Ryan DeissCo-Founder & CEO, The Scalable Company

How to get your business sold for the highest possible price

19 Aug 2026 · 2 min

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1:32

In this short dialogue, Speaker A explains that the value of a business in an exit is driven more by the story you tell about its future potential than by its historical financials. He illustrates this with a marketing agency example: when pitched as a traditional service business, the buyer offers $2 million (10 × profit), but when reframed as a customer‑acquisition system—a growth engine that plugs into the buyer’s existing enterprise—the same business attracts an $8 million offer (4 × the price). The key is to create two narratives: the current state and the envisioned future, and to highlight the gap as negotiating leverage. Speaker B reinforces the point, emphasizing that effective positioning is not about “BS” but about presenting the business as a strategic product that enhances the acquirer’s brand and goals, thereby securing the highest possible sale price. The speakers urge founders to craft dual‑slide decks that showcase both present performance and future potential to maximize exit value.

Chapters

Great exit story is that you don't sell a business; you sell a story about the future. The value of your business isn't in your numbers; it's in your narrative. Here's how story changes value: a founder selling a marketing agency. First buyer sees it as a service business, right? Offers two million dollars, ten x profit, fair price. Say no because of price. No because of story, right? Rewrite the pitch. Same numbers, different narrative. Position it as a customer acquisition system, not an agency. Show how it plugs into their existing enterprise. Second buyer sees it as a growth engine. Offers eight million. Same revenue, same profit. Same team, 4 times the price. What's the difference? 5 slides showing what the business could become in their hands and not what it was in yours. Buyers don't buy your past, they buy your future with your assets. This week, write 2 versions of your business. What it is today, what it could be tomorrow, the gap between, that's your negotiating power.
I mean, he's obviously right. He nailed it. There's a reason I'm partners with this guy. What I love though, he's not talking about story as in like your ability to BS. I think a lot of people think that your ability to be effective as a negotiator is to be the best BSer in the room, and it's not true, especially when you're talking about acquisitions and exits, 'cause these people know math. What he's talking about when it comes to story is your positioning, about thinking of your business like a product that somebody is buying to enhance their own brand, as opposed to just an asset that they're buying based on its book value. If you can get acquirers to see your business as a critical component to them achieving their overarching goals, as opposed to just something that they bought, this is how you ensure that you get your business sold for the highest possible price. Good job, Roland.