Psychology of Influence in Company Sales

Mental preparation before talking to a buyer

Selling a company that you built for 7 years is not just numbers in a spreadsheet. When lawyers from corporations from Germany or France sit at the table, a game on your emotions begins. They know you are attached to your business and use it to drive the price down by 12-16% at the very first meeting. Consilium Krasiński sits at that table with you. We don't allow the use of tricks intended to throw you off balance. Since 2016, we have seen the same tricks dozens of times in offices on Piotrkowska and in Warsaw skyscrapers.

Scenarios that will happen at the table

We start preparation with real simulations. We do 3-hour sessions where we take on the role of a ruthless buyer. We ask questions about margin drops from March 2023 or the departure of two key salespeople last quarter. We tell it like it is – if you don't have a ready answer to these 4 critical points, you will lose your advantage in negotiations. We teach you how to stay calm and be silent when a low offer is made. Often 12 seconds of silence works better than an hour of explaining why your production hall has such and such a value.

Defending the valuation against auditor attacks

Buyers always look for flaws during due diligence. We check your documents beforehand and prepare a plan for presenting financial data. If in 2022 you had a one-time renovation cost of 43,200 PLN, we must clearly separate it from the result so that it doesn't lower the final valuation. Without legal jargon, we explain to the investor where the profits come from. In one transaction from September last year, we defended a price 215,000 PLN higher just because the owner knew when to stop talking about technical details and start talking about the 2025 order book.

Recognizing negotiation maneuvers

Foreign funds often use attrition tactics. They drag out the analysis by 3-4 weeks, counting on you wanting to get it over with and letting go when negotiating liability provisions. We monitor the schedule to the day. If a response from the buyer doesn't come within 48 hours, we react according to the plan. (Heads-up: owners make the most mistakes at the very end when they think the deal is already certain). Hard facts, not promises – until the transfer leaves the buyer's account, we maintain full vigilance and stick to the agreements.

Finalizing the transaction without giving ground

At the final stage of negotiations, differences usually amount to about 4-7% of the price. This is the moment when psychology wins over mathematics. We help you decide whether it's worth fighting for those last 68,000 PLN or if it's better to close the transaction and move on to new projects. Our support at Consilium Krasiński doesn't end with signing papers at the notary. For the next 4 months, we help in handing over duties so that the buyer has no basis for warranty claims. We sit at the table with you until the very end of the process.

Check how we can help

We can talk about your planned sale. Book a 25-minute phone consultation to discuss your situation. During the call, we will point out 2 main risks that could lower the value of your company in the eyes of a foreign investor.