For most operators, selling a business is the biggest financial transaction of their lives. It reflects years of hard work, long hours, risk-taking, and sacrifice. In many cases, the proceeds will help fund retirement and shape the next stage of life. That’s why choosing a go-to-market path that can attract multiple offers is so important. It is a decision that can dramatically impact your valuation, your negotiating leverage, your peace of mind, and ultimately, your financial outcome.
After more than four decades at VBB Advisors, representing sellers in the convenience services industry, I’ve observed that there are generally three ways operators choose to sell their businesses. Each approach reflects a different philosophy about what a business intermediary’s responsibility should be.
Understanding these distinctions can help ensure you choose the path that best serves your interests.
Path One: The market driven sell-side approach
This is the approach we follow at VBB Advisors, and it is rooted in one core principle: our fiduciary responsibility is to the seller and the seller alone. That responsibility begins long before a business is formally brought to market.
The most successful transactions are rarely rushed. In many cases, preparation begins six months to a year before a company is offered for sale. During that time, we work with owners to evaluate financial reporting, identify operational strengths, address potential weaknesses and position the business to maximize buyer interest.
This preparation process is critical because sophisticated buyers are looking for more than route counts and revenue totals. They want a compelling growth story, operational consistency, strong customer retention and confidence that the business can continue to perform after the transition.
Equally important is creating a competitive environment.
One of the most effective ways to maximize value is to generate multiple qualified offers. Competition changes the entire dynamic of a transaction. Buyers know they are not negotiating in a vacuum. That often leads to a stronger selling price, better terms, fewer concessions and greater flexibility for the seller. A seller’s representative should not simply aim to “get a deal done.” The objective should be to create the market conditions that produce the best possible outcome.
Just as importantly, exclusive sell-side representation avoids conflicts of interest. As I’ve written before, when one broker attempts to represent both sides of the table, negotiation effectively disappears because the broker’s incentive shifts from maximizing revenue for the seller to simply closing the transaction.
When your life’s work is on the line, “just getting a deal done” is not enough. That is why VBB Advisors is the right choice for operators of any size who are ready to implement an exit strategy.
Let’s look at another path to selling your business.
Path Two: The relationship driven matchmaker approach
This path is particularly beneficial to the business broker. Rather than creating a broad competitive process, they focus on identifying a likely buyer based on longstanding relationships and industry familiarity. This can involve approaching a select strategic buyer directly and working toward a negotiated transaction.
When this is the direction taken by a business broker, sellers should ask an important question:
If your business is presented to only one buyer, how do you truly know you are receiving the best possible offer? Without a broader market process, there is limited opportunity to test value through competition. There is no market tension to drive pricing. There is little leverage when negotiating terms. Maybe the relationship broker “owes one” to the buyer from the last deal they made – a little quid pro quo that you as the seller ends up paying for.
The convenience services industry is evolving rapidly. Strategic buyers, private equity-backed operators, and well-capitalized regional acquirers all evaluate opportunities differently. What appears to be a strong offer from one buyer may pale in comparison to what another buyer would have been willing to offer.
Relationships are valuable. Experience matters. But relationships alone should never substitute for a disciplined process designed to uncover full market value.
When a broker acts as a dual agent, working for both the seller and the buyer, fulfilling fiduciary duties becomes legally and practically impossible. A fiduciary relationship demands absolute loyalty, full disclosure, and the promotion of a client's best interests above all else.
In a standard transaction, the broker owes these strict duties to one side. In dual agency, the broker attempts to balance two opposing sides, leading to an immediate breach of core fiduciary obligations.
Path Three: Selling the business on your own
Some operators consider handling the sale on their own. Usually, the reasoning is simple: avoiding commission costs. At first glance, this may seem logical. Why pay a fee if you can negotiate directly?The answer is simple: because this is not an ordinary transaction.
Selling a business requires valuation expertise, buyer qualification, confidentiality management, negotiation strategy, due diligence preparation, legal coordination, and emotional discipline.
Keep this in mind:
Most owners sell a business once. Professional buyers acquire businesses repeatedly. Thant imbalance creates risk.
Without experienced representation, sellers often undervalue their companies, disclose sensitive information too early, lose negotiating leverage or accept unfavorable terms that significantly reduce net proceeds.
Confidentiality is another major concern. Poorly managed outreach can unsettle employees, customers, suppliers and competitors long before a transaction is complete.
Perhaps most importantly, sellers are emotionally attached to their businesses and understandably so. That emotional investment can cloud judgment at critical moments. A professional intermediary brings objectivity, structure, market knowledge and negotiation experience to a process where all four are essential.
When interviewing a business intermediary, the most important question is not “How many deals have you closed?” It is: “What is your responsibility to me as the seller?”
The answer should be clear. Your intermediary should be committed to preparing your business properly, protecting confidentiality, creating competition, negotiating aggressively on your behalf, and structuring terms that align with your financial and personal goals.
Selling your business is too important to approach casually. You deserve a process designed not simply to close a transaction, but to maximize the value of everything you have spent years building. At VBB Advisors, it has always been our commitment, to represent sellers exclusively and create outcomes that position them for a successful next chapter.
Please consider this:
Our VBB Exit Advantage program is a $10,000 value, a tailored exit planning program, ultimately free to operators who works with VBB Advisors on the sale of their business. I’m happy to discuss the VBB Exit Advantage program with any operator, so give me a call.
One of the keys to successful representation is generating multiple offers. Our process at VBB Advisors is built around that concept. Are you ready to take that critical first step? That is often the toughest one to take.
Order my free 2026 Exit Strategy Planner. At the very least, it will provoke some thought, and this is a good time to think about your future.
Whatever your reasons are to sell your company - the timing, a sense of frustration, the desire to enjoy life or an interest in rewarding yourself for years of hard work – VBB Advisors can help you realize your goals.
I am Mike Kelner, the leading sell side intermediary in the convenience services industry. Let’s sit down and have a conversation. Use this appointment scheduler to set up a meeting with me.
Or – give me a call at 704-942-4621
