Do not negotiate against yourself in the first conversation
A casual valuation question can create a durable anchor.
A buyer may ask, “What do you want for the business?” The question sounds efficient. It is also an invitation for the seller to establish the first price anchor before understanding the buyer’s assumptions or the full market.
Answer too low and the buyer may treat your number as a ceiling. Answer too high without support and you may appear unrealistic. Give a precise number too early and the buyer may attach its own assumptions to economics that have not yet been defined, including cash at closing, the working-capital target, rollover equity, any earnout, debt-like items, indemnification, and your post-closing role.
A better response is calm and direct: “We are focused on finding the right overall transaction. Before discussing value, we would need to understand your proposal, including structure, assumptions, and terms.”
If the conversation is part of an organized process, you can add that qualified parties will receive the same information and be asked to submit written indications by a defined date. That keeps the discussion comparable and reduces the chance that one informal exchange determines the economics.
There are situations where a seller should communicate a range or a clear threshold. The point is not to avoid the question forever. It is to answer when the available information and negotiating context make the answer useful.