M&A firms making you an offer

You might think that M&A advisory firms are formal, unapproachable sorts of places, with stone-serious people in suits who start running the meter the second you call them, places you wouldn't think of contacting unless you were yourself well-heeled and ready to pull the trigger on a transaction. 

We recently had a talk with some of the M&A advisory firms specializing in staffing, and were pleasantly surprised by this offer:

'We will speak, with no charge or obligation, with any staffing firm Staffing Industry Analysts refers, regardless of staffing firm size or circumstances.  The amount of time would be limited, and would be appropriate to the circumstances.'

They say good advice is never free.  But in this recession, at least the first few minutes of it just might be.  These advisors aren't offering to spend the afternoon with you, gratis, but if you're in the early stages of thinking about buying or selling, and want some ideas and/or advice, the M&A firms listed below are ready to talk at least a bit with the meter off.

De Bellas & Co.  (949) 859-3333
Childs Advisory Partners  (770) 500-3611
Lyons Solutions  (203) 642-4141
R.A. Cohen Consulting  (416) 229-6462
MergeQuest  (781) 334-7184
National Creative Strategies  (212) 644-4411
Crutchfield Capital  (713) 961-0496