In cold outreach, the most common response of an interested Seller playing coy is:
"Well, it's not for sale... but everything has its price!"
Don't be caught off guard by this. Here's how to respond 🧵
First off, it's not always, but it CAN BE a strong indication of interest. They generally flat ignore you or turn you away cold if they're not interested. "Everything has its price..." is them leaving the door open for you to pursue.
I would quickly respond with something like:
"Haha, I'm the same way! Everything but my wife and kids are for sale if the price is right! (well, maybe my 17 year old boy when he thinks he's got it all figured out)
Look, I don't want to waste your time. I have been trying to find a _____ business for awhile and have money tee'd up to pay a fair price if I find a good one. I can tell you real quick where I'd be ballpark, and you can let me know if that range might make sense to you.
But, I can't shoot in the dark here. Can you tell me how business has been the last few years in all this craziness? Up, down, steady? I assume you took a hit in 2020 like most people did. Did things come back okay for you?"
Here's the thinking behind it. Follows the basic pattern of all sales:
- Build Rapport
- Present Problem
- Offer Solution
- Close
Build rapport by joking back with them, sprinkle something human (referencing your family) in your joke to let them know you're a real person with a similar mindset. You're talking their language.
Casually recognize and alleviate all the fears of this dance with labeling.
- wasting their time
- you not having the money
- lowball offers (reference "fair" and for a "good one")
- process being formal or onerous (quick ballpark)
Present problem. "can't shoot in the dark"
- You can't just throw out random offer without knowing some basic information. No serious person would do so. (and you DANG sure don't want to know their 'asking price' to a random stranger, so NEVER ask them what they want for it)
Offer solution.
- You only need a tiny bit info to satisfy their curiosity.
You didn't ask them how much they make a year (which challenges their ego) or for tax returns or confidential info. Just for the general trend. A gentle, open-ended question will open the floodgates.
How are things the last few years of craziness? is standard small-talk stuff they're used to answering. You just need them to give you ANYTHING at this point since it's a cold start. Once they start talking, you can draw more info out, but ask the easiest, safest questions first.
Close is the "I assume... and did things come back okay?" This is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. People love correcting assumptions. They probably did ok in 2020 and will quickly correct you. Remember your goal is to not get ghosted, tease out info, & make a friend.
So your "close" is essentially asking an easy question to keep the dialogue going. Cold first contact is like meeting a pretty girl in public for the first time... your goal isn't a deep convo to see if she's "the one". You just want her interest and her # to ensure next steps.
Getting them to talk about something easy like trend the last few years, number of years in business, number of trucks or employees, etc. are safe and easy. But it crosses the chasm from a stranger joking to a friendly dialogue with biz data! Once you're there it's downhill.
You eventually get smooth rounding the bases with people:
1B = talking casually, hypothetically about a sale
2B = seeing some financial info and data
3B = negotiating and structuring an LOI
3B to Home Plate = Diligence, Financing, Legal, Closing
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