Acquire.com made selling a SaaS feel like listing a product: standardized listings, a large buyer pool, and support through legal docs and escrow. What it did not change is that the seller still runs the process, and the sellers who treat it like a real M&A process get materially better outcomes.
This walkthrough covers the marketplace sequence stage by stage, with the funnel-management reality most listing guides skip.
Before you list
- Reconcile metrics to your billing export; connect integrations for verification
- Prepare 12 to 24 months of clean monthly financials
- Write the listing around durable revenue, not peak months
- Assemble the diligence file before the first inquiry, not after
- Decide your real floor price and walk-away terms in advance
The funnel reality
A decent listing generates dozens of inquiries, and most are browsers: funded buyers are a minority, and serious funded buyers with fit are a handful. The seller's scarce resource is time, and the process lives or dies on filtering fast without alienating the real buyers in the noise.
The practical filter is staged disclosure plus engagement signal: qualify with a few questions, share the anonymized package broadly under NDA, and watch who actually engages with the materials. A buyer who read the cohort table and asked about churn definitions is worth a call; ten who never opened the P&L are not. Per-buyer analytics, the reason many marketplace sellers run their file through a room like Papermark rather than attachments, turn this from intuition into a list.
From LOI to close
- Negotiate exclusivity short: 30 to 45 days keeps pressure on
- Open full diligence: financial, legal, and technical folders by stage
- Use standardized purchase agreement templates as the starting point
- Close through escrow: funds confirmed before assets transfer
- Plan the handover: credentials, domains, billing, and a support window
Marketplace vs. broker vs. direct
Marketplaces fit sub-$2M deals where the standardized process and buyer volume outweigh bespoke positioning; brokers earn their commission on larger or unusual businesses that need narrative and negotiation; direct outreach to strategic acquirers can beat both when an obvious buyer exists. The diligence file is identical in all three paths, which is another argument for building it once, before choosing a channel.
Next steps
FAQ
How long does a sale on Acquire.com take?
Listing to close commonly runs 60 to 180 days: weeks of buyer conversations, 30 to 45 days of exclusivity and diligence, and a closing sequence through escrow.
What fees should sellers expect?
Marketplace closing fees vary by plan and have changed over time; check current terms directly. Budget separately for legal review of the purchase agreement and any transfer costs.
Do marketplace buyers negotiate hard?
The serious ones negotiate like any acquirer: on verified metrics, transition risk, and terms. The difference from brokered deals is volume, more conversations to manage, not softer negotiation.