Confidentiality: What Your Business Broker Needs From You
Posted on Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Protecting the confidentiality of our sellers is absolutely essential. It is a responsibility that Allen and Young and the Arizona Business Broker Association takes seriously. This is necessary when you consider the potential decrease in value a business could experience if its key employees, vendors, customers or competitors discovered it was for sale.
When you begin to investigate a business that is for sale, a simple rule applies: Keep it to yourself and tell as few people as absolutely necessary. Do this at the very least out of respect for the seller, and it will serve your best interests as well if you end up buying the business. We’re really serious about this. For that reason, Allen & Young requires every prospective buyer to provide the following items before receiving our Confidential Business Profile on a business that we represent:
Confidentiality Agreement:
The confidentiality agreement makes very clear your responsibilities as a prospective business buyer regarding the confidential information that we provide to you.
We may also require a financial disclosure statement from you at this time, to determine the kinds of business opportunities that you are eligible for based upon your financial situation. There is no reason to waste your time, ours or the sellers in pursuing a business that you will not have the wherewithal to eventually purchase. Sellers understandably want to make sure they are dealing with financially qualified buyers, and since they are providing sensitive financial details of their business to you it is entirely reasonable for them to request the same in return from you.
If you are looking for businesses for sale in Tucson or Southern Arizona, and trying to decide if buying a business is the best move for you, give us a call.
If you'd like more information on this subject, please contact us at 520-327-4454 or visit us at www.allenandyoung.com