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Better Business Brief

Should we keep it quiet...?

Published 5 days ago • 3 min read

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Staying Quiet About Selling a Business?

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Hey there entrepreneurs,

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Welcome to the Better Business Brief, where I share takeaways from:

  • running businesses I’m building to sell for millions
  • My advisory with other business owners building to sell for millions
  • tips and tricks you can use to do the same

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There’s a huge question that comes up every time someone decides to sell their business, and most struggle with it…

To keep it quiet, or not to keep it quiet. The truth?

There are pros and cons to both, and a lot to consider about this…

So today, in less than 5 minutes, I’ll give you:

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🧨 3 Common Reasons Sellers Stay Quiet

🧠 Why It’s Not Always the Smart Play

📈 How to Handle It Strategically (and Maximize Your Sale)

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Let’s start with one of the most common ones and often (fairly) the biggest concern..

1. “If my employees find out, they’ll leave.”

This is a valid fear. Especially if your business isn’t well-structured without you.

If your sale looks like instability, people jump ship. Especially key employees.

In my first business sale, we lost a key employee mid-deal.

That slashed our leverage. And our price.

✅ How to Navigate It

  • If the sale is urgent or you’re planning to fully exit, tight lips might make sense. A sale could be perceived as ‘the ship going down.’
  • But if it’s a planned, strategic exit and the buyer is adding growth potential… consider reframing the narrative.
    • “This is a new chapter for the company that will come with lots of opportunities for everyone.”
    • Get buy-in early. Offer new opportunities. Create a sense of promotion, not panic.

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2. “I don’t want my competitors to find out.”

Fair. Nobody wants vultures circling. But here’s what most owners don’t realize:

If your business is worth buying, your competition probably already knows.

And believe it or not, sometimes competitors are your best buyer.
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They can fold in your customers, team, and brand for huge ROI.
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You might spend more than 3x what your business is worth just trying to compete with yourself and build a customer base through marketing.. and a smart competitor would recognize that.

✅ How to Navigate It

  • Use a broker or listing platform that keeps you anonymous.
  • Screen buyers before you reveal anything sensitive.
  • You can control who gets in the room with your data. And who doesn’t.

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3. “I don’t want to get lowball offers.”

Truth: You will get lowballed. Suck it up. Put your ego away. Expect it.

Every experienced buyer starts low. That’s the game.

But guess what? You don’t have to say yes.

You just have to be prepared to negotiate.

Every first offer is just the start of a negotiation, when it comes to both price AND terms.

✅ How to Navigate It

  • Get a valuation and prepare your books well.
  • Bring more buyers to the table.
    • If one buyer is interested, you have no leverage.
    • If 30 are interested, you’re in control.
  • Make them compete - and the offers improve.

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My Opinion: Why You Shouldn’t Stay Quiet

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Here’s the most important reason to talk to buyers early, even if you’re years away from selling:

They give you the roadmap.

We work with private equity firms and strategic buyers all the time.
The ones doing it right? They ask buyers:

“What would make this business worth $5, $10, $50 million to you?”

Then they build that business.

If you wait until you’re ready to sell to get that info, it’s probably too late to course-correct.

If you're thinking of selling in the next few years:

  • Start having these conversations.
  • Don’t let fear dictate strategy.
  • Prepare your team, your books, your brand, and yourself.

If this struck a chord, and you want help preparing these things in your business, catch the full conversation about this on my show Deal Flow Live ​here​ and you can get help directly from our team of operators who have sold businesses and make these kinds of plans, ​right here​.

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If you like these ideas or found this informative, stick around and subscribe. I do this newsletter every week.

If you did, share it with a friend who may too, as this is the best way for me to grow it and make this better.

They can even sign up here :)
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Happy value-building to you!

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See you next time for Better Business Brief,

-Brody

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205
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Better Business Brief

by Brody Vinson

I'm the founder of Scale for Sale, a consulting practice that works with businesses who are building to sell. We help them scale their profit until they grow to their desired size. I am building Scale for Sale to sell it for millions and we are helping others do the same. Subscribe for weekly takeaways from this process.

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