Time Kills All Deals: Why Speed Matters When Selling Your Business

There's an old saying in the mergers and acquisitions world that gets repeated so often it's almost become cliché: time kills all deals. But you know what? Clichés become clichés because they're true. And after watching dozens of business sales fall apart over the years, I can tell you this one is painfully accurate.

I once worked with a seller who had a signed letter of intent, a buyer who was genuinely excited, and what looked like a smooth path to closing. Ninety days later, that deal was dead. Not because of financing problems. Not because of due diligence surprises. The buyer's key decision-maker got reassigned to another project, priorities shifted, and suddenly our deal wasn't anyone's focus anymore. Time did what time does—it killed the deal.

So let's dig into why this happens, what you can do about it, and how to keep momentum alive from the first meeting to the final wire transfer.

Why Deals Die When They Drag On

Business sales are delicate ecosystems. They involve multiple parties—buyers, sellers, lenders, attorneys, accountants, sometimes employees and customers too. Each of these parties has their own timeline, their own priorities, and their own patience limits. The longer a deal takes, the more opportunities something goes wrong.

Think about everything that can change in 60 or 90 days. Markets shift. Interest rates move. Key employees resign. Major customers reduce orders. Competitors launch new products. Economic indicators turn negative. A global pandemic emerges (remember that one?). Any of these can transform a hot deal into a cold one.

But external factors aren't even the biggest threat. The real danger is often psychological. Buyers get cold feet. They start second-guessing their decision. They find new concerns they hadn't considered before. The longer they have to think, the more likely they are to talk themselves out of moving forward.

Sellers aren't immune to this either. I've seen owners who were completely committed to selling wake up one morning and decide they're not ready. The emotional weight of letting go gets heavier as time passes, not lighter. Every delay gives doubt more room to grow.

The Stages Where Deals Are Most Vulnerable

Not all parts of a transaction carry equal risk. Some phases are natural momentum killers, and knowing where these danger zones exist helps you navigate them.

The period between initial meetings and a signed letter of intent is notoriously fragile. Buyers are still dating other businesses. They haven't made any commitments yet. If your sale process drags during this phase, buyers simply move on to other opportunities. There's no penalty for walking away, so they do.

Due diligence is another critical window. This is when buyers dig into your financials, your contracts, your operations—everything. It's detailed, sometimes tedious work. And here's the problem: due diligence almost always uncovers something. Maybe it's a minor accounting discrepancy. Maybe it's a contract clause that needs clarification. These aren't necessarily deal-breakers, but they create friction. The longer due diligence takes, the more friction accumulates.

Then there's the financing contingency period. If your buyer needs bank financing, you're at the mercy of their lender's timeline. Banks are not known for speed. Every document request, every committee meeting, every question from an underwriter adds days or weeks. And during all that time, the deal is vulnerable.

Finally, the closing process itself can be surprisingly treacherous. Legal documents need review. Last-minute issues pop up. Someone's attorney goes on vacation. These final inches can stretch into weeks if you're not careful.

What Actually Causes Delays (And How to Prevent Them)

Let me get specific about the most common delay culprits I've encountered.

Unprepared sellers top the list. If you don't have your financials organized, your contracts accessible, and your operational documentation ready, you're guaranteeing delays. Every time a buyer asks for something and you need a week to produce it, you're adding risk to the deal. Get your house in order before going to market not after you have an interested buyer.

Unrealistic expectations create delays too. Sellers who overprice their business or demand unreasonable terms spend months negotiating when they should be closing. Be honest with yourself about what your business is worth and what structures make sense. Stubbornness doesn't create value; it creates delays.

Too many decision-makers can slow things down dramatically. If your buyer is a private equity group with a seven-person investment committee, understand that consensus takes time. If your own side involves multiple family members or partners who all need to agree on every detail, that's another layer of complexity. Streamline decision-making authority where possible.

Slow professional advisors are a frustrating but common problem. Some attorneys treat every transaction like it's their first, redlining every sentence and scheduling calls weeks out. Some accountants take forever to complete quality of earnings work. Vet your advisors for responsiveness, not just expertise. The best M&A attorney is worthless if they can't return calls.

Financing contingencies that aren't managed actively can derail timelines completely. Don't assume the buyer is on top of their lending process. Check in regularly. Offer to provide information directly to their bank if it speeds things up. Be proactive, not passive.

Creating Urgency Without Being Pushy

Here's the delicate balance you need to strike: you want to keep deals moving quickly, but you don't want to seem desperate or pushy. How do you thread that needle?

Start by setting clear timelines upfront. When you engage with a buyer, establish expectations for how the process will unfold. We'll have a letter of intent within three weeks. Due diligence will take 45 days. Closing within 30 days after that. When both parties agree to a schedule, there's natural accountability to stick to it.

