In the last note, I wrote about the gap between multiple hype and valuation reality. Another trend we are seeing in the market is the rise of the tech-enabled M&A advisor.
Technology has a place in this business. Better data rooms, broader outreach, faster screening, and more efficient buyer identification can all improve a process. Used well, those things help.
What we are seeing, though, is that some advisors are starting to sell the technology and the resulting speed as though it is the advisory work. The pitch becomes the platform, the automation, the AI, or the system.
It sounds efficient. It sounds modern. It also makes the process sound easier than it usually is.
Selling a business is still a preparation and judgment business. One of the reasons that matters is simple: deals still fail because sellers are not prepared. That has been true across the market, and it is one of the clearest reminders that this process is not won by automation. A seller who is not ready is still not ready, no matter how good the tech stack is.
Technology can help widen the funnel and move information faster. What it cannot do is replace preparation, positioning, buyer judgment, or negotiation. It cannot tell an owner how a buyer is really processing risk. It cannot anticipate where a diligence issue is going to land. And it cannot manage the process when things get complicated, which they usually do.
That is where some of these models start to show their limits. The technology may be real. The efficiency may be real. But that is not the same as saying the advisory work is being done well. In some cases, it just means the same noise is being created faster.
That is why we think owners should be careful when the technology becomes the main story. The technology may support the work, but it does not replace it.
Bottom Line:
This is still a relationship driven and emotional process. How you get to the outcome influences the success of the outcome. And because most owners only sell one business, the experience they have going through it matters. The advisor’s job is not just to move information and run steps. It is to prepare the seller, manage the process, handle the hard moments well, and help the right deal come together in the right way.
