Its quite possible, in fact its likely that Ive already gone about this the wrong way and have tried to select a business to acquire based on where motivated sellers reside rather than on an industry that shows strong profit margins and growth prospects, this thought process could be a road to paralysis by analysis however....I welcome any feedback and thank you for reading. Aidan

One of the quickest ways is to work with business brokers and M&A advisors regarding their sell-side clients. These sellers are likely motivated (at least the broker/advisor thought so), have paid a retainer or at least signed an engagement letter to be represented for sale, have gone through a valuation and data scrub, have realistic price and term expectations, and have recognized that selling a company is a serious and complex endeavor such that they have hired an advisor. I caveat the preceding attributes with the range of rigor and professionalism that exists within any group, including brokers and M&A advisors.