Ops Consulting Before LOI?

I’ve been in conversation with a services business I really like for a variety of reasons but the asking price has been unsupported by the financials and the seller wasn’t willing to get creative in the deal structure - I gave him an IOI anyway in case he changed his mind. Now he’s back and wants to consider my offer but the 2025 financials show a nearly 20% drop in top line revenue - my old offer no longer pencils. Curious if anyone has done a limited (~90 days) operations type consulting engagement with a seller as a means to help the business improve and then decide if a purchase still makes sense. Would love to hear the takeaways, if so. I’m concerned the business has entered distressed territory with a burnt out owner distracted for nearly a year trying to sell. Not opposed to turn around work, but want to assess the damage more closely than a traditional DD period.