When selling a business, most owners focus on the what: price, terms, the buyer profile, or the transition structure.

But seasoned M&A practitioners know that success often hinges just as much on the when.
The pace of the deal — its tempo, momentum, and structure — is a hidden lever of value and risk.

Get the timing wrong, and deals stall, buyers disengage, and leverage quietly shifts away from you.

 Get it right, and you create competitive tension, maintain control, and extract maximum value from the process.

Why Timing Shapes Buyer Psychology

For buyers, pursuing an acquisition is not a casual endeavour.
It demands:

• Internal resource allocation
• Legal and financial advisory engagement
• Management attention
• Sometimes, board-level approvals
  
  

Buyers naturally prioritise deals that feel:

• Structured
• Timebound
• Competitive
  
  

An open-ended or disorganised process sends an unspoken but powerful message:
“There’s no urgency here.”

When that happens, buyers:

• Slow their internal pace
• Reallocate attention to more urgent opportunities
• Test boundaries in negotiation

As Harvard Business Review notes:

“Pacing and process control aren’t just operational concerns; they shape how counterparties value the opportunity itself.”¹

The Danger of Drift: How Slow Timelines Cost Sellers

Deals rarely collapse with a bang.
More often, they fizzle quietly.

When timelines drift:

• Buyer urgency evaporates
• Internal deal champions lose momentum
• Valuation discipline erodes
• Competing opportunities capture buyer attention
• Seller fatigue leads to poor concessions

A well-structured process builds and maintains deal heat — the sense of progressive momentum that keeps buyers engaged and valuation sharp.

Case in point: PwC’s Global M&A Outlook² confirms that “the majority of failed transactions were associated with drawn-out processes where momentum dissipated and deal value deteriorated.”

A Cautionary Case Study: The Slow Fade Sale

A boutique financial advisory firm — let’s call them “Oakridge Partners” — entered into exclusive negotiations with a promising buyer. The early conversations were positive, the buyer was engaged, and the headline terms were attractive.

But Oakridge, managing the sale themselves, allowed negotiations to meander:

• Deadlines were informal.
• Information requests trickled in without urgency.
• Key documents were slow to be delivered.
• Buyer queries went unanswered for weeks.

As weeks stretched into months, the buyer’s focus waned. Internal decision-makers were redeployed to other active deals. By the time Oakridge pushed to re-accelerate the process, it was too late.

The result?

• The buyer submitted a revised, lower offer, citing “market shifts.”
• Without alternative bidders or competitive tension, Oakridge had no leverage.
• After protracted negotiation fatigue, Oakridge reluctantly accepted an outcome well below their original target.
  
  

The Optimal Pace: Fast Enough to Maintain Heat, Structured Enough to Ensure Quality

Speed for its own sake is not the goal.
A rushed deal can miss critical diligence, destabilise staff, or result in poor buyer selection.

The objective is controlled velocity:

• Defined milestones and clear deadlines
• Disciplined buyer engagement
• Rapid response cycles to maintain momentum
• Tight coordination with advisors to pre-empt delays
  
  

Research from Deloitte underscores this:

“Time kills deals, but discipline closes them. Managed pacing preserves deal value and protects seller leverage.”³

5 Risks of Unstructured Timelines

1. Buyer Disengagement: Delay signals low urgency and invites buyer distraction.
   
   
2. Erosion of Competitive Tension: Competing bidders lose interest if processes drag.
   
   
3. Valuation Slippage: Momentum loss often coincides with price reductions.
   
   
4. Deal Fatigue: Lengthy timelines exhaust sellers and advisors, leading to concessions.
   
   
5. Staff and Client Uncertainty: Protracted deals risk destabilising internal stakeholders.
   
   

5 Advantages of Controlled Deal Pacing

1. Preserved Buyer Focus: Timelines keep buyers prioritising your deal.
2. Maintained Competitive Tension: A clear process sustains multiple interested parties.
3. Enhanced Negotiation Position: Buyers respect structured processes and respond with discipline.
4. Reduced Risk of Deterioration: Shorter processes minimise exposure to external market shifts.
5. Seller Confidence: With clarity of process comes control, reducing seller stress and second-guessing.
   
   

Growth Focus Insight: The Deal Clock Is Yours to Set

At Growth Focus, we treat timeline management as a critical pillar of our process architecture.

A well-paced deal:

• Builds buyer engagement early.
• Sustains momentum through structured deadlines.
• Allows room for thorough due diligence without losing deal heat.
• Moves from indicative offer to final terms with precision.
  
  

Speed without strategy is reckless. Strategy without speed is dangerous. In M&A, the right pace is both your shield and your sword.

Final Reflection: Control the Clock, Control the Outcome

Your business sale is not an open-ended conversation — it’s a strategic process.
When you let the clock drift, you relinquish control.

When you own the clock, you own the outcome.

Before starting your sale, ask yourself: Am I running the process — or is the process running me?

The answer could determine not just whether you close your deal, but the value you ultimately realise.

👉 Planning to sell? Growth Focus works exclusively with business owners to design tightly managed, high-integrity sale processes that preserve momentum, maximise value, and deliver outcomes on your terms. Contact us today for a confidential conversation.

References:
¹ Harvard Business Review, “The Psychology of Deal Timing in High-Stakes Negotiations.”
² PwC Global M&A Outlook 2023, “Momentum and Value in Mid-Market Transactions.”
³ Deloitte Insights, “Managing M&A Timelines to Protect Value.”