http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/3/2/11150116/kam-chancellor-gym-police-boot-camp

Seattle Seahawk Kam Chancellor was in the market for a gym, so he popped by a local gym to have a look. His visit spooked the gym’s employees so much they called the police, leading to a media hoopla.

If you are considering selling your business, then you should know that confidentiality is one of the major keys to a successful sale. Why? There is a horrible perception held by most that a business for sale is a business on the brink of failure – so disclosure of your for-sale status can cause your employees to panic and quit, can cause your customers to find a more “stable” business with which to spend their money and can even cause some of your vendors to jump ship.

While this notion of failure and the knee-jerk reactions it can cause might seem ridiculous to a business seller (it is completely reasonable for a great business to be put up for sale, right?), it is a reality of the business sales process that confidentiality is key.

So we return to the Seattle Seahawks. You wouldn’t go into a professional football game without a coach. You wouldn’t face a lawsuit without a lawyer. Why then, would you as a small business owner try to sell your business on your own? Sellers who go it alone are almost assured of a confidentiality breach because they do not have the tools or the experience to keep the status of their business under wraps.

Who does? A business broker. A good business broker has the tools to confidentially market your business to a pool of buyers who have been vetted to be assured they are not someone who would breach confidentiality.

They do this by requiring all potential buyers sign the appropriate non-disclosure agreements, by ensuring those who are looking at the business are not on your do-not-disclose list (think employees, competitors, etc.) and by limiting publicly viewed listings to information that makes it impossible for a buyer to determine what and where the business is (so no pictures of the signage, no posting of the address, no specific details that would allow someone to figure out the identity of the business).

By keeping your for-sale status under wraps, your business broker works to keep your business in one piece (will all of it’s employees, customers and vendors) all the way to the closing table.

The message here? Don’t end up with spooked employees and an NFL player on your doorstep – hire an experienced and qualified business broker to give your business sale the best chance of success.

Are you considering selling your business and have questions about the process? Would you like to know more about how we keep confidentiality in place? Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and we would be happy to help.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com