On the surface it feels cheaper and more controlled. In reality it can be the most expensive way to sell, through lost value, added risk and time you never get back.
Here are three truths every owner should understand before deciding to go alone.
Truth 1: Confidentiality is a value driver, not a courtesy
A private sale is rarely truly private. Word travels. Emails get forwarded. Numbers get shared without context.
When owners try to run their own process, a few risky patterns can appear:
- Staff hear whispers and start worrying about their jobs
- Key customers pick up on uncertainty and test other suppliers
- Suppliers tighten terms because they are unsure who will own the business
- “Interested parties” ask for detailed information with no real proof they can buy
- Competitors pick up on the sale and use it to approach your staff or customers, or to position against you in the market.
That is not just awkward. It can permanently damage value.
A professional broker treats confidentiality as an asset, not a formality. Buyer interest is managed through a controlled process. Serious buyers are qualified before they see sensitive information; their motivation, timing, and financial capacity are checked, not just whether they are “keen to have a look”. Information is released in stages so early conversations give enough detail to understand the opportunity, but not enough for anyone to copy it. Proper non-disclosure agreements are put in place and enforced.
When confidentiality is handled well, you protect both the day-to-day stability of your business and the value you ultimately achieve. When it isn’t, you risk unsettling your team, weakening your position, and giving away hard-earned know-how for free.
Truth 2: The highest-risk phase is not finding a buyer, it’s getting through due diligence
Most owners worry first about “finding the right buyer”. In the current market, that is rarely the biggest hurdle. There is capital looking for good businesses, and good businesses attract attention.
The real risk starts after you agree on a headline price. That is when due diligence begins, the phase where the buyer and their advisers test everything: your financials, contracts, leases, staff arrangements, systems, and risks. If issues surface at this stage and the story is not well prepared, you can expect pressure on price, changes to terms, delays, or even a complete collapse of the deal.
Common pitfalls include:
- Untidy add-backs or unclear “one-off” costs
- Customer concentration risk not addressed up front
- Lease terms, renewals or landlord approvals left vague
- Verbal understandings that have never been documented.
An experienced broker works on these pressure points well before your business goes to market. They help tidy the numbers and the narrative around earnings so a buyer can clearly see the sustainable profit. They anticipate the questions a serious buyer, their accountant, and their bank will ask, and position answers in a way that makes sense commercially. They manage the flow of information, so buyers feel informed without being overwhelmed or spooked by surprises.
This is what lifts deal certainty. Not just speed. Not just “getting an offer”. But, getting to settlement on the terms that reflect the true value of your business and the hard work you have invested in building it.
Truth 3: Vendors who stay focused on performance achieve better outcomes
When buyers look at a business, they don’t just focus on the last three years’ accounts. They pay close attention to how it is trading right now and what the immediate future looks like. A good past can be quickly discounted if current performance is trending down.
Trying to sell the business yourself usually means taking on a second job. You are fielding every enquiry, answering the same questions repeatedly, qualifying unknown buyers, sending documents, and negotiating directly with people who often have more deal experience than you do. This is demanding, time-consuming work.
While all that is going on, it becomes very hard to keep both hands on the wheel operationally. Standards slip. Sales conversations are delayed. Important staff feel the owner is distracted and may start to worry about their own future. Small issues that would normally be dealt with quickly can grow because management attention is elsewhere.
A broker acts as a buffer, so you don’t need to be involved in every interaction. They:
- Manage all enquiries, filtering out the noise to find the truly interested and qualified buyers
- Handle all early-stage conversations to assess and present to you the strongest buyers, only bringing you into the conversations that matter
- Maintain the interest and engagement of multiple buyers to help you secure the strongest deal.
This protects your most valuable asset: your time. Working with a professional broker means you can keep trading to a high standard and continue driving strong returns. At the same time, it helps you maintain a calm, confident team, so when you hand over the business you are passing on not just its legacy and performance, but its stability as well.
When performance holds or improves while the business is on the market, buyers notice. It reinforces the story they are buying into, supports your valuation, and reduces attempts to chip away at the price and terms while you are looking to exit.
The myth that needs to be retired
There is one stubborn myth that causes a lot of trouble: the idea that “if the price is right, everything else will take care of itself”.
Price matters, of course. But buyers pay strong prices for businesses that feel safe to step into. That means earnings that look reliable, clean and organised documentation, and clear, disciplined processes and timelines so they know what will happen and when.
Overpricing, on the other hand, slowly erodes value. Over time, a business that sits on the market at an unrealistic level starts to look “stale”. The most qualified buyers move on. Interest comes mainly from lower-quality buyers hoping for a major discount later. When expectations finally adjust, the vendor is often negotiating from a weaker position.
A good broker is not there to promise the highest number anyone has ever mentioned at a barbecue. Their role is to value the business accurately based on what the current market is really paying, so you don’t leave money on the table, and you don’t scare the right buyers before they even look. They then test that value in the market with reach and structure that is difficult to replicate on your own and manage a disciplined process so genuine buyers compete on terms, not just talk.
The difference between a successful sale and no sale at all is the combination of realistic expectations, careful preparation, and structured process that protects value.
The broker’s real role: risk manager, process controller, value protector
Selling a business brings financial, legal, commercial, and people issues together in one complex transaction. A broker sits in the middle of all this – protecting confidentiality, preparing you for due diligence, coordinating your advisers, and running the process so performance and value stay intact. Their job is to reduce risk at every stage while you stay focused on leading the business right up to handover.
Do this next if a sale is on your mind
If you’re even just considering selling, get prepared. Have a confidential discussion with a broker about likely value and buyer demand, ask your broker and accountant to align the numbers with the market story, and start organising key documents and protecting your IP so information is ready to share with genuine buyers under proper agreements.
For most owners, selling a business is a once-in-a-lifetime transaction. The real question is not whether you could do it yourself, but whether that is the smartest way to protect the value you have spent years building.
