Maintain Confidentiality When selling A Business
While Orlando is a large, diverse and growing community it is in some industries a small community. Often times business owners in Orlando do not want the fact that they are selling or contemplating selling their business in the Orlando area to be public knowledge. They may not want to scare away good employees. They may not want their family, friends, or customers to know they’re planning to sell. Whatever the reason, confidentiality is something to be taken seriously in any business sale. If word gets out of a transaction or potential transaction it should be on the owner’s terms, when he or she is ready to make the announcement and face the inevitable questions that arise from it.
Until that time comes, here are four tips you can use when selling your business in the Central Florida area to keep things confidential.
4 Ways To Maintain Confidentiality During A Business Sale
The simplest way to make sure no one knows that you are the business owner behind the sale is to simply withhold certain information. It’s called blind advertising and it’s a very common practice. When you advertise a business blindly, you may withhold information about the business owner and/or the name of the business. The goal here is to get calls about the business. To do that, you don’t need to provide such detailed information as the business name. For instance, ads can be written to provide all of the relevant information a buyer needs to decide whether or not they want to learn more about the business without revealing the name of the business or the owners. Ads may contain information about the industry the business is in, the size of the business, number of employees, and general location. Done properly, none of this information should reveal the exact business that is for sale. Once you see the ad, ask yourself, “Could someone tell that this is me, based on the ad?” if the answer is No, run it. If not, re-write it until you’re satisfied with the anonymity.
Another key component to keeping things quiet is the confidentiality agreement. If you are serious about maintaining confidentiality, interested buyers MUST sign a legal confidentiality agreement BEFORE any of your personal information is released to them or they even learn the name of the business. This will provide you with legal protections if the buyer spills the beans. This is also the time to look into the buyer’s qualifications and make sure they are serious and capable of making the purchase. If they’re not, don’t bother giving them confidential information. Talk to your business broker about this aspect of selling the business in Florida. Any responsible business broker will totally back you up on this and will even have approved confidentiality agreements ready to go as soon as you sign on with them.
Despite your best efforts, word may leak out and you’ll find yourself fielding questions from staff and customers. Be ready for this with a believable answer. Don’t panic or read too much into them; most questions are simply innocent inquiries. If you are ready to tell them the truth, go ahead. If you’re not, try to deflect the question until you are ready (you never want to say too much too soon).
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