There’s a subtle shift that happens in acquisitions, and it’s usually the beginning of the end of objectivity.

At first, the buyer is evaluating a business.

Then one day, without realizing it, they’re evaluating their future.

They start picturing the first day as owner. The “after” picture. The new identity. The family conversations. The lifestyle changes. The pride of having done it. The relief of finally being on the other side of the deal.

That’s when the deal stops being a transaction and becomes a story.

And once it becomes a story, it becomes very difficult to accept information that doesn’t fit the storyline—especially something like a valuation that comes in below the purchase price.

In my experience, that’s where discipline gets tested.

Because the question becomes:

Are you buying a business… or are you buying the feeling of becoming the person who bought the business?

When the deal becomes personal, the buyer often needs the valuation to “work” instead of wanting the valuation to be true.

Those are not the same thing.