Just last week, we released our 2025 U.S. SMB M&A report, and it highlighted several shifts in the US market that are important for all SMBs to understand. Since we published it, we’ve seen a growing number of advisors using these insights to not just understand the environment, but to reshape how they serve clients altogether.

As a result, we thought we’d use this newsletter to advise the advisors, so to speak. Hopefully, this can help you to guide founders through uncertain terrain with sharper tools, better context, and a deeper understanding of what’s driving value in the market right now.

What today’s best advisors are doing differently

It’s important to recognize that the nature of founder-led businesses, and what makes them valuable, is changing. Advisors who can integrate this paradigm shift into their day-to-day work will earn more trust, build stronger client relationships, and stay closer to the next deal.

Let’s look at capital markets as an example. One of the biggest themes in the report was the rise of caution in deal financing. Higher rates, stricter SBA loan requirements, and conservative banks have meant that more deals rely on structures like earnouts and seller financing. To an unprepared founder, that sounds like a risk. To an advisor with context, it’s an opportunity to reframe expectations and prepare accordingly.

We're seeing advisors support founders through more complex deal terms not by playing armchair negotiator, but by helping clean up financials, run scenario planning around future earnings, and introduce strategic partners early. When a buyer’s caution is met with clarity and professionalism on the sell side, it moves the whole conversation forward.

This applies even outside of active M&A conversations. Businesses that may only exit in five years still need good governance now. Advisors who treat "valuation readiness" as a service and not just an endpoint are widening their impact and value to clients.

Digital and AI maturity: a new diligence benchmark

Another theme advisors are taking seriously is the growing importance of digital maturity in valuation. It’s not just about tech anymore. It’s about transparency, accountability, and efficiency – all things that make a business more sellable.

Our data shows that just 32% of small businesses are using a CRM. That statistic should jump out at any advisor working with a founder who wants to grow or exit. A CRM isn’t just a sales tool. It’s proof of process, it de-risks customer concentration, and it shortens diligence time.

We’re seeing advisors lead the conversation here by doing more than suggesting tools and actually taking the time to map out what buyers look for and help clients build systems that support those metrics. Even simple moves like standardizing invoicing through cloud platforms, implementing basic dashboards, or moving off manual payroll processes are signals of modernisation that make a difference in the eyes of buyers.

The same goes for AI. While many small businesses still see AI as either intimidating or irrelevant, advisors who are learning how it’s used in diligence (think predictive cashflow modelling, automated red flag reports) can prepare founders for what’s coming. They don’t need to be tech experts. They just need to know how to ask the right questions.

Exit readiness isn’t just about selling

We intimated in the report that exit-ready businesses are going to outperform the market, but the deeper insight is that most businesses that are exit-ready didn’t get there by thinking about exits. They got there by building well-run companies.

That’s where advisors have real power. Helping founders separate themselves from operations. Building reporting systems that aren’t dependent on one person. Encouraging delegation and process documentation. These are tasks that don’t always feel urgent, but in 2025, they’re a major part of value creation.

The advisors who will make the most impact this year are the ones who help owners zoom out. They're positioning themselves as partners in resilience, not just efficiency.

Generational exits are real

One of the quieter but more important insights in the report is the scale of generational exits happening in the U.S. Right now, baby boomer owners are preparing to leave their businesses in record numbers. But they’re not all ready, and many of them are asking for advice from people they trust.

Advisors who understand the emotional side of this transition, and who can pair empathy with data, are in high demand. That might mean mapping out a multi-year transition plan, benchmarking the business’s current value, or simply creating a clearer understanding of what’s driving or reducing that number.

It’s not just about selling the business. Sometimes it’s about setting up for a family succession, or bringing in a junior partner, or winding down operations responsibly. Advisors who bring clarity to these options are changing lives, not just balance sheets.

Values-based buyers are gaining influence

Finally, the rise of values-based buyers is changing how advisors think about story. ESG is no longer a corporate buzzword. It’s part of how certain buyers price risk and opportunity.

Even if only 19% of SMBs have formal ESG strategies today, that number is climbing fast. More importantly, founders are increasingly interested in understanding how their business reflects their values. Advisors who can help them articulate that through policies, case studies, or even basic HR documentation are helping build more coherent and compelling businesses.

Again, this isn’t about window dressing. It’s about alignment. Buyers want companies that match their worldview. Advisors can play a pivotal role in making that alignment visible.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to advising founders right now. But the trends shaping the U.S. market: tighter capital, AI transformation, exit readiness, generational change, and purpose-led valuation, aren’t going away. They’re reshaping how value is defined and how it’s unlocked.

The advisors who win in 2025 are the ones who can internalise these shifts and use them as lenses through which they act. Stay curious, proactive, and practical. And most importantly, seek to teach your clients what value really means well before the buyer shows up.

Catch the replay: 2025 US SMB M&A Insights

If you missed bizval’s latest webinar, you can now watch the full recording. The session unpacked key findings from our 2025 US SMB M&A Report - a deep dive into deal flow, valuations, and financing trends for companies with $2m–$50m in revenue.

We heard from a panel of experts, including Mike Finger, Ryan Tansom, Candice Bradley, and Luke Maupin, and the conversation covered shifting buyer priorities driven by AI and onshoring, how tight credit and new SBA rules are affecting deals, and what’s really happening with valuation multiples across sectors.

Watch the recording here.

Contracts, clarity & company value – A conversation with Craig Kelly

Unlock the true value of your business with data-driven valuations and expert insights.

At bizval, we dive into what really drives enterprise value. In this conversation, Graham Stephen, founder of bizval, sits down with Craig Kelly, corporate and commercial solicitor at Aquabridge Law, to explore how contracts and legal clarity keep companies investment and sale-ready.

From shareholder agreements to IP assignments, Craig shares why robust legal foundations are critical to protecting and growing business value.

Explore more expert discussions, market insights, and instant valuations at bizval – where smarter valuations drive smarter business decisions.

Watch the conversation here.