Built to Sell Chapter 14: Crossing the Finish Line

Chapter 14. The last one. After thirteen chapters of building, fixing, arguing, and transforming, Alex finally gets to the finish line. But here’s the thing. The finish line is not as clean as you would expect.

This chapter is called “The Finish Line” and it is short. But it hits hard.

The Buyer Drops a Bomb

The meeting with Print Technology Group is set for November 16. Alex walks in with his broker Peggy, ready to wrap things up. The closing date is supposed to be November 30. Two weeks away. Almost done.

Marcus from Print Technology Group starts with a compliment. “We continue to be excited about the Stapleton Agency.” Sounds great, right?

But Alex hears the tone. He knows a “but” is coming. And it comes.

Their due diligence team found issues. Specifically, someone on their side was not comfortable with how Alex measured his market size. The spreadsheets did not hold up to their standards.

So here’s what happened. After eight weeks of due diligence and six months of preparation, Print Technology Group drops the price. The original offer was $6 million up front. Now they want to pay $5.2 million. They keep the earn-out portion the same, but that is $800,000 less in guaranteed money.

Alex is furious. He thinks they had a deal. A signed letter of intent. He is so angry he knows he needs to leave the room before he says something stupid.

Peggy handles it well. She does not argue. She does not fight. She just says they will get back to Marcus by end of the week. Professional.

The Rage Phase

Alex spends Monday afternoon storming around his office. He does not sleep that night. By Tuesday, he is at Ted’s office, venting.

“We had a deal. They are cutting more than 10 percent because some analyst in a back office did not like one of my spreadsheets.”

Ted listens. He lets Alex blow off steam. Then he says something Alex does not want to hear.

“I wish I could tell you I was surprised, but I’m not.”

This is very common, Ted explains. Buyers lower their offers after due diligence all the time. They know you are cornered. You spent months on this. Walking away feels impossible. So they squeeze.

Ted says three out of four businesses he sold closed at a lower price than the letter of intent. Three out of four.

Alex wants to tell them to go to hell. I understand that feeling. You did everything right and someone changes the terms at the last minute.

The Envelope

But Ted does not tell Alex what to do. Instead, he says something interesting. Go back to your office. Find that sealed envelope I had you put away. Open it. Then call Peggy.

Remember the envelope? Back in Chapter 7, Ted sent Alex to his beach house with a simple question. “What is the price at which you would be prepared to sell the Stapleton Agency?” Alex did the math, thought about what freedom would look like, and wrote a number on a recipe card.

$5,000,000.

That was the dream number. Before any offers came in. Before any broker meetings. Before due diligence. That was what Alex wanted when he was being completely honest with himself.

And now the reduced offer is $5.2 million up front, plus the earn-out on top.

He is still getting more than his dream number.

This is the genius of Ted’s move. He made Alex commit to a number when there was no pressure, no ego involved, no feeling of being cheated. Just a quiet evening with a steak and ocean waves. That honest number became an anchor.

The Decision

Alex looks at that recipe card and something shifts. He stops thinking about the $800,000 he “lost” and starts thinking about the $5.2 million he is about to receive. Plus the earn-out.

He remembers where he started. A chaotic agency where everything depended on him. John Stevens from MNY Bank calling at all hours. A mediocre team doing mediocre work. Stress, no freedom, a business worth almost nothing.

He thinks about how far he came. Chris building a great logo design team. The Five Step Logo Design Process becoming a real product. Clients buying without Alex being in the room.

He calls Peggy. “I am prepared to accept the lower offer. But Print Technology Group closes on November 30. If they delay, I walk.”

Simple. Clear. No drama.

Peggy says he made a good decision. I agree with her.

Signing Day

November 30. Alex goes to the law firm. He signs a stack of documents. People shake his hand. Congratulations are offered.

And then he just leaves. Gets in his car and drives. No big celebration. No champagne. Just driving.

Then his phone buzzes. Email from Mary Pradham at MNY Bank. The same banker he used to call about payroll worries and cash flow problems.

The message says a large wire transfer just arrived in his personal account from Print Technology Group. Mary wants to discuss investment options.

Alex smiles and keeps driving.

That is the last line of the story. Simple and perfect.

What I Think About This Chapter

Three things stood out to me.

First, the price reduction tactic. This happens everywhere. Not just in business sales. I have seen it in IT contracts, in real estate, in academic grant funding. Someone makes you an offer, you build your life around that number, and then they lower it when you are too committed to walk away. The fact that Ted did not warn Alex earlier was intentional. He wanted Alex to experience it and still make a rational choice.

Second, the envelope trick. This is the smartest thing in the whole book. When you are emotional, you make bad decisions. When someone lowers an offer from $6 million to $5.2 million, you feel robbed. But when you compare $5.2 million to the number you wrote when you were calm and honest, you realize you are still winning. This is behavioral psychology at its best. Set your target before the negotiation starts, not during it.

Third, the ending. No fireworks. No victory speech. Alex drives away with a smile. That feels true to life. The biggest moments often feel quiet. In my experience, the day you finally finish something you worked on for years does not feel like you expected. It is quieter. You thought there would be a parade but instead you just sit with it.

The whole book took Alex from a business worth almost nothing to a sale worth millions. Specialize. Create a process. Build a team that can run without you. Find buyers. Close the deal. Each step was hard, but none were mysterious.

A business that depends on its owner is a job. A business that runs without its owner is an asset. Alex turned his job into an asset and sold it.

That is the whole book. One of the most practical business books I have ever read.

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