Their plans for your team, customers and name

The short version

• Ask every serious buyer what they plan to do with your employees, your customers and your business's name.
• Their answers tell you as much about the buyer as their offer does.
• Some plans can be written into the sale documents. Many cannot be enforced after closing.
• Protect what matters most in writing: job offers for key people, your role after closing and use of the name.
• Once you sell, the business is theirs to run. Choose a buyer whose plans you can live with.

Your team

Ask the buyer:

• Who they expect to keep, and in what roles.
• Whether pay and benefits will stay the same.
• Who they will rely on most in the first months.
• How and when they plan to meet the team.

Some owners ask the buyer to make written job offers to key employees before closing. Lesson 4.6 covers stay bonuses for key people.

Your customers

Ask how the buyer plans to:

• Introduce themselves to your largest customers.
• Keep service the same during the handover.
• Handle pricing, contracts and renewals.

Lesson 10.2 covers telling your customers.

Your name

Many owners care deeply about what happens to the name on the door. Ask whether the buyer plans to keep it, change it or merge it into another business.

If the business carries your personal name, your attorney can address how the buyer may use it after the sale.

What can be put in writing

What you want	How it can be addressed
Your key people keep their jobs	Written job offers made before closing
You stay on to help the handover	A consulting agreement with a defined role and term (up to 24 months if the buyer uses an SBA loan)
Your personal name is used, or not used	Terms on name use in the purchase agreement
Customers are served the same way	Usually not enforceable. Judge the buyer's plan and track record.
The business stays in the community	Usually not enforceable. Choose the buyer accordingly.

After closing

Once the sale closes, the business belongs to the buyer. They will make changes. The time to decide whether you can live with their plans is before you sign the letter of intent, not after.

For buyers using an SBA loan, rules effective October 1, 2026 allow you to stay on as a consultant for up to 24 months. That time can help protect what you built.