When to Go from Hypothetical to Actual Deals in Chicago?

[Julece Glaum]

I wanted to ask because I see that many make offers of hypothetical deals to potential private investors to gauge their interest.  I tried this but, my investor needed to view more documents at a time when I needed a decision.

My question is when does BP community make the transition to real deal from hypothetical.  Is there a best practice or did I miss something.