Latest / Selling Your Canadian Business / Who Controls the Clock Controls the Deal

Transcript

Who Controls the Clock Controls the Deal · Selling Your Canadian Business

• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: So imagine you have like exactly 10 months to negotiate the multimillion dollar sale of your life's work.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right, the company you built from scratch.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: The one you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into for decades.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: You sit down at the table on day one.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: When do you think the biggest, most painful compromises happen in that 10-month window?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell Most people would probably guess, I don't know, month five, month six.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: But the crazy truth is your brain will literally refuse to make a single meaningful move until the final 72 hours.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Which completely shatters the illusion we all have, you know, about negotiations being this steady, rational march toward a mutual agreement.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: It really does.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because the reality is much darker and it revolves entirely around how human beings process a shrinking window of time.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, welcome to today's deep dive.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: We are so glad you're here, and thank you for taking the time to join the conversation with us today.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks for being here.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: Our mission for you in this deep dive is to unpack the hidden psychology of time in business negotiations.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: We are pulling from this really fascinating series of insights provided by the Shaughnessy Group.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and they've laid out the actual mechanics of how the clock can either cost a business owner millions of dollars or, if managed correctly, secure their financial legacy.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: It is a phenomenal set of insights, right?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because it takes something we all experience every single day, which is time pressure, and reveals the specific machinery of how professional buyers weaponize it.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Exactly.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: It is entirely about the psychology of the final stretch.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's unpack this.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because we need to start by establishing the scientific reality of time pressure.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like what is actually happening in our brains when that clock starts running out.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we can trace the foundation of this back to a landmark 2004 study by Deepak Malhotra at Harvard Business School.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, right.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: He looked at a massive variety of negotiation contexts, um, from basic transactions to complex corporate mergers.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: And he found this incredibly consistent pattern called the deadline effect.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: The deadline effect.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And what it means is that the overwhelming majority of concessions made by either party, by the way, occur in the final 20% of available time.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: So the timeline itself dictates the panic.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you have 10 months, the major movement happens in month nine and ten.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: But if you only have 10 days to negotiate, those exact same major compromises happen on day eight and nine.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: The psychological investment just peaks right at the finish line.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: That is when the cost of not making a deal becomes painfully real to the brain.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Makes sense.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: But Malhotra found something else in the data that is, frankly, actively weaponized by buyers.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: He discovered that a completely fake deadline produces the exact same concession behavior as a mathematically real one.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, really?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: A fake deadline?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a completely manufactured one.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Which means your brain is reacting to the psychology of the clock, not the verifiable reality of the calendar.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it's like buying a house.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's a perfect example.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: You're looking at a property, you love it, but you want to do your due diligence and, you know, get an inspection.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Then the real estate broker casually mentions they have another offer coming in at 5 p.m.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: today.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Ross Powell And the buyer just completely panics.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: They drop the inspection condition, they bump their offer price up, they throw all rationality out the window.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: And all because of a 5 p.m.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: deadline, that might be a total fabrication.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Yeah.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: The broker in that scenario generated massive urgency without any verifiable constraint.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And professional buyers of businesses, they are absolute masters at manufacturing that exact same psychology at a corporate scale.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell But okay, I have to push back on this a little bit.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: If we know that fake deadlines work and we know that professional buyers manufacture them, why do brilliant, seasoned business owners still fall for it?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, these are people who have built highly successful, complex companies.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: They negotiate with vendors and suppliers every single day.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Exactly.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: They aren't naive.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: So why does it work on them?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Well, what's fascinating here is a structural concept called urgency asymmetry.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: To understand why brilliant owners fall into this trap, you really have to look at the underlying vulnerabilities of the seller versus the buyer.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is especially true in the Canadian lower middle market, which usually involves owner-operated businesses valued in the millions or tens of millions of dollars.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Right, where the owner is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, very hands-on.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: And when they finally decide to sell, it's almost always driven by something deeply personal, right?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about health scares, retirement planning, maybe a partner wanting to exit or estate planning.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Their reasons for selling have a literal biological clock attached to them.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Their timeline is driven by their actual lifespan, their physical energy, and their family's needs.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, contrast that with the buyer on the other side of the table.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Right.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: Who are we dealing with?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Usually in this market, we are talking about a private equity firm or like a serial corporate acquirer.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell And for anyone not living in the finance world, a private equity firm operates on a totally different wavelength.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they raise massive investment funds and they have a strict mandate to buy companies, optimize their operations, and sell them for a profit a few years later.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they literally have teams of young analysts whose entire job is to keep a pipeline of hundreds of potential deals flowing at all times.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Hundreds of deals.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So a private equity firm has a fundamentally different relationship with time.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: They have highly flexible schedules for deploying their funds.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: They view time as a portfolio management tool.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I see where this is going.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if a specific acquisition gets delayed by, say, six months, what does that actually cost the private equity firm?
