How information reaches a buyer
A buyer should learn about your company in stages, and each stage should cost him something. How staged disclosure works, and the questions to ask early.
A buyer should learn about your company in stages, and each stage should cost him something — a signature, a disclosure, a proof. That is the whole mechanism, and it is what keeps a sale private while it is happening.
Information goes out in stages
It starts with a profile that identifies nothing: industry, a loose region, a revenue band. Enough for a real buyer to raise his hand, not enough for a competitor to work out who you are.
Your name comes after a signed confidentiality agreement. Financial detail comes after that. The full file comes in diligence, with a buyer who has shown he can fund the purchase. Each step is approved by you, one buyer at a time, and nothing moves forward because a buyer is impatient.
Find out who you are actually talking to
Most people who ask about a business for sale will never buy one. Some are competitors. The qualifying questions are ordinary and you should ask them early: where is the money coming from, have you bought a business before, what is your timeline, and — in a licensed trade — who is going to hold the license.
A serious buyer answers without being offended. A buyer who treats those questions as an insult is telling you something useful.
A Straight Answer
Release information because a buyer has earned the next step, never because he asked firmly. Once your financials are on somebody's laptop you cannot take them back, and the only control you had was the moment before you sent them.
The discipline costs you very little and it is the difference between a quiet process and one your customers hear about.
BuiltEquity is a sell-side brokerage for trades and field-service companies. Nothing here is legal, tax or accounting advice. Your CPA and your attorney are the authority on your situation.