How to write a letter to buy a business, with an example

A first letter to a business owner has one job. It isn't to buy the company, explain your plans or prove you're serious. It's to make a stranger think, "This person seems decent. I wouldn't mind talking to them."

That's a small goal, and it's easy to miss by trying to do too much. Here's how to write one, piece by piece, and what to leave out.

Before you write: know why you chose this company

You should be able to finish this sentence before you write a word: "I'm writing to you because..." If the honest ending is "your company came up in a search," you aren't ready yet.

Look at what you can learn from the outside. How long has the company been around? What does it do, and for whom? Does the same person still hold the license or appear on the state filings year after year? Do its trucks, its storefront or its website tell you something about how it's run? You're looking for one or two specific, true things you genuinely respect.

Also make sure you know who you're writing to. Address the letter to the owner by name, never "Owner" or "To whom it may concern". If you can't work out who owns the company, set it aside until you can.

The five parts of a good first letter

A good first letter fits on one page and has five short parts.

1. Something true about them. Open with what caught your attention, in a sentence or two. Specific beats flattering. For example:

"Your shop has been on Main Street since the 1990s, and you still hold the license yourself. That kind of staying power is what I'm looking for."

2. Who you are. Your name, where you live, what you've done for work and why you want to own a business rather than start one or keep working for someone else. One short paragraph. If you've thought hard about that last part, it shows; if you haven't, our comparison of buying and starting is a good place to begin.

"My name is [your name]. I live in [your town] and have spent [number] years [your work, in a few words]. I'd like to own and run a business like yours myself."

3. What you want, said plainly. You're interested in buying an established company like theirs, now or someday, and you'd like to talk if they've ever thought about what comes next. Don't dress it up as "exploring a partnership" or "learning about the industry" if what you want is to buy the company. Owners can tell, and it costs you their trust before you've met.

"I'm writing to ask whether you'd ever consider selling the company. If that's not on your mind, I understand completely."

4. What you'd care about, only if it's true. If you'd keep the name, the team and the way the company treats its customers, say so in a sentence. Owners of long-running companies often care a great deal about what happens to the people who work for them. But don't promise anything you aren't sure you'd do. A promise in the first letter is one the owner will remember.

5. An easy way to answer, including "no". Give your phone number and email, say you'd be glad to talk or meet for coffee, and make it clear that a "no" or "not now" is a perfectly fine answer.

What to leave out

What you leave out matters as much as what you put in.

• Numbers. No price, no "I can pay up to", no talk of what companies like theirs usually sell for. You don't know the company's numbers, so any figure you name will be wrong one way or the other: too low and you've insulted the owner, too high and you've boxed yourself in.
• Estimates of their revenue or profit. If you've seen an estimate from public records (including one from us), keep it out of the letter. It's an estimate, not their number, and quoting it reads as if you've been looking at their books.
• Deal jargon. Words like "acquisition target", "exit", "liquidity" or "platform" make you sound like a firm, not a person. Write the way you'd talk to them across a counter.
• Anything about age or health. Never assume someone is ready to retire. "Since you've been at this a long time..." can land badly. Let them tell you what they're thinking.
• Pressure. No deadlines, no "I'm looking at several companies and need to decide soon", no hint that they'll miss out.
• Claims you can't back up. Don't say you have financing "in place" if you've only read about loans. You can say you've spoken with a lender if you have; our guide to SBA loans explains what that conversation covers. Don't call yourself a group, a fund or a firm if you're one person. Don't imply you're a customer, a supplier or a broker.
• Your whole work history. One paragraph about you is plenty. The owner will ask if they want more.

Being honest about who else you're writing to

You'll probably write to more than one owner, and that's fine. You don't need to announce it, but don't pretend otherwise. Never write "yours is the only company I'm interested in" unless it's true. If an owner asks, tell them plainly that you're talking to a few owners in the area and that you'll be straight with them about where things stand.

Common mistakes

Letters usually end up in the trash for one of these reasons:

• The template shows. The wrong company name left in from the last letter, a sentence about an industry they're not in, or praise so generic it could describe any business.
• It's too long. Two pages reads like a pitch. One page reads like a person.
• It's about you. Three paragraphs about your career and your goals, one line about them.
• It sounds like a broker. Glossy paper, a logo, a bulk-mail stamp and "Dear Business Owner" all say "form letter".
• There's no easy way to reply. No phone number, or only a website.
• It asks for too much. "Please send your last three years of financial statements" in a first letter ends the conversation before it starts.

An example to adapt

Here's a short example. Change everything to fit you and the company; an owner can tell when a letter was written for them.

Dear [Mr. or Ms. last name],

I'm writing because your HVAC company has been serving the north county for over twenty years, and your trucks are still the ones I see in my neighborhood every summer. That kind of reputation takes a long time to build.

My name is [your name]. I live in [your town] and spent fifteen years managing field service crews. I'd like to own and run an established company myself, and I'm writing to a few owners whose businesses I admire.

I'd like to ask whether you'd ever consider selling. If you would, now or in a few years, I'd be glad to meet for coffee and tell you more about myself, with no obligation at all. If it's not something you're thinking about, I understand, and thank you for reading this.

You can reach me at [phone] or [email].

Sincerely,

[Your name], signed by hand

Notice what it does: it's specific about them, honest about the writer (including that there are other letters), clear about what's being asked, and easy to say no to. If you're interested in the trade it mentions, our HVAC page shows what established companies in that industry look like.

Before you mail it

Read it out loud. Then ask yourself one question: would you be comfortable if the owner showed this letter to their spouse, their best employee or their biggest customer? If anything in it would embarrass you, take it out.

Sign it by hand, keep a copy and write down the date you sent it. Many owners won't reply to a first letter, and that's normal. What you do next, and how you'll know when to stop, comes later in this series.