When you’re in the thick of a business search, it can feel like you’re endlessly stuck – no good deals, no momentum, no progress.
How do I know? Well, besides having been there myself, I know because I spend over six hours a week on live advisory calls inside Acquisition Lab, talking to buyers who are right there with you in that stuck feeling.
And here’s what I’ve seen over and over again: most buyers aren’t failing because they’re not working hard. Buyers are failing because they’re working hard on the wrong things.
If you’re not seeing deals – or not moving on them – there’s a good chance you’re falling into one (or more) of these traps:
- You’re doing things that feel productive, but aren’t effective (looking at you, overbuilt CRM dashboards).
- You’re under-valuing the role of the broker – and missing the deals that actually come to market.
- You’re over-valuing off-market leads – not realizing how hard it is to move a seller from “interested” to “ready.”
- You’re falling off in the middle of the search, right when momentum fades and self-doubt creeps in.
In this article, I want to unpack each of these – and show you how to course-correct, build real momentum, and finally get the deal flow you’ve been looking for.
The House Hunt Analogy
First off, let me share a quick story.
A few years back, I found myself needing to buy a house. Not just wanting to – needing to.
We were starting to have too many kids, so we didn’t have enough bedrooms. As my dad joked, I bought myself out of a house.
The problem was, we wanted to stay in the same neighborhood – same schools, same community – but we couldn’t find the type of house we wanted. Most of the homes were old with funky layouts: step-down dens, closets you had to walk through to get to bathrooms… you get the picture.
Source: Agent Advice
Even though I knew what I wanted, I knew my budget, and I knew what was fair in the market, it still took four years for the right house to show up.
But here’s the key: we already had a house. I wasn’t desperate. I wasn’t going to overpay or settle. I had the luxury to be patient and make a decision from a place of clarity – not desperation.
This is similar to searching for a business. You can:
- Rush into a deal because you’re tired of searching.
- Wait forever, chasing perfection, suffering from analysis paralysis.
- Or do what we teach in the Lab: build clarity so you can say “yes” when the right deal shows up.
The problem: Buyers struggle because they expect fast results or perfect conditions, resulting in them bouncing between impatience and perfectionism.
How to overcome it: Stay engaged and have clarity so you can be ready when the right opportunity appears.
The Illusion of Progress: Why Search Funds Miss the Mark
A couple years ago, the average search fund took about 18 months to close a deal. Today? It’s closer to 20–22 months. And it’s not because they’re not working hard.
Source: Toptal
In fact, they’re too busy. They spend months building elaborate broker databases, running cold outreach, and creating dashboards to track every conversation. They’re focused on reporting activity to their investors, not necessarily progressing toward a close.
Then they spend the next 17 months having coffee with 2,000 people. And when I ask, “Where’d your deal come from?” – the answer is always the same:
“A broker.”
So despite all the systems, the real deal came from the very first channel they set up.
The problem: Buyers get stuck in over-engineered systems that look productive but don’t move the needle.
How to overcome it: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Focus on effectiveness – not optics. Do more of what actually works. (Hint: Connect with brokers.)
Brokers: Imperfect but Essential
When you go through the Lab, one of the first things I tell you is: your daily activities matter. That’s the engine.
- You’ve got to be on the broker sites.
- You’ve got to be talking to brokers.
- You’ve got to be pushing deals down your desk.
I get it – brokers can be a pain. They’re inconsistent, and some don’t know how to properly package deals. But the reality is: they’re the ones talking to sellers. They’re the ones helping sellers come back down to earth when they think their business is worth 5x earnings and a handshake.
Brokers are also the ones moving most of the market.
If you’re ignoring the broker channel, you’re waiting for lightning to strike. That’s not a search strategy.
And look – I’ve been distracted myself. I get deals and opportunities that fall on my plate that are the last things I want to deal with.
If that’s where you are, distracted and drifting, I hear you.
Source: James Clear
Here’s how to get back on track:
- Refocus on the goal. What are you actually trying to build?
- Contain the distractions. Don’t let them bleed into your search.
- Track your weekly activity. If you’re not deep-diving into at least one deal a week, your pipeline’s dry.
The problem: Buyers avoid brokers, get distracted, and fail to maintain deal momentum.
How to overcome it: Use the broker channel. Control your time. Know what you’re working toward and push one real deal forward every week.
Why Off-Market Deals Fall Apart
I’ve seen this time and time again. A buyer gets excited about an off-market lead. The numbers make sense. The story sounds good. And then… the seller ghosts.
What happened?
They weren’t serious. They weren’t emotionally or logistically ready to sell. That’s the number one reason off-market deals fall apart.
When I talk to seller groups, I walk them through three core factors they must consider before selling. You can use these same questions to qualify off-market sellers.
1. The Seller’s Life
Do sellers know what their life looks like post-sale? Most don’t. Some sell and spiral – especially the high-performers. They chop wood, grow a beard, take a month off… and come back lost. If they don’t know what they want post-sale, they don’t have any strong incentive to get there.
Buyers: ask them. What does your life look like six months from now?
Source: Original Mac Guy
2. The Business Lifecycle
Most owners try to “ride it to the top” and sell when it’s flattened out, but that’s the wrong time to sell. Buyers can spot a business that’s out of gas. If sellers want to make top dollar, they need to sell during growth, not after.
Know that if you’re catching a business on the back side of its growth trajectory, a seller may be less reluctant to sell, knowing they can’t maximize their sale price.
3. The Market Cycle
Just like real estate, M&A has timing. A business with $2M in EBITDA during a hot market might sell for more than a business with $3M in EBITDA during a downturn. Timing matters more than most people think.
Where are you currently in the market cycle?
Here’s the thing: No seller aligns all three of these perfectly.
So your job isn’t to wait for perfection; however, you do need to qualify the seller’s motivation and readiness up front.
The problem: Buyers chase off-market deals without vetting the seller’s motivation – and lose time when deals fall apart.
How to overcome it: Qualify early by asking hard questions. Don’t waste time on uncommitted sellers.
The Valley Is the Killer: Why I Started the Lab
This is the real reason I built the Lab.
When I did my first search, I quit. I felt broke. Unemployed. Aimless. Not in the dramatic, “starting from nothing” kind of way, but in the “what the hell am I doing with my life?” kind of way.
I didn’t have a system. I didn’t have a feedback loop. I was flying blind.
That’s why we offer six live advisory calls a week in the Lab. And no, you don’t pay extra for them.
Here’s why we do this: every buyer hits the valley.
Source: Thrive Global
Also known as the drop-off in the middle, this phase is unfortunately real at some point for all buyers. That said, if we charged you a monthly fee during that dip, you’d quietly disappear. Instead, we give you structure up front – and encouragement during the low points.
Because when you stay connected, you keep going.
The problem: Buyers lose momentum in the middle and don’t have a support system to get through it.
How to overcome it: Stay connected. Use the structure. The valleys are normal – but temporary.
Final Thought: Momentum Over Perfection
If you’re not seeing deals? Start tracking your activity again.If you’re not making progress? Recommit to weekly deal reviews.If you’re doubting the process? Know that everyone does.
The goal isn’t to get lucky. It’s not to find the perfect business.The goal is momentum.
You’re probably closer than you think, so keep going.
Ready to acquire a business in the next 12 months? The Acquisition Lab is your first stop. Reach out to us today and get on the fast track to becoming an acquisition entrepreneur.
