“Read the room - not every seller’s situation is the same”

Happy Friday!

Earlier this week, I told you about Prashant and Arvind - two former Microsoft executives who beat 17 other bidders on a $2.7M math tutoring company…

By understanding exactly what the seller actually needed and giving her that.

Today, you’ll hear their biggest lessons from that deal and why making the effort to truly understand your prospects can pay off big time. 👇

Before sharing their main takeaways, here’s one of our Acquisition Ace community success spotlight stories.

Alex B bought a $315K government contracting business while keeping his W2 job after joining Acquisition Ace.

He went from doing it alone with no roadmap to having structure, community support, and a closed deal.

👉 Want a clear roadmap and empowering community to guide you through your first acquisition? Book a call with our team here.

“Read the room. Not every deal is the same. Not every seller’s situation is the same. Really understand what motivates a seller - and see if that aligns with your buy box.”

That’s what Arvind told me after closing a deal that over a dozen other buyers lost, despite some offering more money.

3 key takeaways from our conversation

1. Simplicity can beat a higher price

The seller had survived cancer and was dealing with the after-effects.

She wanted a clean exit (full cash at close, no earnouts, no complicated performance payouts).

Prashant and Arvind recognized that in their first meeting and structured accordingly.

Multiple higher offers lost because they came with conditions the seller didn’t want to deal with.

2. Learn from the deal you walked away from

Before this one, they walked away from a previous deal - partly because they had overcomplicated the structure.

That experience became their most important preparation for the next negotiation.

(Prashant and Arvind had a previous deal fall apart because they overcomplicated the structure. That experience directly shaped how they approached this one, and helped them win. If you’d like to hear more about our community and how it can help you acquire your first business, book a call with our team here.)

3. Buy a business where your skills create immediate value

Both founders came from marketing, operations, and large-scale business management.

The tutoring company had never run a real marketing campaign and was running manual processes across every function - a perfect opportunity for Prashant and Arvind to step in.

This week’s action item

Before you evaluate your next deal, write down three specific skills from your professional background that would create immediate value for a new owner, and use those as a filter.

Look for businesses where those capabilities are visibly absent, because that overlap between what a business needs and what you bring is one of the strongest signals that you’ve found the right deal.

To hear the full story of how Prashant and Arvind found, competed for, and closed this deal…

Watch our full interview here.

P.S. Prashant and Arvind specifically credited the LOI templates and financial modeling tools in Acquisition Ace for helping them stand out from other bidders.

That kind of edge comes from having the right framework behind you.

If you want that same advantage in your search for a business to acquire…

👉 Book a call with our team here to see how the Acquisition Ace community could help you close your first business deal.

This is the tool I use to find deals: SMBMarket.com