The Exit Evidence Package
Component 1: Longitudinal Customer Satisfaction Trends
If the portfolio company has been on a quarterly monitoring program, the Intelligence Hub contains 12-16 data points of independently-measured customer satisfaction over the hold period.
What to present:
- NPS trajectory from post-close baseline to current state
- Satisfaction by dimension (product, support, pricing, value) over time
- Segment-level trends showing where satisfaction improved most
Why buyers care: Management-reported NPS is suspect. Third-party validated NPS with a multi-year trendline is credible evidence of customer health that directly supports revenue durability assumptions.
Component 2: Retention Evidence
What to present:
- Customer-reported renewal intent over time (quarterly data)
- Churn driver analysis showing which risks were identified and mitigated
- Competitive evaluation frequency trends (declining = strengthening moat)
Why buyers care: Historical churn rates tell buyers what happened. Customer-reported retention intent tells them what will happen. The combination of financial churn data and customer evidence creates a higher-confidence retention forecast.
Component 3: Growth Potential Validation
What to present:
- Customer expansion intent data from recent studies
- Unmet needs analysis aligned with the product roadmap
- Cross-sell and upsell potential quantified by customer segment
- New market readiness based on prospect interviews
Why buyers care: Management growth projections are inherently optimistic. Customer-validated growth potential — measured through expansion intent, willingness to pay, and unmet needs — provides the demand-side evidence that makes growth forecasts credible.
Component 4: Competitive Positioning Strength
What to present:
- Competitive consideration trends over the hold period (declining = strengthening position)
- Customer perception of competitive moat (switching barriers, product differentiation)
- Win-loss dynamics from recent customer cohorts
Why buyers care: A strengthening competitive position supports the thesis that the company can defend and grow market share. Trending data is more persuasive than a single snapshot.
Timing the Exit Studies
| Timeline | Study | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| T-12 months | Comprehensive study (150-200 interviews) | Establish current baseline; identify any issues to address before launch |
| T-6 months | Follow-up study (100 interviews) | Demonstrate trajectory; validate that improvements hold |
| T-1 month | Final study (75-100 interviews) | Provide fresh data for the data room |
Total cost: $6,500-$10,000 for three studies. This investment is trivial relative to the impact on exit multiples.
Data Room Presentation
Structure the customer evidence section of the data room as:
- Executive summary (1 page): Key metrics with trendlines
- Methodology (1 page): Independent recruitment, AI moderation, sample design
- Retention evidence (3-5 pages): Trends, segment analysis, churn driver mitigation
- Growth validation (3-5 pages): Expansion intent, pricing power, new market potential
- Competitive positioning (2-3 pages): Moat strength trends, competitive consideration
- Intelligence Hub access (optional): Provide buyer diligence teams with read access to search transcripts
The buyer’s diligence team will appreciate the rigor. Their own CDD process is shortened because the seller has already generated the evidence the buyer would commission independently.
For portfolio CDD program design, see Customer Due Diligence Program for PE Portfolio. For IC presentation methodology, see Presenting CDD Findings to Investment Committee.