How do I approach an owner who is not advertising a sale?

A large share of small business owners in Canada have no succession plan in place, which means a meaningful number would consider selling to the right buyer even though they’ve never listed the business anywhere. Reaching them takes a different approach than responding to a public listing.

Lead with a low-pressure, honest introduction

State clearly who you are, that you’re a genuine prospective buyer rather than a broker soliciting a listing, and that you’re not asking for confidential information — just whether they’d ever be open to a conversation. Owners who aren’t actively selling are far more receptive to a brief, respectful note than to a pitch that assumes they’re already looking to sell.

Consider how you sourced their contact information

If you’re contacting owners from a purchased list, a scraped directory, or public registration data rather than a personal referral, be mindful of federal privacy law governing how personal information is collected and used for commercial outreach, and be prepared to honour a request to stop contact immediately. Sourcing contact details responsibly isn’t just a legal question — a heavy-handed or intrusive first contact is also the fastest way to close a door that might otherwise have opened later.

A referral opens more doors than a cold message

An introduction from the owner’s accountant, lawyer, supplier, or a mutual industry contact carries far more weight than an unsolicited letter or call, because it comes with implicit vouching that a stranger’s outreach can’t provide. Building relationships with the professionals who serve your target sector, before you need a specific introduction, pays off exactly at moments like this.

What not to do in a first approach

• Don’t ask for financial details, employee information, or anything else confidential before any relationship or trust has been established.
• Don’t imply you’re already representing a broker, a fund, or another party unless that’s actually true — it undermines trust the moment it’s discovered.
• Don’t follow up aggressively if an owner doesn’t respond; a respectful pause and one later check-in leaves the door open far better than repeated contact.