Hi Reader

Welcome to the first issue of Buyers Black Book. A rebrand of Freedom Through Acquisition.

Today we'll be diving deep into a familiar problem that lots of buyers tell me they struggle with.

Tell me if you can identify.

The Painful Reality

You’ve spent months, maybe years, building your deal sourcing machine. You’ve got a stellar team, a war chest of capital, and a finely-tuned investment thesis. You’re ready to make waves in the world of M&A. There’s just one problem: brokers aren’t returning your calls.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Every day, countless buyers find themselves in this frustrating position. They have the resources and the drive to close deals, but they can’t seem to get their foot in the door. It’s like shouting into a void – your messages disappear into the ether, never to be seen or heard from again.

What Not to Do

Before we dive into the solution, let’s talk about what most buyers get wrong. They:

1. Spam brokers with generic emails
2. Focus solely on their own needs and wants
3. Fail to differentiate themselves from the crowd
4. Ignore the psychological aspects of human interaction
5. Expect immediate results without building relationships

These approaches are not just ineffective – they’re counterproductive. They reinforce the very barriers you’re trying to break down.

The Science Behind the Barrier

To understand why these approaches fail, we need to delve into the psychology of brokers. Investment bankers and business brokers are inundated with inquiries daily. To cope with this information overload, they rely on mental shortcuts, or heuristics.

The Science: Cognitive psychologists have long studied how humans make decisions under constraints. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman’s work on heuristics and biases shows that when faced with too much information, our brains default to quick, intuitive judgments rather than careful analysis.

One key heuristic at play is pattern recognition. Our brains are wired to quickly categorize new information based on past experiences. For brokers, this means rapidly sorting incoming messages into “worth my time” and “not worth my time” buckets.

The Strategy: To break through this barrier, you need to disrupt the pattern. Your outreach must stand out from the flood of generic inquiries brokers receive daily. It needs to trigger a different mental categorization – one that says “this is unique and valuable.”

The 1% Buyer’s Playbook

So how do top buyers cut through the noise? How do they get brokers to not just respond, but actively want to work with them?

They leverage key principles of psychology and persuasion:

1. Scarcity: They position themselves as a rare and valuable resource
2. Authority: They quickly establish credibility and expertise
3. Liking: They build rapport and show they’re easy to work with
4. Reciprocity: They offer value upfront, creating a sense of obligation
5. Social Proof: They subtly demonstrate that others vouch for them
6. Exposure Effect: They increase familiarity through repeated, positive interactions

But it’s not just about knowing these principles. It’s about applying them strategically in your outreach.

The Three-Step Process to Getting Noticed

Step 1: Make a Memorable First Impression

The Science: Research in cognitive psychology has shown that first impressions are formed within seconds and can be incredibly difficult to change. This is due to the primacy effect, where information encountered first tends to create a strong impression that influences how all subsequent information is perceived.

The Strategy: Your initial contact needs to immediately differentiate you from the crowd. It should frame you as a unique and valuable potential partner, not just another faceless buyer.

The Steps:

1. Craft a compelling subject line that piques curiosity
2. Open with a personalized hook that shows you’ve done your homework
3. Quickly establish your credibility and unique value proposition
4. Use social proof to validate your position (e.g., “John Smith at XYZ Capital recommended I reach out”, or “I’ve been working with XYZ SBA lender and now that they’re comfortable with lending to me I wanted to connect with you because of…”)

Step 2: Demonstrate Your Value

The Science: The reciprocity principle, studied extensively by psychologist Robert Cialdini, shows that people are more likely to give when they’ve received something first. This creates a sense of obligation and goodwill.

The Strategy: Instead of just asking for deals, offer something of value upfront. This could be industry insights, relevant connections, or even constructive feedback on their marketing materials.

The Steps:

1. Share a unique insight about their market or a recent deal in their space
2. Offer to make a valuable introduction or connection
3. Provide constructive feedback on their deal marketing (if appropriate)
4. Ask thoughtful questions that demonstrate your expertise and engagement

Step 3: Build a Lasting Relationship

The Science: The availability heuristic, another concept from Kahneman’s work, shows that people tend to overweight information that’s easily recalled. In practice, this means brokers are more likely to think of (and reach out to) buyers they’ve interacted with recently or frequently.

The Strategy: Don’t just reach out once and disappear. Create multiple touchpoints to increase your “availability” in the broker’s mind.

The Steps:

1. Follow up consistently, but not annoyingly (every 4-6 weeks is a good rule of thumb)
2. Engage with their content on LinkedIn or other professional platforms
3. Attend industry events where you know they’ll be present
4. Periodically share updates about your firm’s activities or successes
5. Consider sending occasional, thoughtful gifts (within ethical boundaries, of course)

The Bottom Line

Getting noticed by brokers isn’t about luck or even about having the deepest pockets. It’s about understanding and leveraging the psychological principles that drive human decision-making. By applying these scientific insights strategically, you can transform your deal sourcing from a frustrating exercise in futility to a powerful engine for growth.

Remember, this isn’t just theory – it’s the real-deal approach I use with my clients, and it works. So stop shouting into the void. Start applying these principles, and watch as doors begin to open.

Stay sharp!

- Eric