What do I mean when I tell someone, “I have three pocket listings that I exclusively pitch to qualified buyers”?
A pocket listing (also known as an off-market or exclusive listing) is a business for sale that is deliberately not advertised on public databases. Instead, the business broker quietly markets the opportunity to a select, limited network of pre-qualified buyers.
While public listing services exist for businesses (like BizBuySell, which tracks public data), a significant portion of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), especially in the mid-market, are handled entirely off-market, and marketing is focused on a small pool of qualified, often high-net-worth or specific industry buyers, minimizing casual inquiries. Usually, advanced research is conducted to identify companies that would be interested in expanding into a new territory or merging to gain market share.
The high demand for confidentiality for selling a business requires extreme discretion, and this is the No. 1 reason for off-market sales. Publicly announcing a business is for sale can trigger panic among employees (leading to departures), alert competitors (who may poach clients or staff), and signal uncertainty to suppliers or customers. Keeping the sale quiet to prevent speculation about financial distress helps brokers control the narrative and ensures only qualified buyers under strict Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) receive sensitive information.
In summary, the off-market trend in business brokerage is less about “testing the price” and more about upholding the paramount goal of seller confidentiality while leveraging a broker’s industry research and private network of capital-ready, strategic buyers.
RBB is moving away from simply “listing and waiting” for highly confidential or industry-specific opportunities we secure, as the off-market approach we apply centers on an aggressive, targeted search. Public listing, when appropriate, remains an option for smaller businesses in retail and owner-operated hospitality sales.
Joan Loch – 2025