This article is part of a series on Shoreline Partners’ core values.
Shoreline Partners was built on a simple idea that is easy to say but surprisingly difficult to practice: you don’t learn anything while you’re talking. Our founder, Phil Currie, understood that listening is not passive. It is one of the most important skills an M&A advisor can develop.
Whether we are meeting with a business owner, working alongside an attorney or CPA, or speaking with a prospective acquirer, our first responsibility is to understand what the other person is actually trying to communicate. Before we can solve a problem, negotiate effectively, or recommend a course of action, we need to understand the perspective on the other side of the table.
Listening Is the Foundation of Good Advice
For a business owner considering a sale, there is rarely just one objective. Maximizing value may be important, but so might be protecting employees, finding the right buyer, preserving a company’s legacy, maintaining confidentiality, or structuring a transition that works for the owner personally.
That is why our Sell-Side Services begin with understanding the Company and its owner. The more we understand what matters to a client, the better positioned we are to tell their story, identify the right buyers, and negotiate terms that reflect their priorities.
The same principle applies when we are listening to the other side. A prospective buyer may raise an objection about price when the real concern is risk. An attorney may focus on a particular provision because of a broader concern about liability. An owner may resist a proposed structure because it does not address something they have not yet articulated.
If we listen only to the words, we can miss the underlying issue.
Listening Creates Better Solutions
One of Shoreline’s most important skills is creative problem solving (to be the subject of a future article), but creative solutions do not come from talking faster or having the most ideas in the room. They come from understanding the problem well enough to see possibilities that others may have missed. That requires listening carefully to both sides.
When we understand what each party needs, we can look for solutions designed to address those needs simultaneously. Sometimes that means changing the structure of a transaction. Sometimes it means adjusting timing, terms, or responsibilities. And sometimes it simply means recognizing what is most important to the other party and finding a way to accommodate it.
A Lesson From Phil Currie
This approach was one of the many lessons Phil passed down to the Shoreline team. In a previous article, “Tribute to Our Founder: Phil Currie,” we wrote about his belief that listening was central to both learning and negotiation.
His advice was remarkably simple: ask the question, then shut up and listen. It’s advice we continue to carry into every transaction.
Listening Leads to Better Outcomes
Ultimately, listening is not just about gathering information. It is about creating better outcomes. As we discussed in a previous article, “Core Value: Win–Win–Win Outcomes,” a successful transaction has to work for everyone involved. If one side feels that its needs were ignored, the deal may never happen or may become unnecessarily difficult to close.
Understanding those needs gives us a better chance of finding the path forward. So our approach is simple: ask the question, then listen. Because the best answer may come from the person across the table.
If you are considering a transaction and would like to discuss how Shoreline Partners approaches the process, Contact Us to start a conversation.