I've been running my landscaping business for 22 years. When I started thinking about selling, the first thing I told the broker was: no listing, no sign on the truck, no whispers. We're doing this quiet. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. What's driving other owners to keep it under the radar?
Private Sales
Why some owners prefer the quiet discretion of private sales
Employees finding out is the big one. The second they hear 'for sale' half of them are updating resumes and the other half are asking if they're getting a severance.
Customers. If my regulars think the shop is changing hands they assume quality drops and they start shopping around. Private sale means I control who hears what and when.
Also suppliers. I had a buddy who listed and suddenly his net-30 terms got pulled. Once word gets out, everyone treats you like a dying patient.
Honestly the biggest reason for me was competition. My whole edge is a couple of long-term contracts. Put that on a public listin and every rival in a 100-mile radius gets a peek at my client list for free. No thanks.
I looked at a business listed on one of those marketplaces last year. Within a week I had three cold calls from brokers I never talked to. If that's what being a buyer feels like, I can't imagine being the seller who's name is on it.
Exactly. And those databases scrape. Your revenue gets indexed and it's out there forever.
Quiet sales only work if you've got someone who already knows your business or a broker with a deep bench of buyers. Otherwise you're just hoping the right person knocks on the door. Some of us don't have that luxury.
Had a freind try the quiet route. Took 14 months. He got a good price eventually but he was this close to just shutting the doors instead.
14 months is brutal. That's the tradeoff though, isn't it. Discretion costs time.
Time is mney but so is a leaked employee revolt. Pick your poison.
Is no one going to mention the ego thing? Some owners don't want to admit publicly that they're cashing out. A public listing feels like a confession.
Fair. Though honestly the older I get the less I care what the guy at the chamber of commerce thinks.
There's also the personal stuff that doesn't belong in a listing. Medical issues, family drama. I'm not putting 'owner is retiring due to health' on a public page for tire-kickers to read.
That's the strongest argument for private in my book. Nobody neds to know why you're selling.
Wait, you can keep an actual sale quiet? Every brker I've talked to wants to 'build a marketing package.' Sounds about as discreet as a billboard.
You can, but you have to interview brokers for discretion, not just closing speed. Most of them make their bread on volume so a quiet sale is boring to them.