Competition, created quietly.
We approach a targeted set of qualified buyers under NDA, on a controlled timeline, so several of them are looking at your company at the same time. That tension is what moves price.
Finding the right buyer, defined.
A controlled process where a curated list of buyers receives a blind profile of your company, signs a non-disclosure agreement, and only then sees who you are and what you have.
Buyers fall into two broad camps. Strategic acquirers already run route businesses and buy for density and synergy. Private equity buys a platform to grow and sell again. They value the same company differently.
This is where owners gain or lose ground.
One buyer negotiating alone has no reason to move. Four buyers on the same timeline have every reason. Nothing else in the process affects price as directly as competitive tension.
The right buyer is also not always the highest number. Who keeps your people, who honors your name in the market and who can actually close matter enormously the day after the wire lands.
Our job at this step.
Three mistakes we see again and again.
Negotiating with the buyer who called you
Inbound interest is not a market. It is one data point, and usually the cheapest one.
Casting too wide a net
Blasting a hundred parties raises leak risk and signals desperation. A tight, qualified list works better.
Chasing the top number blindly
The highest offer with the worst terms and the least certainty of closing is often the worst deal on the table.