At some point, most owner-managers get the call, or the email. Someone — a broker, a corporate finance boutique, sometimes even a competitor — wants to know if you’d ever consider selling.
It can feel flattering, even validating. After years of long hours and hard decisions, someone has noticed what you’ve built. It’s worth resisting that feeling, because an unsolicited approach is rarely what it first appears to be.
In this post, we’ll look at what’s really behind these approaches, why the person calling may not share your priorities, and how to respond in a way that protects your position.
What’s Really Behind the Call?
Most of these approaches are speculative. Whoever is making contact typically doesn’t have one specific, funded buyer lined up. They’re testing the water across dozens of businesses like yours at once, hoping a handful of owners bite.
Think of it like a numbers game. If an advisor contacts 100 businesses and five show interest, they have a pipeline. Your business may be one of many names on a spreadsheet, chosen because of your sector, size or location rather than any special insight into what you’ve built.
That doesn’t make the approach dishonest. It simply means the flattery is often a sales technique, not a considered judgement about your company.
When There Genuinely Is a Buyer
Sometimes there really is a buyer behind the call. A competitor may want your customers, or a larger group may be looking to expand into your market. That can be a genuine opportunity.
Even then, it pays to ask a few questions:
- Who is the buyer? Are they named, and are they funded?
- Who does the person calling represent? The buyer, the seller, or themselves?
- How are they being paid? And what happens if no deal completes?
- Why you, and why now? What have they seen in your business that interests them?
Vague answers are a sign that the approach is more speculative than it sounds.
Understanding the Incentives
The person running the conversation is usually paid a success fee that only lands if a deal completes. That’s a perfectly normal way for brokers and M&A advisors to get paid, and many are honest, capable professionals.
But it quietly rewards getting a deal done quickly, not necessarily getting you the best deal available. Their incentive and your interest aren’t automatically the same thing.
Consider the difference in outcomes:
- For the advisor: A fast, smooth sale earns the fee. A long process risks falling through, and a deal that closes at a lower price still pays.
- For you: This may be the only sale of your business you ever make. A small difference in price or terms can affect your finances for decades.
None of this makes the advisor a villain. It means you should understand where their incentives sit before you take their advice on anything.
Treat It as Information, Not an Invitation
The owners who come out of this well treat an unsolicited approach as information, not an invitation.
An approach tells you something useful. It suggests that your sector is attracting interest, or that your business is visible to buyers. That can be valuable to know, even if you never sell.
You don’t have to reply straight away, and you certainly don’t have to agree to a meeting because someone has been polite and persistent. A short, courteous response is enough: thank them, say you’re not currently looking to sell, and leave it there.
Three Things Successful Sellers Do First
The owners who get the best outcomes tend to have done three things before any serious conversation starts.
1. They Know What the Business Is Genuinely Worth
Before anyone else offers you a number, you should have your own view of value. Without one, any figure you’re given sounds plausible, and you have nothing to measure it against.
An independent, evidence-based valuation looks at your earnings, your customer base, your growth prospects and how much of the business depends on you personally. It’s the anchor for every later discussion.
2. They’re Clear on What They’d Need From a Sale
A price alone doesn’t tell you whether a sale is worthwhile. Ask yourself:
- How much do I need to walk away with? After tax and costs, what figure would make selling the right decision?
- What role, if any, do I want afterwards? Some buyers want you to stay for a year or two, and some want a clean break.
- What matters beyond price? Perhaps the future of your team, your customers or your brand.
- What would make me say no? Knowing your walk-away terms in advance makes negotiating much easier.
3. They Resist the Pull to Sell on Impulse
Selling on impulse to whoever happens to be first through the door is one of the most common and costly mistakes. The first bidder is very rarely the best one. A competitive process, with several interested parties, usually improves both price and terms.
Momentum Isn’t the Same as Progress
Once a conversation is underway, it’s easy to mistake momentum for progress.
Meetings get booked and documents get requested. Timelines appear, along with phrases such as “we’d like to move quickly.” Each step feels like a step towards a deal, and each makes it harder to pause.
But activity isn’t the same as value. Being busy in a sale process doesn’t mean you’re getting a good price. Watch out for:
- Pressure to sign an exclusivity agreement early, which stops you talking to other buyers.
- Requests for sensitive information before you know who is asking and why.
- Artificial deadlines designed to speed up your decision.
- Headline valuations that shrink once due diligence begins.
It’s always acceptable to slow things down and say, “I’d like to take advice first.”
Where H&Hendricks Fits In
This is exactly the gap H&Hendricks fills before you appoint a broker or M&A advisor. Its Preparing for Sale service gets an owner to an independent, evidence-based view of value. It also builds a clear sense of your own walk-away terms, before you’re in a room with anyone whose fee depends on a deal closing.
And because H&Hendricks is not a business broker, that advice carries no stake in whether a sale happens at all. It only carries a stake in whether it happens on terms that actually serve you.
The Bottom Line
An unsolicited approach to buy your business is rarely a compliment and never an emergency. It’s information.
Know your value and your own terms before you’re in a room with someone whose fee depends on you saying yes quickly. Take your time, take independent advice and let the right buyer come to you on the right terms.
How H&Hendricks Can Help
Before you appoint a broker or M&A advisor, H&Hendricks’ Preparing for Sale service gets you to an independent view of your business’s value and your own terms first. And because H&Hendricks is not a business broker, that advice has no stake in whether a deal happens at all.
Ashley Bancroft is a founding Partner of H&Hendricks. A qualified Chartered Accountant and specialises in finance, strategy and entrepreneurship, with particular focus on value creation.
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