Can a broker give me a valuation range without forcing me to list my company?

By Michael D. Rubin, CEO & Founder · September 2026 · 821 words

Yes. A reputable broker or M&A advisor should give you a valuation range with no obligation to list, sell or sign anything. At MDR & Associates that range comes from a free, confidential discovery meeting and opinion of value, and you decide afterward, or never, whether to go further.

Many owners put off asking because they worry one conversation will turn into a listing agreement. It should not. Below is what a no-obligation range looks like, how to keep control of the conversation, and what to do with the number once you have it.

What a no-obligation valuation range is

An opinion of value is a low-to-high range for what your company would likely sell for in the current market, based on your financial statements and a conversation about how the business runs. It is not a formal appraisal and it is not an offer. It is a professional's read on where buyers would likely land, and why.

To produce one, an advisor needs about three years of financial statements and tax returns, your year-to-date numbers, and an hour or two of your time to explain your customers, your staff and anything unusual in the books. With that, a good advisor can tell you the likely range and which factors push you toward the top or the bottom of it.

Why you get a range, not a single number

Private companies do not have a stock price. The final price depends on who shows up, how many buyers compete, and how their offers are structured. Companies with $3 million to $100 million in revenue most often sell for three to seven times adjusted EBITDA, which is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with owner-specific and one-time costs added back. An honest opinion of value places your company inside that span and tells you what would move it.

If someone gives you one precise figure with no explanation, ask what it assumes. Precision without reasoning is a sales technique, not an analysis.

How to keep it from becoming a sales pitch

• Say at the start that you are exploring, not listing. A professional firm will respect that and plan the conversation around it.
• Ask how your information will be kept confidential, and who inside the firm will see it, before you send financials.
• Ask to see how the range was built: which earnings figure, which adjustments, which multiple, and why that multiple fits your company.
• Do not sign an engagement letter at the first meeting. If you go further later, take the letter home and have your attorney read it.
• Be wary of a number that seems designed to win your business. An advisor who quotes the highest figure you have heard, without showing the work, may simply be trying to secure the listing.

Three ways to get a number without listing

A quick online range. Our free valuation snapshot asks a few questions and returns a rough range. It is useful for a first sense of scale, not for decisions.

An opinion of value. The free, confidential discovery meeting described above. This is the step most owners need, because it is built on your actual financials and comes with an explanation you can test.

A formal valuation. A written third-party business valuation is a separate service with its own fee. You need one when someone else must rely on the number, such as a partner buyout, a lender or estate planning, rather than to decide whether selling is worth exploring.

What to do with the range once you have it

Compare it with what you need from a sale after debt, fees and taxes. If the range covers your number, you have a real choice to make about timing. If it does not, you know the gap and can decide whether a year or two of improvement would close it. The piece on when is the right time to sell helps with that decision.

The range is also your defense against a low offer. If a competitor or a private equity group calls with an unsolicited bid, you will know whether it sits at the bottom, middle or top of what your company is likely worth, instead of reacting to a number in isolation.

How MDR & Associates handles it

Our discovery meeting and opinion of value are free and confidential. We review three years of your financials, meet with you, and give you a low-to-high range with our reasoning. There is no listing requirement and no pressure. We are a boutique that takes on a limited number of engagements and declines companies we do not believe we can sell for maximum value, so we have no reason to push anyone into a sale. If you do decide to sell later, our fee is 100% performance based and paid only if the company sells, as explained on our fees page. To start, contact us and ask for a discovery meeting.

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