Question 11: Please explain the "confidential listing". If another agent comes to you inquiring about the listing, do you split commission? Or are you the only one who can present and sell this listing?

Answer: Please explain the "confidential listing". We sell businesses Confidentiality because it is very important to business sellers. There are many reasons for selling a business confidentially. Mainly if the sale becomes public, disruptions occur that can hurt the business. Here are some disruptions that typically can occur that business owners want to avoid. 1. Employees: When employees find out the business is for sale typically they fear being replaced or feel their job may be in jeopardy. This leads to the employee losing their on the job focus and possibly even searching for a new job. A good employee is a valuable asset to a business and as business owners know, a good employee is hard to come by. 2. Customers: If some customers find out the business is for sale they may get the wrong impression. They may feel the business is in trouble and may take their business elsewhere. If the business deals with returns, deposits, work-in-progress, etc. then customers may take their business elsewhere because they may be worried the quality will not be the same, delays may occur, or they may lose a deposit, etc. 3. Suppliers: If suppliers/vendors find out the business is for sale they may tighten credit. 4. Business Interruption: It’s important that an owner continue to operate the business like it is not being sold. When customers, vendors, and/or employees find out the business is for sale, they want to discuss the sale of the business with the owner and this creates a daily interruption and distraction in operating the business. The business owner hires a business broker to relieve them from having these types of interruptions and time consuming discussions. 5. Keeping Financial Information Confidential: No one wants their personal financial information made public. By keeping the selling process confidential, only qualified, serious buyers have access to the business financial information. The level of confidentiality may be different for each business sale. The confidentiality process used by us may be extremely strict, including not exposing the business to other brokers and at other times when the above disruptions may not apply to the business, we can promote more publicly. If another agent comes to you inquiring about the listing, do you split commission? Yes, but not always. We would be willing to split our commission with an agent that brings value to the transaction. Are you the only one who can present and sell this listing? No, we are not the only one who can present and sell a listing, but we must consider all of the above when making the decision who can. We are retained by the business owner to value, prepare, package, market, present the business to buyers, consult with the seller and manage the process. As the listing broker, with the amount of information we gather, analysis we perform, and the amount of resources and experience we have, we are obviously in the best position to successfully sell the business. We feel this is in the best interest in representing our clients and increases the chances for a successful sale.