Your First Seller Call: What to Say (And What Not To)

Your first seller call is not a negotiation. It is not a job interview. And it is definitely not the time to tell the seller what you think their business is worth.

Most first-time buyers blow this call in the first five minutes. The deal dies before it ever had a chance.

We see this every single week. A buyer gets on the phone, tries to sound smart, challenges the asking price, and the broker quietly steers the deal to someone else. The buyer never even finds out what happened.

In this post, I am going to walk you through exactly what to say, what to ask, and the three things that kill the deal on the spot.

What the Seller Call Actually Is

Here is what most buyers get wrong. They walk into a seller call thinking it is an evaluation meeting. They want to poke holes in the financials. Challenge the asking price. Figure out if the seller is lying.

That is wrong.

The seller call has one purpose. Build a relationship with the person who owns the business you want to buy.

The seller is not your adversary. They built something over ten, twenty, sometimes thirty years. They are deciding whether you are the right person to hand it to. They are sizing you up just as much as you are sizing them up.

Brokers talk to each other. Sellers talk to their brokers. If you come across as adversarial or aggressive, the broker steers the deal to another buyer. And you will never know it happened.

Before the Call: How to Show Up Prepared

Preparation is what separates buyers who close deals from buyers who lose them before they start.

Before you get on the phone, you need to have read the entire CIM. That is the confidential information memorandum, the marketing document the broker puts together on the business. Not skimmed it. Read it.

You should know the business's revenue. The SDE (seller's discretionary earnings, meaning the total cash the business produces for the owner). The number of employees. The customer mix. What the seller says their day-to-day looks like.

More importantly, you should know what the CIM left out.

The CIM says the owner works 20 hours a week but the business has no management layer. That is a gap. If 40% of revenue comes from three customers, that is a gap. If the lease expires in 18 months and the CIM does not mention renewal terms, that is a gap.

Walk into the call with 5 to 8 specific questions pulled from those gaps. That preparation is what makes you look like a serious buyer. Because you are acting like one.

The Questions That Matter

There is a specific set of questions every seller call should cover. And the order matters.

Start with the seller's story. "How did you get started in the business?" This is not small talk. This tells you how emotionally attached the seller is, how long they have been running operations, and whether the business was built by them or inherited. It also builds rapport because sellers love talking about how they started.

"What does your day-to-day look like?" This is where you find out if the seller is actually running the business or if they have a team doing it. If the seller is there six days a week and their spouse handles the books, that tells you something. That is a very different business than one with a GM and an office manager.

Then you get into the deal-critical questions.

"Why are you selling?" Listen carefully. Retirement is clean. Health issues mean urgency. A divorce or partnership dispute means complexity.

"What are you looking for in a buyer?" This tells you what the seller values and how to position yourself.

"What does your ideal transition look like?" This one is mandatory. Will they stay for three months? Six months? A year? Will family members who are currently involved stay or leave? The transition plan directly affects the deal structure.

"Are there key employees who might leave if you are not there?" This is the question that reveals owner dependence. If three people walk out when the owner leaves, the business is worth less than the CIM says.

The real estate question. Is purchasing the property mandatory, or is leasing an option? You need to know this before making an offer. It affects the SBA structure significantly.

That is seven questions. They cover the seller's history, the operations, the motivation, the transition, the team risk, and the real estate. Every serious seller call should touch all seven.

The Three Deal Killers

These are the three things you cannot do on the first seller call. We see buyers make these mistakes constantly, and the result is always the same. The deal dies.

Deal Killer 1: Lowballing or Talking Price

The first call is not the time to discuss what you think the business is worth. Do not mention a number. Do not say "the asking price seems high." Do not ask "what is the lowest you would take."

The moment you bring up price, you shift the entire dynamic from relationship-building to negotiation. And you are negotiating from weakness because you do not have all the information yet.

If the seller or broker pushes you with "so what is your offer," here is exactly what you say:

"We are still in the evaluation phase. We want to make sure this is the right fit for both sides before we get into numbers."

That is it. Professional. Respectful. And it keeps you in control of the timeline.

Deal Killer 2: Interrogating the Seller

There is a difference between asking good questions and conducting a deposition.

First-time buyers show up with a checklist mentality. They fire questions one after another without listening to the answers. They challenge statements in real time. They ask "can you prove that" on the first call.

Ask a question. Then listen. Let the seller talk. Take notes. Follow up on what they said, not on what is next on your list.

The best seller calls feel like a conversation. Not an interrogation.

Deal Killer 3: Showing Up Unprepared

If you ask a question that the CIM already answered, the seller knows you did not read it. If you do not know basic facts about the business, the broker knows you are not serious.

This is the easiest one to avoid. And the one that kills the most deals.

Sellers are selling what might be their life's work. They want to know the buyer cared enough to do the homework.

How to Introduce Yourself

At some point on the call, the seller is going to ask who you are. This is not the time for a ten-minute autobiography. Keep it to 60 seconds. Cover three things.

One. Your professional background. What you do now and why it is relevant to running this type of business.

Two. Your acquisition approach. You are using SBA financing. You have an advisory team handling deal structure and diligence. You are looking for a business you can operate and grow.

Three. Your timeline. You are actively looking. You are pre-qualified. You are ready to move forward on the right deal.

If you have an advisory team, introduce them. Saying "I have a team of M&A professionals supporting me" changes the dynamic. It signals to the seller and broker that you are serious, resourced, and not figuring this out as you go. It also tells the broker there is a professional on the other side who will keep the process moving. That is what brokers care about more than anything.

After the Call: What Happens Next

The call ends. Now what?

Within 24 hours, send a follow-up email to the broker. Thank them for the call. Summarize the key takeaways. Note any open questions that still need answers.

Then make a decision. Are you moving forward or passing?

If you are moving forward, start preparing for the LOI conversation. That is the letter of intent, your formal offer. If information is missing, request it now. Do not let the deal sit.

Deals die from inaction more often than from bad calls. A good first call followed by two weeks of silence sends the same message as a bad first call. This buyer is not serious.

The Real Takeaway

The first seller call is not about being the smartest person on the phone. It is about being the most prepared and the most respectful of what the seller built.

Read the CIM. Ask the right questions. Listen more than you talk. Do not bring up price. And follow up within 24 hours.

Everything in this post is what our team does for every single client. We handle the prep, join the calls, take the notes, and manage the follow-up. We see 120 to 150 deals a week. This is what we do.

Learn more about how Regalis Capital can help you buy a business