by Cristian Anastasiu, Excendio Advisors
You Received a Call From a Buyer… Now What?
Understanding unsolicited buyer outreach—and what it really means for your likelihood of a successful sale.
You’ve received a call from a buyer interested in acquiring your business…
Or maybe three to five calls.
Every week.
Week after week.
It’s flattering—no question.
For an IT business owner, this steady stream of inbound interest feels like confirmation that your years of hard work have created something valuable and desirable.
But that raises two critical questions:
- What should you actually do with these calls?
- Is there any downside to replying to most (or all) of them?
Before answering, let’s look at some hard data.
- Understanding Buyer Behavior: What the Numbers Really Mean
The average lower middle market Private Equity (PE) firm evaluates, on average, 600 CIMs (Confidential Information Memorandum) a year, and if we consider some of the less formal calls with business owners, that number might be closer to 1,000.
And how many deals do they actually close?
On average, those PE firms close 3 – 5 transactions a year, say 10 in a good year. So, the probability of closing a transaction after a conversation with a given PE is about 1%.
- What Our Clients’ Inbound Buyer Data Shows
During our engagements, clients forward us the unsolicited outreach they receive.
We qualify the inbound interest and follow up on their behalf.
Here are the numbers from last year’s advisory engagements:
- 50%+ of buyer inquiries came from firms not actually aware of what business our clients were in.
- Another 30%+ came from buyers interested in “IT” broadly, but with minimal understanding of the client’s specific niche, model, revenue mix, or capabilities
- Less than 3% of these solicitations resulted in an actual call with the owner
- 0% led to an offer
When we spoke with these buyers—or more commonly, the outsourced call centers making the calls—the story became even clearer:
Many callers are required to make hundreds of outbound calls per week, and the number of calls made is their key performance metric.
They’re incentivized to “spray and pray.”
Not to qualify.
Not to understand.
Not to match.
Just to dial.
- What Sellers Say After They’ve Closed: Results from Our 20+ Year Survey
We recently surveyed several thousand IT business owners who sold their companies over the last 22+ years.
A striking finding:
In 85% of the closed transactions, the owner did not know the buyer before the formal sale process began.
In other words:
- The buyer who ultimately paid the highest price
- With the best structure
- And the strongest cultural fit
…was not someone the seller had been casually talking to.
It was someone surfaced through a structured process.
- A Real-World Comparison: Structured Process vs. Random Inbound Calls
In a recent MSP transaction we facilitated, we began with:
- Hundreds of potential buyers screened
- Dozens qualified
- 8 carefully curated management meetings
Those 8 meetings yielded:
- 5 competitive offers
- A signed LOI
- And a closed transaction in under 90 days
Now contrast that outcome with the inbound-call math:
- ~1,000 outreach attempts from a PE firm →
- 20–30 preliminary calls →
- 3–5 offers per year →
- You are one needle in a very large haystack
- So… Is There Any Downside to Responding to These Calls?
Yes. Several.
- Time and Energy Drain
Fielding calls, repeating your story, sending materials, answering follow-ups—
this can consume dozens of hours over months.
But your business is not being positioned strategically.
You are simply reacting.
- Lack of Preparation = Lower Perceived Value
When responding to ad-hoc inquiries:
- Are you providing the right data in the right sequence?
- Are you positioning your company to highlight the best fit for that specific buyer?
- Are you protecting sensitive information or revealing too much too early?
Few owners are prepared to run this dance well without support.
This can inadvertently weaken valuation, negotiating leverage, or even deal terms.
- Market Messaging Risk
Perhaps the most overlooked risk:
When you engage casually, you can unintentionally signal to the market that you’re curious, not committed.
Buyers keep notes.
So when the day comes that you are ready to run a competitive process:
- You may be categorized as “kicking tires”
- Your credibility can be lower
- Your negotiating leverage can be diluted
- Some buyers may pass, thinking “We’ve already talked to them”
That quiet reputational footprint matters.
- The Right Question Isn’t “Should I Respond?”—It’s “Am I Truly Ready to Sell?”
Many owners say:
“I’d sell if I got an offer I can’t refuse.”
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
The offers you “can’t refuse” only appear when multiple qualified buyers are competing at the same time.
If you are emotionally and strategically ready to consider a sale, then it’s far more effective to:
- Prepare properly
- Position the business correctly
- Run a structured, strategic process
- Drive multiple buyers to the table simultaneously
That’s how you maximize valuation, structure, certainty, and fit.
- If You Want to Increase the Odds of a Successful Transaction…
…you need a plan for how to handle inbound interest before you decide to respond.
We can help you:
- Evaluate inbound inquiries
- Protect confidentiality and leverage
- Build phased data access
- Craft your story
- Engage selectively
- And position you for competitive offers—on your terms
All without cost or obligation.
We do not charge retainers.
We only earn a fee if we help you close a successful transaction.
We get paid when you get paid—at closing.
If you’d like to explore a strategy that gives you control, increases your odds, and protects your time, we’d be glad to talk.