Few moments in M&A are as pivotal as the management meeting. It’s the first real conversation between buyer and seller. Often, it is compared to a first date! The perfect concoction of nervous energy, enthusiasm, excitement and nerves. It is the moment when two potential partners finally sit across from each other and explore whether the future they each envision can be built together. Think of it as a high-stakes first date: revealing, telling and often decisive.
After years of watching management meetings unfold — some magnetic, others painfully awkward — the difference between the two usually comes down to simple basics. Whether you’re a serial acquirer or a first-time seller, brushing up on management meeting etiquette can radically improve your odds of building authentic connection and momentum.
Below are the fundamentals that separate exceptional meetings from forgettable ones.
1. The Energy You Give Is the Energy You Get
Every meeting starts with tone. Buyers and sellers are both assessing not just capabilities, but chemistry: “Do I want to work with these people for the next decade?”
Warmth, openness, curiosity and authenticity create a constructive dynamic. Tension, guardedness, pessimism or performative enthusiasm do the opposite. You set the temperature the moment you walk in. Make it intentional.
2. Your Body Language Speaks Before You Do
Eye contact, posture, nodding, pacing and facial expressions — these cues either reinforce trust or erode it.
When someone leans in, listens deeply and responds thoughtfully, they signal respect. When someone looks distracted, impatient or performative, the relationship starts with friction. Body language is often your loudest messaging. Use it well.
3. Every Attendee Must Have A Purpose
One of the quickest ways to derail a management meeting is to overstaff it. This isn’t the “Brady Bunch” intro with boxes popping up on the screen with no clear role.
This isn’t the “Brady Bunch” intro.
Large groups dilute the intimacy of the conversation, make decision-makers harder to read and keep relationship building close to the surface level. Bring only the people who have a defined purpose in the dialogue. A junior team member zoning out on a second monitor does more harm than good.
4. How You Create Space For Colleagues Says Everything About Culture
Buyers are evaluating leadership. Sellers are evaluating how their future colleagues treat one another.
If one person dominates every question or constantly speaks over teammates, it sends a clear signal about hierarchy and communication norms. The way you create space for others to speak says more about your culture than any slide deck.
5. Your Story Is Not Your Resume
Every management meeting involves introductions, but here’s the trap: Too many people offer a chronological job history disguised as a narrative.
A resume is a document. A story is a connection point. A story is informative, while engaging. Tell the parts that matter by focusing on the “why,” not the “what.” Why you entered the industry. Why you built (or acquired) firms the way you did. Why clients stay. Why people stay. That’s what creates emotional resonance.
6. Your Presence Is A Gift
We all know when someone’s attention is divided by glancing at email notifications or instant messages.
Presence is one of the most powerful signals of respect and genuine interest. Turn off the noise. Close the inbox. Silence the phone. In a world of distraction, being fully present is a competitive advantage.
7. Take Notes After, Not During
One of the most underrated skills in a management meeting is reflective listening. Taking notes mid-conversation often pulls you out of the moment.
The best notes come right after the meeting while the insights, reactions and emotional impressions are fresh. This also ensures you stay fully engaged in the dialogue itself — listening, responding and building connection.
8. Humility Is Magnetic
RIA firms love talking about strengths such as AUM growth, client retention and team tenure. But trust accelerates when you share not only what you excel at, but where you’re still improving.
Everyone knows no firm is perfect. When you intentionally name your weaknesses, you control the narrative. When you don’t, the other side goes hunting for them. Humility doesn’t diminish credibility; it amplifies it.
9. Focus on How ‘1 + 1 = 3’
The best management meetings spend less time rehashing what each firm does and more time exploring what they can do together:
- How can the partnership accelerate growth?
- How can it elevate the client experience?
- How can it expand career paths for team members?
- Where does each side have leverage the other doesn’t?
- What proof points make the synergy real? (e.g., growth data, client access to services or past colleague success stories)
When the dialogue centers on collective upside, not individual features, the path forward becomes clearer for both sides.
10. Don’t Try to Tackle Everything; Leave Them Wanting More
A management meeting is a doorway. The goal is not to answer every question — it’s to spark a conversation people want to continue. Curiosity should increase, not diminish. The most successful meetings end with both sides thinking: “We could have talked for hours.”
The management meeting is where firms “fall in love.”
That feeling is gold. It creates momentum, trust and a genuine desire to move forward.
RIA M&A is more human than most people expect. Yes, numbers matter. Yes, economics matter. But the management meeting is where firms “fall in love.” If there is no relationship connection on this first date, the financials may never matter.
Those who master the basics stand out immediately. They communicate more clearly. They build trust more quickly. They create space for deeper connection. And ultimately, they make the partnership feel not just possible, but compelling.
Great deals don’t start with data. They start with a genuine connection between people.
The management meeting is your chance to make that count.
Emily Blue is a Co-Founder of Hue Partners.