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Practically nothing.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: It is just a missed spreadsheet target for that quarter.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they just shift their focus to the next file on their desk while they wait.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: But a six-month delay for that seller, that means their actual life is put on hold.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: It means another six months of extreme stress, of risking a heart attack, of missing their grandchildren growing up.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: That asymmetry, the profound difference between a delayed capital deployment and a delayed retirement is massive leverage.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And experienced buyers know exactly how to exploit that gap.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're listening to this and you've ever felt that sinking feeling when a contractor suddenly changes the price of a home renovation on the final day of the project, just multiply that feeling by$20 million.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Yeah, that's exactly the trap we're talking about.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: The buyers actively weaponize the timeline, and the main tool they use to do this is the due diligence phase.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Due diligence, which is always pitched as a standard verification process, right?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: You sign a letter of intent, the seller grants the buyer a period of exclusivity, and the buyer's accountants check the books to make sure the business is as profitable as claimed.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: But in practice.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: In practice, professional buyers often stretch this period far past simple verification, and they turn the delay itself into a renegotiation tool.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: And when you look at the data on deal failures like the 2022 Axial Research Tracking Collapsed, MA deals the leading cause isn't some massive scandal or hidden fraud.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, it almost never is.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: The deals fall apart because of late stage conditions.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: A buyer introduces a brand new requirement, a magnified concern, or some deal tweak right in the final weeks before signing.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And they do this because they are relying on the seller being trapped by their own investment in the process.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: The industry actually refers to this as the investment accumulation trap.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it systematically breaks down a seller on four distinct levels.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Okay, four levels.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: The first two levels are pretty tangible, right?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: You have the financial investment, like the seller is racking up massive non-refundable bills from transaction lawyers and specialized accountants.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Then there's the time investment.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: The owner is spending dozens of hours in grueling meetings, uploading thousands of files to data rooms at 2 a.m.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: and answering endless questions instead of actually running their business.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then the third and fourth levels are where the most profound damage occurs.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Emotionally, the seller has already checked out.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they've mentally transitioned into retirement.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: They've already visualized what they're going to do with the money.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And relationally, they've spent months building trust with this specific buyer.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: They've opened up the kimono, sharing their most confidential trade secrets and employee vulnerabilities.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Which is huge.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: The thought of walking away and starting that entire grueling process over from scratch with a stranger is horrifying to them.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: It reminds me of the ultimate sunk cost trap.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, have you ever been to a massive theme park and you get in line for this premiere roller coaster?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: The sign says it's a two-hour wait, you wait an hour and a half, and suddenly it starts pouring rain.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: The ride shuts down temporarily.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: You are standing in the rain, completely miserable.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Concauffle.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: But you don't leave the line.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: You've already invested 90 minutes.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you leave, that time was entirely wasted.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: You stay in the rain.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in the mergers and acquisitions world, the buyer waits until the seller is standing in that pouring rain, completely invested in the line.