Contacting a company after the owner passed away?

December 16, 2020

by a searcher from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in Fayetteville, AR, USA

I am looking to reach out to a company after finding out that the owner has passed away, but I am unsure on timing and approach. I find that it could be insensitive to follow up immediately after and I also don't know the best way to say "I heard your father died lets talk about selling your business".

2 Likes

7 Replies

158 Views

Replies

Reply by a searcher
from University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, USA

Tyler, Unfortunately I came across this more than a few times during my search, with a slight caveat. Which is I did not know the owner had passed as I was reaching out. In one situation the wife responded to a letter (paper) I had sent, she worked in the business as well but did not want to continue in it. In another instance a letter I had sent to the CEO eventually ended up in the chairman of the board's hands and he reached out. Both were actively looking to sell. I share those to affirm what Donald said above about snail mail. You may consider investigating further to see if there is someone else at the business (ie on the board if there is one) you could address it to. Finally, in both instances that I described they were looking to sell and so receiving the letter was something that they looked favorably upon -- despite it being during less than ideal circumstances.

Reply by a searcher
from Babson College in Boston, MA, USA

Couple things. (1) Someone else, possibly an estate representative, controls the company. The company may have to go through probate. Perhaps not. Seems like you know some details. (2) Don’t contact until after funeral has occurred. And you are trying to determine who controls the company now, preferably a non-family member (3) Consider snail mail, don’t be aggressive, be ultra non-aggressive. (4) follow up often, but passively (no calls). You may not know who is making decisions, how they are feeling, etc. If you know of intermediaries (accountants, attorney’s, etc) you may try through them. Ultimately, you may need to wait up to a year for probate to complete before a sale could occur. Move on and keep sourcing. Keep tabs gently on this one. Your time likely better spent on other deals. If this one comes to you, then so be it.

+5 more replies.

Join the discussion