How to source businesses to buy: brokers, direct outreach, marketplaces, lists and templates

The channels at a glance

The table compares the main channels. 'Competition' means how many other buyers will see the same opportunity. 'Effort' is the work per conversation. Both are qualitative judgments based on how these channels work, not measured statistics.

Brokers and M&A advisors

Business brokers list smaller owner-operated companies. M&A advisors and investment banks run processes for larger companies with a management team. Both are paid mainly on success, so they screen buyers who can close. The broker guide in this handbook explains fees and exclusivity.

Build relationships before you need them. Send a short buyer profile to twenty or thirty brokers in your region and industry focus. Say who you are, your criteria, how you will finance (without overstating), how fast you respond to a CIM and what you will do when a deal does not fit. Brokers remember buyers who respond quickly, ask good questions and pass politely.

Expect a process. After an NDA you receive a CIM, a summary of the business. Then you may submit a written indication of interest and attend a management meeting. Competition for good listings is real, so speed and clarity win.

• Always ask a broker: how long the listing has been live, how many buyers have signed the NDA, what the seller wants besides price, and whether the seller will carry a note.
• Treat 'SBA eligible' on a listing as the broker's opinion. The lender decides eligibility under SOP 50 10.
• Never pay a broker to introduce you to a seller they represent. Their fee comes from the seller at closing.

Marketplaces and public data

Marketplaces aggregate listings from many brokers and some owners. They are a good place to calibrate. BizBuySell's 2025 year in review reports 9,586 small business transactions, a median sale price of $350,000, median cash flow of $158,950, an average cash flow multiple of 2.61x and an average revenue multiple of 0.69x. If your criteria call for companies with $1 million of earnings, most marketplace listings will be too small, and the ones that match will draw many buyers.

Use marketplace data to learn asking prices, days listed and industries. Then decide whether your criteria are realistic. The WhoBoughtWho directory lists marketplaces and brokers by category, and its acquisition history shows which companies in a niche have already been acquired, which lets you remove them from your outreach lists.

Direct outreach: build a list that matches your criteria

Direct outreach reaches owners who are not running a sale process. It takes more work per conversation, and an owner who is not in a process is not being pitched by ten other buyers. IESE reports that the primary strategy of international searchers remains opportunistic, high-volume search, with about 42 percent of actively searching funds relying heavily or exclusively on an industry-focused search. The method is simple and repeatable.

• Step 1: restate your criteria in one paragraph (industry, size, geography, owner situation).
• Step 2: find companies. Sources include industry associations, state licensing databases, trade show exhibitor lists, Google Maps and local business journals, competitors' customer lists and supplier directories, and commercial databases.
• Step 3: confirm ownership. Check the company website, state business registrations and LinkedIn. Skip companies that are subsidiaries or franchises.
• Step 4: remove companies that have already been acquired, using news searches and the WhoBoughtWho acquisition history.
• Step 5: rank by fit with your criteria and send in batches of 25 to 50 so you can improve your message between batches.
• Step 6: log every contact in a tracker with date, channel, response and next step.

Owner email template

Be brief, specific and honest. Name a true reason the company caught your eye. Ask for a short conversation, not a sale.

Subject: Question about [Company name]

Hi [Owner first name],

My name is [Your name]. I live in [City] and I am looking to buy and run one [industry] company in [region] for the long term, rather than flip it.

[Company name] stood out because [one specific, true reason: for example, "your team has served the same customers for over 20 years"]. If you ever think about what comes next for the business, I would welcome a 15 minute call to learn how you built it. If the timing is not right, thank you for reading.

[Your name]
[Phone] | [LinkedIn URL]
[Postal address] (required for commercial email)
If you would prefer not to hear from me, reply "no thanks" and I will not write again.

Owner LinkedIn message template

Keep a LinkedIn note short. Do not paste the email.

Hi [First name], I am [Your name], an operator in [City] looking to buy and run one [industry] company in [region] long term. I admire what [Company] has built, especially [specific, true detail]. Could I ask you a few questions about the industry? No pitch intended.

Follow-up templates

Most owners do not reply to the first message. A short follow-up after about a week, and a final one after another two weeks, is common practice; the exact cadence is a judgment call, not a researched number.