Create legitimate external deadlines when possible. Maybe your lease renewal decision is coming up. Maybe a key contract is up for renegotiation. Maybe there's a tax advantage to closing before year-end. These aren't manufactured pressure tactics—they're real business constraints that justify keeping things on track.

Maintain competitive tension if you have multiple interested buyers. Nothing motivates action like the fear of missing out. You don't need to be aggressive about it, but letting buyers know others are interested creates natural urgency. Just be honest—don't fabricate competition that doesn't exist.

Respond quickly to everything. When buyers send questions, answer them the same day. When documents are requested, deliver them promptly. Your speed signals that this deal matters to you and establishes expectations for the buyer's responsiveness too.

Schedule regular check-ins throughout the process. Weekly calls or status updates keep everyone focused and surface problems early. Issues that fester in silence for weeks become much harder to resolve than ones caught immediately.

When Buyers Stall: Red Flags and Responses

Sometimes despite your best efforts, buyers slow-walk deals. Knowing the warning signs helps you respond appropriately.

Delayed responses are the first red flag. If a buyer who was returning emails within hours suddenly takes days, something has changed. Don't ignore this shift—address it directly. Ask if there are concerns or competing priorities you should know about.

Repeated requests for the same information often signal trouble. When buyers keep asking questions you've already answered, they might be looking for reasons not to proceed. It's worth having a candid conversation about what's really driving the hesitation.

Scope creep in due diligence is another warning sign. If the information requests keep expanding beyond what was originally discussed, the buyer might be fishing for problems or simply not serious about closing. Push back respectfully but firmly on unreasonable requests.

Personnel changes on the buyer's side almost always cause delays. New team members need to get up to speed. New decision-makers want to put their stamp on the deal. If you learn about internal changes at the buyer, immediately reset expectations for timing.

What should you do when you see these signs? Have direct conversations. Ask point-blank: are you still committed to this transaction? What would it take to get to closing? Sometimes the answer reveals fixable problems. Sometimes it reveals that the buyer has checked out. Either way, you need to know so you can act accordingly.

The Cost of Delay You Can't Recover

Let's talk about what delay actually costs you, because it's more than just frustration and uncertainty.

There's direct financial cost. Every month you spend trying to close a deal is a month you're still running the business, still dealing with its stresses, still unable to move on to whatever comes next. If you're paying advisors monthly retainers, those fees add up. If you've stepped back from growth initiatives while the sale is pending, that's opportunity cost.

There's emotional cost too. The selling process is exhausting. It's invasive. Buyers dig through every corner of your business and ask questions that sometimes feel personal. Extending that process for months longer than necessary takes a real toll on your mental health and your family.

There's strategic cost. While your deal is pending, you're in limbo. You're not making long-term investments. You're not taking risks. You're not pursuing growth opportunities that might complicate the sale. Your business isn't standing still exactly, but it's not advancing either.

And there's risk cost. The longer the process takes, the more likely something bad happens. A key employee could leave. A major customer could defect. The economy could turn. Your health could change. These aren't hypotheticals—they're realities I've witnessed torpedo deals that should have closed.

Building a Deal Machine That Moves Fast

The best defense against time killing your deal is building a process designed for speed from the start.

Preparation is everything. Have your financial statements organized and reconciled. Compile your contracts in a virtual data room before you need them. Document your operations, your customer relationships, your employee information. When due diligence requests come in, you should be able to respond within days, not weeks.

Choose advisors who share your urgency. Interview multiple M&A attorneys, accountants, and brokers. Ask specifically about their typical response times and their approach to keeping deals on track. The advisor who bills the most hours isn't necessarily the one who closes deals fastest.

Pre-qualify your buyers where possible. Before investing months with a potential acquirer, understand their financing situation, their decision-making process, their track record of closing deals. Buyers who have done this before and have capital ready move faster than first-timers who are figuring things out as they go.

Build momentum early and protect it fiercely. Every milestone you hit should lead immediately to the next step. Don't let natural pauses expand into extended delays. If there's a gap in the process, fill it with proactive communication and preparation for upcoming phases.

The Final Word on Time and Deal Success

I won't pretend that speed guarantees success or that fast deals are always good deals. Sometimes legitimate issues require time to resolve properly. Sometimes slowing down prevents mistakes that would be far more costly.

But all else being equal, faster is better. Every week that passes without progress is a week where something can go wrong. Every month of delay drains energy, accumulates costs, and increases the chance that the deal falls apart entirely.

When you decide to sell your business, commit fully to the process. Prepare thoroughly before you start. Stay engaged and responsive throughout. Address problems immediately rather than letting them fester. Keep your eye on the finish line and don't let distractions pull you off course.

Time kills all deals—but only if you let it. Stay focused, stay fast, and get to closing while the momentum is on your side.