Finding Companies for sale in a slow market

searcher profile

January 07, 2026

by a searcher from The University of Alabama - Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration in Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

I started my search in the Tampa Bay Area, where I am current based, about a year ago which seems to have a lot of potential. Family changes are pushing me to be closer to Jacksonville which has a much slower market or the decent business are not making it to market at all. What are some strategies that have worked for others in markets where good business are rarely being posted and how did you go about searching in these areas?
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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from Case Western Reserve University in Philadelphia, PA, USA
The best ways to search in a local market are almost non-scalable and human based. What I mean by this is getting to know different business owners in your market. Talking to accountants, lawyers and service providers. Offering some upside to a person who connects you with a potential seller, and just meeting as many people as possible. You have to realize you are competing with national searchers who will move to any city, so your biggest advantage is boots on the ground
commentor profile
Reply by a lender
from University of North Florida in Tampa, FL, USA
It's a little pricey, but I've found a lot of success with the ACG. There are chapters all over Florida. I'm a member of the Tampa chapter, actively attend the Orlando chapter, and occasionally attend the North Florida chapter (Jacksonville) I've built a strong network of COIs in the M&A space in Florida since moving from Charlotte two years ago. I attribute a lot of that to the ACG
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