Expect the Unexpected When Selling a Business: Four Questions to Settle First

By Michael D. Rubin, CEO & Founder · Updated September 2026 · 711 words

Something will go wrong during the sale of your business, and the owners who come through it well are the ones who settled four questions before they started: what their time is worth, how involved they want to be, who else has to agree, and what happens if word gets out. Answering them early does not remove surprises. It keeps a surprise from turning into a lost buyer or a lower price.

Many sales are triggered by events rather than plans: a partner who wants out, a health scare, burnout, a divorce. When the decision arrives that way there is little time to prepare, which is why these questions are worth answering even if a sale feels years away.

1. What is an hour of your time worth during a sale?

A company sale creates a second job. Buyers want calls, site visits, answers to follow-up questions and, later, stacks of documents for due diligence (the buyer's detailed check of your records, contracts and operations). Most owners of companies with $3 million to $100 million in revenue still run daily operations, so every hour spent with a buyer is an hour taken from the business.

The expensive mistake is spending those hours on people who were never going to buy. Curious competitors, first-time buyers without funding and casual lookers all ask the same questions a serious acquirer asks. An advisor's first job is to stand between you and that traffic, so you meet only buyers who have signed a confidentiality agreement and shown they can pay.

2. How much of the process do you want to see?

Some owners want every buyer comment relayed; others want a weekly summary and a call when an offer arrives. Neither is wrong, but decide before the process starts and tell your advisor. Most of what happens during marketing, from buyer questions to data requests and scheduling, does not need your attention, and filtering it out is part of the service.

Whatever you choose, the business has to keep performing. Buyers price the company on its results, and many check the latest months again just before closing. A dip in sales while you were busy answering questions can reopen the price even after a letter of intent (LOI, the offer that sets price and terms) is signed. And if the deal dies, you still own a company whose numbers slipped.

3. Who else has to say yes?

A sale needs every owner whose signature is required, not only the majority. Before going to market, list everyone with a legal or practical say:

• Partners and minority shareholders, including silent partners who have not been involved for years
• A spouse, where the company is community property or the spouse is a co-owner
• Family members who expect to inherit the business or who work in it
• Lenders, landlords or key customers whose contracts require consent to a change of ownership

4. What is your plan if confidentiality breaks?

The more buyers who see a company, the higher the chance someone talks. Good process keeps the risk small, with a blind profile that does not name the company, signed NDAs and screened buyers, but no process makes it zero. So write a short leak plan now: what you will say to key employees, your largest customers and your main suppliers if they hear a rumor, and who says it. A calm, prepared answer within a day protects relationships far better than a surprised denial. Our guide on selling a business confidentially covers the details.

Disagreements among owners work the same way. Found early, they can be settled calmly. Found after an LOI, they hand the buyer leverage and can end the deal.

How MDR & Associates plans for the unexpected

We work through all four questions in the first discovery meeting, before any buyer is contacted. From there, our ten-step process keeps you out of unqualified conversations: buyers see a blind profile, sign an NDA and complete a financial profile before they learn your name, and a principal of the firm is in every negotiation. Owners who want more lead time can use pre-exit consulting over the 12 to 24 months before a sale. If you want to know where you stand first, start with a free valuation snapshot.

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Questions owners ask next

What should I tell employees who ask whether the business is for sale?

Decide the answer in advance with your advisor. Many owners say they talk regularly with advisors, lenders and investors about the company's future, which is true and confirms nothing. Avoid a flat denial you will later have to take back, and tell key managers properly once a buyer is close to closing.

Can I sell if one of my partners does not want to?

It depends on your company agreement or bylaws. Some include buy-sell terms, drag-along rights or deadlock procedures; many do not. Have your transaction attorney read them before you go to market, because a buyer will not close without clear authority from every owner whose signature is required.

How much of my time will a sale actually take?

Expect bursts rather than a steady load. Preparation and early meetings take several hours a week, due diligence takes the most, and the stretches in between take little. The typical timeline is three to nine months from engagement to funds wired, and an advisor absorbs most of the buyer contact.