Industry and trade associations are often great sources for specialty publications, how-to books, financial ratio studies of member companies, annual meetings, seminars, tapes, trade shows with specialty vendors, and even recognized industry experts who are available for consulting. From these sources, buyers need to analyze the important trends of the business they're planning to buy. Although buyers usually need to protect the confidentiality of the business, this does not prevent them from doing some confidential research. Some sellers frankly don't know where their competition is coming from. Others can give buyers a who's who litany that includes competitor names, marketing strategies, and even sales and profit estimates.
Sellers are often out of touch with the newer sources of competition.
Calling and visiting the competitors is usually acceptable behavior, as long as the selling company's confidentiality is maintained. Sellers will often insist on strict compliance with non-disclosure agreements they require buyers to sign. When competitors know another in their business is for sale, they can easily launch a damaging effort to recruit employees and customers. Finally, buyers need to make sure they understand the asking price and terms. If the business is listed with a business broker, these questions will be answered by the broker.