FOLLOW-UP 1 (about a week later)
Subject: Re: Question about [Company name]

Hi [First name], following up in case my note got buried. I am not a broker and I am not asking you to list anything. I would simply like to hear how you built [Company], and, whenever it is right for you, talk about a transition that keeps your team and your name in place.

[Your name]

FOLLOW-UP 2 (about two weeks after that)
Subject: Last note from me

Hi [First name], I will stop here so I do not crowd your inbox. If a conversation about the future of [Company] ever makes sense, my number is [phone]. Thank you for your time either way.

[Your name]

Broker introduction template

Send this to brokers and advisors in your region. Attach a one-page buyer profile.

Subject: Buyer profile: [Your name], searching for [industry] in [region]

Hi [Broker name],

I am [Your name]. I am searching for one [industry] business in [region] with [revenue or earnings range]. I plan to operate it myself. Financing: [be exact, for example: "SBA 7(a) with 10 percent equity from my savings" or "backed by a group of search fund investors"].

I can sign an NDA, share a buyer profile and respond to a CIM within [number] days. I will tell you quickly if a listing is not a fit and why.

What do you have coming that matches? I would also value a call to hear how you work with buyers.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Phone] | [LinkedIn URL]

Advisor referral template

Accountants, attorneys and wealth advisors often know owners who are thinking about succession.

Subject: Helping your clients plan a transition

Hi [Name],

I help business owners in [industry or region] plan a sale to an operator who will keep the company running and take care of the team. If any of your clients are thinking about retirement or succession in the next few years, I would be glad to speak with them, with no obligation and in confidence.

If useful, I can share how I handle confidentiality, valuation and timing. Could we have a 20 minute call?

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Phone] | [LinkedIn URL]

First call script

The goal of the first call is to learn, to be liked and to find out whether a second conversation makes sense. Do not talk price, and do not pitch your financing.

• Open: 'Thank you for making time. I would love to hear how you started and built the business.'
• History: how and when it started, how it grew, what changed in the last three years.
• Role: what you do in a typical week, and what would break if you were away for a month.
• Customers and team: who the largest customers are, how long they have stayed, and who the key employees are.
• Reasons: what is making you think about the future of the business? (Listen for retirement, health, partner disputes, burnout, offers received.)
• Close: 'If it makes sense, could I see three years of financials under an NDA and then talk again?'
• After the call: write a one-paragraph summary the same day and log it in the tracker.

Pipeline tracker

Use a spreadsheet. A tracker lets you see conversion at each step, which tells you which channel to spend more time on.

Rules for outreach that protect you

Follow these rules so you do not damage your reputation or break the law.

• Say who you are and why you are writing in the first two sentences. Do not pretend to be a customer or a broker.
• Do not claim committed financing unless you have it. Describe your plan accurately.
• For commercial email, follow the FTC's CAN-SPAM requirements: accurate header information, non-deceptive subject lines, a valid postal address, a clear opt-out, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. The FTC guide says penalties can reach $53,088 per violating email.
• Check federal and state rules on unsolicited calls and texts before you call or text a list.
• Keep a seller's identity confidential when they give you an NDA, and do not contact their employees, customers or suppliers without permission.
• Track opt-outs and never write to someone who has asked you to stop.

What good looks like after the first 90 days

No benchmark I can verify says how many contacts produce an LOI. Instead, set process goals you control and review them every two weeks: a number of messages sent each week, a number of calls held each week, and a number of companies that reach financial review each month. IESE found that searchers who closed averaged 4.6 LOIs and signed their first by month six, which is a reminder that persistence over months, not a single lucky contact, produces deals.

Handling owner objections

Owners raise the same concerns again and again. Prepare honest, short answers.

Weekly operating rhythm for sourcing

• Monday: review the tracker, set the week's targets, send a batch of outreach.
• Tuesday and Wednesday: calls with owners and brokers; send follow-ups.
• Thursday: analyze financials received; write notes and decisions.
• Friday: update the pipeline, review the week's numbers, send any investor note, plan next week.
• Monthly: review conversion by channel and change the message or list based on the data.