What M&A Market Surveys Mean for the Timing of Your Business Sale

By Michael D. Rubin, CEO & Founder · Updated September 2026 · 695 words

Market surveys of business brokers and M&A advisors are useful for one thing, a read on current sentiment about deal activity, pricing and how long sales take, but they are a poor basis for deciding when to sell your own company. Your company's results, how ready it is, and your own plans matter far more than a forecast about the market as a whole.

This article originally reported on one such survey from the late 2010s, in which many advisors expected the strong market of the time to end within a couple of years. The lesson that lasts is not the forecast itself but how an owner should use information like it.

What these surveys measure

Industry groups regularly survey the people who sell companies: brokers for smaller businesses and M&A advisors for larger ones. The questions usually cover how many deals closed, typical multiples, how long sales took, which kinds of buyers were active, which issues came up in due diligence and what advisors expect in the coming months. Results are often split by company size, because a small owner-operated business and a company with several million dollars in earnings sell in very different markets.

Read this way, surveys are a useful snapshot of what advisors are seeing. They are opinions from people close to deals, not predictions with a track record, and they describe averages that may not match your industry, size or region.

Why forecasts make a poor calendar

Deal markets move with interest rates, the availability of bank and SBA lending, the amount of money private equity has to invest and the wider economy. Nobody times those shifts reliably. An owner who rushes to market because of a gloomy forecast may sell before the company or the owner is ready, and an owner who waits for a better market may watch a peak pass without noticing it. In both cases the forecast has made the decision, when the company's own situation should have.

There is also a selection problem. A well-run company with strong, rising results tends to attract buyers even in a soft market, because good companies are always scarce. A company with falling results struggles even in a hot market, because buyers become more selective when prices are high. The quality of your company moves your outcome more than the direction of the market does.

What should drive your timing

• Your results. Two or three years of steady or rising earnings attract more buyers and better terms than a declining trend.
• Your readiness. Records that reconcile, a management team that can run the company, and customer and supplier relationships that do not depend on you.
• Your personal situation. Age, health, energy, family plans and whether a successor exists.
• Buyer interest in your sector. Industries where larger companies or private equity groups are actively buying tend to support stronger prices.
• Financing conditions. Whether buyers can borrow on reasonable terms affects how much they can pay.

The lead time most owners underestimate

Ideally, preparation starts 12 to 24 months before a sale, and most sales then take three to nine months from engagement to funds wired. A decision you make today may produce a closing a year or more from now, in market conditions nobody can see yet. That argues for building a company that will sell well in an ordinary market rather than trying to catch an unusually good one. Our answer on how long it usually takes to sell a profitable midsize business breaks down the stages.

One thing holds in every market: buyers paying a full price check more carefully. Expect thorough due diligence, and prepare for it before you go to market.

How MDR & Associates helps owners decide when

The firm's free, confidential discovery meeting ends with an opinion of value as a low-to-high range, based on three years of your financials, which gives you a concrete number to weigh against your own plans. If the answer is to wait, pre-exit consulting uses the next 12 to 24 months to raise the value. The guide on when is the right time to sell goes deeper, and a free valuation snapshot is the quickest place to start.

Where this fitsSell your business in Texas →

Questions owners ask next

Should I sell now if advisors expect the market to weaken?

Not for that reason alone. If your company is ready and your results are strong, a sale may make sense in any market. If it is not ready, a rushed sale often costs more than a softer market would. Base the decision on your company and your plans, with an opinion of value in hand.

Where can I find current information on deal multiples?

Industry surveys and advisor reports publish averages, but they cover many industries and sizes. A valuation based on your own financials, compared with transactions in your sector, is far more useful for your decision than a national average.