One of the biggest misconceptions business owners have about selling their company is underestimating how much time and focus the process requires. A properly run sale process, which maximizes value and creates competitive tension, demands significant effort. At the same time, the company being sold must continue to perform. The reality is that you can’t pause operations while you pursue a transaction, nor can you assume a deal will actually close. In fact, the worst outcome during a sale process is a decline in revenue or profitability while the company is on the market.
The Hidden Time Commitment of a Sale Process
A professional sell-side process involves marketing a company to a large pool of potential acquirers. At Shoreline Partners, we typically market businesses to 120–150 prospective buyers we have identified through our research, including both strategic acquirers and private equity groups. Proactively reaching out to that many prospects and managing the resulting activity is extremely time-consuming.
Our Managing Directors generally spend an average of 10–15 hours per week over a 2–4 month period managing the outreach and engagement process alone. This includes:
- Proactive emails and phone calls to potential acquirers
- Managing confidentiality and executing NDAs
- Responding to questions from interested parties
- Coordinating management calls and meetings
- Tracking levels of interest and follow-up activity
This level of effort is intentional. Broad market exposure is how to generate multiple offers and deal terms. It’s also why owners who attempt to sell their business on their own may find their core business starts to suffer.
Related Article: What to Focus on at Different Stages Before a Sale
What Owners Should Focus on While the Business Is for Sale
Clients frequently ask us what they should be doing while we are running the sale process. Our answer is always the same: hit your numbers. Running a successful business is already a full-time (and often more than full-time) job. Most of our clients are family-owned businesses or companies owned by 1–3 partners. These owners are deeply involved in day-to-day decisions, and the health of the business still depends on them during a sale process.
While your M&A advisor is marketing the company, owners should remain focused on the fundamentals:
- Monitoring monthly financial results, including margins and cash flow
- Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to your industry
- Managing pricing, labor costs, and expenses to protect profitability
- Staying focused on customer relationships, growth initiatives, and sales efforts
- Operating the business as if you are not selling it
There is never a guarantee that a transaction will close. Buyers will closely evaluate recent performance, and any downward trend in results can lead to a reduced purchase price or buyers walking away entirely. No acquirer wants to buy a company whose revenue or profitability is declining, especially late in a process.
Preserving and Enhancing Value During the Sale
It’s critical that everything that contributes to value continues uninterrupted during the sale process. This includes:
- Maintaining sales momentum and sales growth
- Controlling expenses to protect or improve EBITDA
- Preserving strong customer and employee relationships and retention
- Ensuring the company’s marketing efforts remain active
- Keeping the website current and blog content up to date
While historical results provide context, value in an M&A process is ultimately driven by what the business can produce going forward. We explored this dynamic in more detail in our article, “The Business Valuation Trap: Why Actual Historical Results Can Reduce Value in an M&A Process,” which explains why maintaining strong, consistent results during a sale process matters so much to buyers. A stable team, engaged employees, and consistent execution send a powerful message that the business will continue to thrive under new ownership.
Leveraging Internal Resources Without Distracting the Owner
Depending on the owner’s typical involvement in financial reporting, it may be appropriate to involve the company’s CFO, Controller, or outsourced accounting firm in the sale process. This can be especially helpful when responding to detailed financial requests without pulling the owner away from operating responsibilities. This division of labor is often preferable to having the owner manage financial data requests personally, which can be both time-consuming and disruptive to daily operations.
When Owner Involvement Is Essential
That’s not to say the owner’s time is never required. Owner involvement is critical at key points in the transaction, including:
- At the start of the process, providing insights to help the M&A advisor craft the company’s story
- During meetings with prospective buyers
- Later in the process during due diligence, when detailed support is required
It’s common for there to be up to 10 meetings with prospective acquirers, either virtually or in person, where buyers want direct access to the owner. These interactions are important and expected, but they are episodic. The most time-intensive aspect of the process remains marketing to and managing follow-ups with over 100 potential buyers.
Why Professional Sell-Side Representation Matters
Trying to handle that level of outreach yourself almost always pulls attention away from running the business. When that happens, performance can slip and value erodes. Hiring an experienced M&A advisor to manage the sale process allows owners to focus on what matters most: continuing to operate a successful company. This is precisely why our Sell-Side Services are designed to absorb the complexity, time commitment, and coordination required to run an effective transaction process while owners stay focused on performance.
Final Thoughts
To achieve the best possible outcome when selling a privately held company, strong ongoing results matter just as much as a compelling growth story. The combination of continued operational focus and professional, proactive marketing is what drives premium market value.If you’d like to discuss your situation or learn more about our approach as investment bankers, please Contact Us. We’re happy to help you evaluate next steps while you focus on keeping your business moving forward.