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: That is exactly when they engage in retrading.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Ray tracking.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: They start chipping away at the agreed-upon price.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: The psychological cost of walking away is just too high for the seller to fight back effectively.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's bring this out of the abstract.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: We really need to walk through a specific scenario that blends these real-world market patterns because it shows just how devastating this tactic is in practice.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: So imagine you are the business owner.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: You've signed a letter of intent to sell your life's work for$22 million.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: The agreement mapped out a strict six-week exclusive due diligence period.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds good so far.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: But you are now in week 12.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: There is no end in sight.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Your corporate lawyer has already billed you$85,000 in transaction fees.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Your spouse has already started packing and looking at real estate down south.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Ouch.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you are physically and mentally exhausted from running your company by day and answering buyer questions by night.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you are totally drained.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Then the trap springs.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: The buyer's diligence team calls you up and suddenly introduces three brand new issues.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Not one, but three all at once.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: They mention a customer concentration risk they just noticed, a lease renewal that's coming up next year they are worried about, and some historical accounting treatment they suddenly feel is a bit aggressive.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: And let me guess, they don't give you a new price.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: They just plant the seed that these are potential bases for a major price adjustment.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, right.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then the buyer proposes a meeting for next week to resolve these items.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: But right before hanging up, they casually mention their investment committee meets at the end of the month.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if this deal isn't finalized by that committee meeting, they have to start the whole approval process over from scratch in the next quarter.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Here is where it gets really interesting because the manipulation becomes incredibly obvious when you step back, but totally blinding when you are in the middle of it.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Every single element of that scenario is a calculated manufactured deadline tactic.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Let's break it down.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: First, the timeline.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Stretching six weeks into twelve maximizes your physical exhaustion and your sunk costs.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: And second, the bundling of the issues.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Notice they didn't bring up the least concern in week three and the accounting concern in week seven.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: They purposely held them back.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: They bundled them to hit you with a consolidated crisis at the exact moment your psychological defenses are lowest.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And third, the fake urgency, the investment committee excuse.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they just attached a terrifying ticking clock to the room.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And fourth, they scheduled the meeting for next week, ensuring you spend the entire weekend in a state of high anxiety, without enough time or energy to properly prepare a defense.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if an owner is navigating this directly, without a professional buffer, their own psychology is entirely working against them.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: The historical data tells us exactly what happens in that meeting.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: The exhausted owner caves.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: They agree to a lower price or accept terrible terms, making concessions they absolutely never would have considered on day one.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's a tragedy because they won the business game.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they successfully built a$22 million company over 20 years, but they are losing the negotiation game simply because they are playing against someone who controls the clock.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Which brings us to the solution.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: How do you stop playing defense and take control of the timeline?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: How do we fix this?
