ABOUT THIS EPISODE
A business owner paid $30,000 for a report nobody was going to accept. It wasn’t because the work was bad. It was because of one question nobody asked.
➡️ Thinking about selling? Find out who should be sitting at the center of your table.
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In this installment of the Portus Perspectives series, William shares a story about a client who was selling his business and did almost everything right.
He interviewed multiple M&A firms and found the one he wanted to hire. The firm told him they’d need a quality of earnings report before going to market and asked if he had someone in mind. He did. A good friend had recommended a firm, so he hired them. The M&A advisor said, “Run your route.”
Weeks later, the client came back with his report, happy to be done. The M&A advisor looked at it and said, “It only has one year. We need more.”
Every buyer is going to look for two years of financials, if not three. When the client went back to the quality of earnings firm, they told him, “You didn’t say you were selling the business. You just said you needed a report.”
The deal survived. The M&A firm was gracious and split the cost of the second year with him. But $30,000 had already been spent on something he couldn’t use.
So what went wrong?
Nobody was talking to each other.
Each advisor did their own job well. The quality of earnings firm produced a quality of earnings report. The M&A firm asked the right questions about their own lane. But nobody was sitting at the center of the table connecting those lanes and asking how one impacts the other.
Here’s the lesson William wants every business owner to hear:
- Your advisors will tell you what you need to know about their specific lane.
- That’s useful, but it isn’t enough.
- The buyers set the rules, not you and not your team.
If you’re thinking about selling, whether it’s three years or five years from now, start asking one question: "What is a buyer going to require of me to get this deal done?"
When you interview advisors, listen to how they answer. If they talk only about their own area of expertise, you’ve found a lane person.
You need lane people.
But you also need to find the person at the center of the table, the one who can see how all the lanes fit together and how they affect both the buyer and you.
Keep interviewing until you find that person. Everything else falls into place.
Key Topics Covered:
- The $30,000 Mistake: How a one-year quality of earnings report couldn’t be used in a sale.
- The Communication Breakdown: Why nobody asked the question that would’ve prevented it.
- Lane People vs. the Person at the Center of the Table: Why you need both.
- Buyers Set the Rules: Why two to three years of financials is the standard.
- Cross-Pollinating Information: How to keep your advisors’ work from being disconnected.
- The One Question to Ask: What is a buyer going to require of me to get this deal done?
If you’re getting ready to sell and assembling your team, this episode could save you real time and real money.
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ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S): William Bissett: The Communication Breakdown That Cost a Business Owner $30,000 | Portus Perspectives
Originally Recorded on October 28, 2026
Portus Perspectives: Episode 61
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