When selling your company, it is crucial for the health of the business and its future that the sale remain confidential. If your customers, vendors or employees learn it is for sale, it could have a negative impact on value. Learning of a business sale may encourage customers to replace your product or service, employees to look for more secure employment, and vendors to demand payment of invoices. If the value of your business is impacted, you will lose negotiating power with buyers and will not get the highest and best offer for it. One way to protect the confidentiality during the sales process is to work with a business advisor, who will work on your behalf, use best practices, and allow you to continue to run your business. Here are some tips we share with sellers on keeping a sale confidential.

A large percentage of businesses listed for sale never do. Following are the “Dirty Dozen” reasons why businesses fail to sell.

Selling a business is unlike selling anything else.