Cold Outreach Pitfalls?

investor profile

May 13, 2025

by an investor from University of Toronto - Joseph L. Rotman School of Management in Calgary, AB, Canada

Hi, I'm an analyst for a firm just starting out in this space and I was wondering if anyone had any major pitfalls during cold outreach in their proprietary searches? Is there anything people seem to get wrong consistently in your view?
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Reply by an intermediary
from New York University in Menlo Park, CA, USA
Kevin is right. Focus on the why you vs other buyers offering a higher valuation. How can you prove you’ll succeed in taking over their business, protecting the employees, maintain and grow the customer list and pay out all the funds you are promising. Once you can convince a seller of these concerns you’ll be in a strong position to counter a higher offer or differentiate yourself from equivalent offers.
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Reply by a searcher
from Hampden in Denver, CO, USA
Thanks for the tag ^redacted‌! In my experience these founders are getting bombarded constantly with people reaching out expressing interest in buying their business. As a result, its important to find your differentiators - what is going to set you apart for the others and why they should spend time talking to you. I have also seen founders take this interest as proof that their business is "extremly valuable" and can lead to elevated valuation expectations.
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