Everyone loves to talk about how much interest a business gets when it hits the market. The inbox fills up, calls start coming in, and it feels like there are dozens of people ready to buy. But interest is not the same as intent.

Out of one recent group of 100 people who said they were interested in a company, only 15 made it through qualification. Of those, just 4 made actual offers.

That is the real math of selling a business. Most buyers are not buyers at all. They are window shoppers.

The Buyer Funnel

Getting from interest to offer takes more work than most people realize. In one of our recent listings we saw this pattern unfold clearly.

100 people asked for the teaser
40 wanted to see the financials
15 were qualified to buy
4 made an offer

The Lowball and the “Creative”

Some of the offers that come in are low to the point of being funny. Others are creative in ways that stretch belief.

One client-sourced buyer suggested we secure a project worth $500,000 and let his team complete the work. He planned to use the money from the project to buy the business.

Another buyer wanted 90 days of due diligence before even making an offer. When asked for a number, he came back with half the valuation and said that was the best he could do without due diligence.

You cannot make this stuff up.

The Real Lesson

Interest is cheap. Qualification is everything.

A qualified buyer has the capital, the experience, and the drive to follow through. They understand the industry, respect the process, and move with intent.

Everyone else is just window shopping.

Final Thought

If you are selling your business, do not get discouraged by all the noise. Most of it is just curiosity. Real buyers are rare, but they do exist. They are the ones who move quietly, ask the right questions, and make offers that make sense.