How do I stand out on Axial?
Improve your passport metrics
One of the first things another Axial member will see about you is your Axial Passport. For more information on your Axial Passport, click here. Below are the data points on your passport:
Closed Deals shows the all-time number of closed transactions an account reported. These transactions are represented as tombstones on the member’s company profile.
Responsiveness calculates the rate at which a sellside member adequately responds within seven days of receiving an e-signed NDA. The calculation is initiated when a member has a minimum of 4 e-signed NDAs and is based on your most recent 20 e-signed NDAs received.
Adequate responses to receiving an e-signed NDA are:
– Sending a CIM via Axial
– Marking the CIM as sent in Axial
– Marking Discussions Ended in
Deals Marketed refers to the all-time count of deals an account brought to market on Axial.
Rank Higher on the Axial Directory
Axial’s Member Directory is a publicly accessible database of Axial members and lower middle market deal professionals. The Directory is categorized by member type, industry, and geography.
All of the data in your listing on the Member Directory is pulled directly from your Company Profile on Axial. Put your best foot forward by:
Providing a standout company description
Creating tombstones to showcase your success in the private capital markets
Ensuring all of your teammates have Axial accounts so they can be listed on the profile
Adding your HQ & satellite office locations
Guaranteeing your passport metrics are up to date
The Axial Directory pages generate over 1 million page views every year. Having an online presence is critical to winning new business, and Axial ranks at the top of most Google searches for M&A firms.
Rankings on Axial’s directory pages are based on two things:
The number of deals your firm has closed with an Axial member.
The number of tombstones your firm has on your Company Profile.
The more closed deals and tombstones you have on your profile, the higher you will rank on Axial’s directory pages and, thus, the more page views your firm’s page will generate.
Win awards on Axial
Axial has numerous publications that award top performing firms on the platform.
Axial's Top 50 is comprised of the Top 25 buyside and sellside members. Each quarter, they consider a specific industry to generate the rankings.
Axial League Tables rank the Top 25 sellside members that use Axial to market their deals.
Here’s what our members have said about our content pieces:
“I like that Axial emphasizes Quality over Quantity. That’s what we stand for. We focus our efforts on high-quality execution for the select number of deals we take on.” – Jay Jung, Embarc Advisors
“We are honored to again be included in the Axial Top 50. Everyone at Paragon Ventures is excited for the recognition of our healthcare M&A successes and look forward to another great year in 2023.” – Jonathan Sadock, Paragon Ventures
Here are some things your firm can do to improve your chances of being selected in both League Tables and Top 50 rankings:
Client Quality: Buyside demand for engagements represented by the advisor.
Buyside Targeting: The advisor’s ability to balance selectivity, accuracy, and breadth when identifying potential buyers.
Process Effectiveness: The advisor’s ability to generate positive outcomes for their client.
Overall Deal Relevance: How many buyside mandates (financial and strategic) align with the advisor’s engagements.
Signed NDAs: The number of signed NDAs measures the number of buyers who indicated interest in each of the advisor’s engagements.
Shared CIMs: How many buyers received confidential information post NDA, measured by the number of CIMs shared.
IOIs Received: How many IOIs did the advisor receive from Axial Buyers.
LOIs Received: How many LOIs did the advisor receive from Axial Buyers.
Executed LOIs: How many deals did the advisor successfully take under LOI, either with an Axial buyer or those marked under LOI on the Axial platform.
Closed Deals: How many deals has the advisor closed that involved an Axial buyer or were marked as closed on the Axial platform.
Buyer Referrals: Feedback we received from buyers regarding how the advisor manages their processes.
What data points can buyside members see about me and my deal?
NDA Type: Whether the NDA is available for distribution via Axial.
CIM Type: Whether the CIM is uploaded to Axial.
Revenue: The historical and forecasted revenue for the business.
EBITDA: The historical and forecasted EBITDA for the business.
Industries: The industries the business operates in
Geography: The state/region/province/country where the business is headquartered. You decide the granularity of this information based on deal confidentiality.
EBITDA Margin: The historical and forecasted EBITDA margin of the business.
Gross Margin: The historical and forecasted Gross margin of the business.
Company Type: Your company type.
Closed Deals: The number of deals you have closed on and off Axial.
Responsiveness: The rate at which you adequately respond within seven days of receiving an electronically signed NDA. The calculation is initiated when a member has a minimum of 4 e-signed NDAs and is based on the member’s most recent 20 e-signed NDAs received.
Deals Marketed: The number of deals you have brought to the Axial since joining the platform.
Date Last Modified: The last time the deal’s information was modified.
Deal Headline: The name provided for this deal by the sellside member.
Company: Your company name.
Member Name: The primary contact of the deal’s name.
Member Rating: A rating given to you from buyside members based on previous interactions.
Last Message: The last message sent between you and this member for this deal and the date it was sent.
Primary Contact: The primary contact from your organization for the deal.
What does a member rating mean?
Member Ratings allow members who have interacted in the context of a deal to provide ratings of the other party based on the quality of their interactions.
Buyside members at firms actively pursuing a deal you’ve sent them can rate how their experience working with you has been. No one else can submit a rating about their interactions with you.
Buyside members can see your Member Rating whenever you share a deal with them. No one else can see your Member Rating; not others at your firm, not other sellside members, not buyside members you choose not to engage, etc.
You can earn an excellent rating by:
Prompt & consistent replies (no “ghosting”!)
Excellent follow-through (with NDAs, the CIM, and more info when requested)
Courtesy in your communications with other members
Accuracy & honesty in how you present information