Your first call with a business owner: what to ask and say

An owner has called you back. Maybe it was the letter, maybe the follow-up. Either way, someone who has spent years building a company has agreed to talk to a stranger about it. That's a big step for them, even if they sound casual.

The first call isn't a negotiation. It's two people deciding whether they'd like to keep talking. Here's how to make it go well.

What the call is for

Go in with three goals, and only three:

1. Let the owner get to know you. Who you are, why you want to own a company like theirs and whether you seem like someone they could trust with it.
2. Understand what matters to them. Their story, their company, their people and what they'd want for all of it.
3. Agree on a next step. A visit, a second conversation, a coffee.

Price, financial statements and deal terms aren't on the list. They come later, and raising them now tells the owner you see their life's work as a transaction.

Before the call

A little preparation makes a big difference:

• Re-read your letter and your notes. The owner may quote your letter back to you. If you've been keeping notes on each owner, as our post on following up suggests, look at what you've already learned.
• Prepare a two-minute introduction of yourself. Not a speech, just the main points, so you don't ramble.
• Write down five or six questions, and expect to use only half of them.
• Understand, roughly, how companies are priced, even though you won't discuss it. Our post on what a small business is worth covers the basics. That way you won't be caught off guard if the owner brings it up.
• Block an hour in a quiet place, with your calendar handy in case you agree to meet.

Start by listening

Thank them for calling, and then let them lead. A simple, open question is a good start:

"Thanks so much for getting in touch. I'd love to hear a bit about how you came to run the company, if you don't mind."

Many owners enjoy telling the story of their business, and you'll learn more from it than from any question about margins. Listen for what they're proud of, what they worry about and what they mention more than once.

Questions worth asking

Good first-call questions are open-ended and focus on the owner, the company and its people:

• How did you start, or come to own, the company?
• What are you proudest of?
• What does a normal week look like for you?
• Who are the people who make the place work?
• What kinds of customers do you serve, and how do most of them find you?
• How has the industry changed since you started?
• If you did hand the company to someone someday, what would matter most to you?

That last question is the most important one you can ask. Some owners care most about their employees, some about the company's name and reputation, some about timing, some about the price. Whatever they say tells you what a good outcome looks like to them.

What to share about yourself

The owner is interviewing you as much as you're interviewing them. Be ready to talk about:

• Your background, and what in it would help you run their company.
• Why this kind of business. If you've thought it through, it shows. Our post on choosing an industry you can actually run can help you put it into words.
• Why you want to buy rather than start. See buying versus starting a business for the honest trade-offs.
• How you'd pay for it, in general terms. For example, an SBA loan with your own savings as the down payment, if that's your plan. Our posts on SBA loans and where the down payment comes from explain how that works.
• How you'd run it. Would you be there yourself, day to day? Keep the team? Stay in the area?

Be honest about where you are. If you're early in your search, or talking with a few owners, say so. If you haven't spoken to a lender yet, don't imply you have. An owner who finds out later that you overstated something will wonder what else you overstated.

What not to ask yet

Save these for later conversations:

• Revenue, profit or tax returns. Those come after a confidentiality agreement (a short contract in which you promise to keep what they share private), when you're both serious. Our post on the financial documents to ask for covers that stage.
• "What would you take for it?" It forces the owner to name a number before either of you knows enough.
• What employees are paid or who the biggest customers are. Sensitive, and not yet your business.
• Anything about age, health or family pressures. If they want to tell you why they're thinking about selling, they will.

If the owner offers financial details anyway, it's fine to listen, but it's usually wise to suggest putting a confidentiality agreement in place before they send documents. It protects them, and it shows you take their privacy seriously.

If they ask what you'd pay

Some owners will ask. Don't name a number, and don't dodge either. Explain honestly how it works:

"I can't give you a fair number without seeing the financials, and I wouldn't want to guess. Generally, companies like yours are priced from their owner earnings, meaning the profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. If we get to that point, I'd want to understand those numbers properly and talk about it openly."

That answer respects the question and keeps you both from locking onto a number too early, one you might regret.

How to end the call

Before you hang up:

• Sum up what you heard. "It sounds like the most important thing to you is that your crew is taken care of." It shows you listened and lets them correct you.
• Suggest a specific next step. "Could I come by and see the shop some evening next week?" or "Would you like to meet for coffee?"
• Ask how they'd like to communicate. Phone, email, certain times of day.
• Promise discretion. Tell them you won't contact employees, customers or suppliers without their permission, and keep that promise.
• Thank them. Sincerely. They took a risk by calling.

Then send a short note the same day:

"Thank you for taking the time to talk today. I enjoyed hearing how you built [company name], especially [something specific they told you]. I'm looking forward to [the next step]. In the meantime, you can always reach me at [phone]."

Right after the call

Write down everything while it's fresh: what they care about, what they're proud of, any timing they mentioned, names of people they talked about and your next step. Also write down how you felt. If things go forward, you may spend months working closely with this person during the handover. Whether you'd look forward to that matters.

And if, by the end of the call, it's clear the owner isn't ready, that's a fine outcome too. You've made a good impression on someone who now knows your name. That's often how the best conversations start, a year or two later.