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is where professional process architecture comes into play, specifically utilizing a seasoned M and A advisor to flip the script.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: If we connect this to the bigger picture, it is about transforming the dynamic from buyer-imposed urgency to seller-imposed urgency.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're an owner listening to this, how do you actually build that shield?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like step one is just being honest about your own biological clock and vulnerabilities before you even sit at the table.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that self-awareness is the absolute foundation.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: But the mechanical solution is creating what we call structural urgency.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of reacting to the buyer's pace, the seller, through their advisor, sets a strict, formal bid process before the buyer is even allowed in the room.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so the advisor builds the calendar.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: They issue a formal letter to potential buyers stating that first round offers are due on this exact date.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Management presentations will happen during this specific three-day window.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Final binding offers are due on this exact Friday.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's a train leaving the station.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: The competitive process advances whether any individual buyer is ready or not.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: But wait, why would a massive private equity firm actually obey an advisor's timeline?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: These are powerful financial institutions.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Why wouldn't they just ignore the deadline and say, we'll get you our offer when we are ready?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because those firms have a strict mandate to deploy capital.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: If they are participating in a formal, structured auction managed by an advisor, missing a deadline means they risk losing a highly viable asset to a rival firm.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ah.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: The fear of missing out, the FOMO, overrides their desire to play games with the timeline.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: They are suddenly scrambling to meet your deadlines so they don't lose the deal to a competitor.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: That makes total sense.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And beyond just dictating the schedule, the advisor acts as a psychological shield, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like when that buyer tries the late stage condition trick, saying they found an accounting issue and need to drop the price by a million dollars, the advisor takes that hit.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: The advisor provides the professional detachment the owner simply cannot have.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they've seen this exact tactic 50 times.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: They can look at the buyer and definitively say, no, that condition is not acceptable.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: What makes that no incredibly powerful is the second part of the advisor's toolkit, which is maintaining a genuine alternative.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Which is exactly like a real estate bidding war.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you only have one buyer for your house and they start nitpicking the inspection, demanding you fix a leaky faucet and replace the roof, you feel forced to comply because you don't want to lose the sale.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: But if your real estate agent says, actually, we have a backup buyer willing to pay asking price with no conditions, you don't fix the roof.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: The first buyer immediately drops their demands.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: The alternative neutralizes the buyer's threat instantly.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: In an advisor-led process, the advisor can credibly state that other qualified buyers are prepared to proceed on the original terms.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: When a buyer knows you have a viable alternative, the tactical retrading stops immediately.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does this all mean?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: Let's distill everything we've talked about into clear, actionable takeaways.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to protect the value of your business, there are four practical disciplines you need to internalize.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: The first, as we mentioned, is understanding your own timeline pressure.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: You have to convert your personal urgency into structured process urgency before you engage a single buyer.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the second discipline is designing your deadlines before you need them.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: You need a competitive process with defined bid deadlines already in place.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you wait until a buyer is breathing down your neck to try and impose a deadline, the leverage is already gone.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: And the third is a mindset shift.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: You have to treat late stage conditions as standard operating procedure, not a shocking surprise.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: When the buyer suddenly finds an issue in week 12, don't panic.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Expect it.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Have a response strategy prepared and lean on your advisor to execute it.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the fourth discipline is avoiding the accumulation trap.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do not navigate the final stretch of a negotiation in a single buyer exclusive vacuum.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's huge.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the longer you go without alternatives, the more it costs you psychologically to walk away.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: You really need professional support to help you hold the line.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: The ultimate takeaway from all this psychology and market behavior is remarkably simple, honestly.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Whoever controls the clock controls the deal.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Time is not a passive backdrop to a negotiation.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is the primary weapon on the table.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: You get to decide whose hands it is in.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: Which leaves us with a final thought for you to take away today.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Think about the last major decision you made under intense pressure.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be a business sale.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: It could be buying a car, accepting a job offer, or signing a contractor's agreement.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Were you responding to a genuine, immovable deadline?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: Or were you just reacting to a ticking clock that someone else put in the room specifically to make you sweat?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: It is a question that forces you to re-evaluate every negotiation you've ever had.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: It really does.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for your time and your curiosity today.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: We know you have a lot of options for learning, and we appreciate you choosing to dive deep with us.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And a huge thank you to the Shaughnessy Group for providing the foundational insights and deep market experience that made today's discussion possible.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to explore their resources, you can visit the website at shotnesy.group for more resources.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to dive even deeper into securing your legacy and maximizing your value, you have to check out the definitive guide on this subject.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, definitely.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's a book called Selling Your Canadian Business, a Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing Value and Securing Your Legacy by Carl E.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Sigdris Jr.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: It is an incredible resource and it is available right now on Amazon.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: You can find it at https.wazon.tad PBG0GFX W J V X Q.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to ensure they aren't leaving their life's work on the negotiating table.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the next time you find yourself in a high stakes situation and you start to feel the panic of a ticking clock, just remember you might not have to diffuse anything.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: You just might need to unplug the clock.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time.