The first call with a seller

The first call decides whether the seller wants to deal with you. Most buyers spend it proving how much they know. The ones who get answers spend it asking why the owner is selling and then listening.

Before you dial

Read the listing, the open financials and the public Q&A. Arriving with a question that is answered on the listing page tells the seller you have not done the reading, and sellers with several inquiries use exactly that to decide who to prioritize.

The one question that matters

Why are you selling, and why now. Everything else follows from the answer. Retirement, a health issue, a partner dispute, boredom, or a problem arriving that they can see and you cannot. All of those are workable, but they lead to completely different deals.

What to ask, in order

• Why selling, and why now.
• What a normal week looks like for you.
• What breaks if you are not there for a month.
• Who are your three biggest customers, as a share of revenue.
• What would you fix if you were staying five more years.
• What have other buyers asked that you found difficult.
• What does a good outcome look like for you beyond price.

What not to ask yet

Do not negotiate on the first call. Do not ask for a discount, float a number, or request documents you have not signed an NDA for. You are deciding whether to spend the next month on this, and so are they.

Signals to listen for

• They know their numbers without looking them up.
• They volunteer a problem before you find it.
• They have a date in mind and a reason for it.
• They ask you questions back about your plans for the business.
• They are vague about why a previous deal fell through.

How to end it

Say what you will do next and by when, then do it. Sign the NDA the same day if you are interested. Nothing builds credibility faster than a buyer who does the small thing they said they would do within 24 hours.

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