Quotas lowered mid-year, so reported attainment overstates performance

“ARR” meaning bookings in one deck and recognised revenue in another

Headcount plans that count unramped reps as full capacity from day one

Who you'll work with

I've sold, built, invested and taught. I went from cold calling as a graduate to closing enterprise deals today. I've built and run sales teams. I've invested as an angel, a board member and an adviser to PE funds. And I've taught sales and venture capital, from coaching reps to designing courses for MBA students.

Edvard Nore

Founder

What I look for

The question you ask decides the answer you get. “Can we make outbound work?” finds evidence for outbound. “What does each option require?” finds the truth.

“Inbound has run out”

Before you add a new channel, ask: "What have you done in the last 12 months to grow inbound, and what happened?"

“The market is big enough”

A big market isn't the same as enough buyers. Ask: "How many companies can buy at the deal size the plan needs?"

“We can switch on outbound”

Check whether it has worked before. Ask: "Show me the last 10 deals you won outbound: source, cycle length, and who closed them."

“Small deals fund outbound”

An outbound rep costs the same whatever the deal size. Ask: "How many deals does each rep need to close a month to pay for themselves?"

“Our pipeline is healthy”

Old deals inflate coverage. Ask: "How many deals in your pipeline have been open for more than 90 days, and how many of those close?"

Half a day on your live deal

I teach by doing. Sales is a contact sport, so the best way to start is to look at a live deal together. It sits alongside CDD, not in place of it. I charge £2,000 for the half-day, preparation included.

Preparation

What you share

The commercial section of the CIM or VDD, pipeline and bookings data, and sales headcount.

Under NDA

Share only what your process allows. Your fund's AI policy applies.

My read

I go through the numbers myself and mark where the plan is weakest.

The session

Follow-up

Common questions

No. It sits alongside CDD, not in place of it.

Against the decision it informs. If it changes one assumption in the plan you underwrite, or stops you funding the wrong fix after close, it has paid for itself. And your team gets better at testing the next sales plan.

Whatever you can share under NDA: the commercial section of the CIM or VDD, pipeline and bookings data, and sales headcount and attainment.

The people working on the deal. The questions we land on are the ones IC will ask, so it helps if whoever presents to IC is there.

Both. Before close, it keeps you from underwriting what the company can't deliver. After close, it keeps you from funding the wrong fix.

Yes I use business accounts where your data stays private and isn't used to train models. If your fund's policy rules out AI tools, I work without them.

Everything is under NDA. I never name clients or deals in public unless you've agreed to it in writing, and your data is never used in another engagement.

No. I only ever work for one side of a deal.

£2,000 flat for the half-day, including preparation. It can be charged to the deal or to the fund. Any further work is scoped in writing at the same rate before it starts.

Nothing is assumed. If you want more, we agree on that.

Is the plan to add outbound or move upmarket?

Bring the deal. Email me at [address] or message me on LinkedIn. Contact Us