misunderstood and misinterpreted at this stage, leading to negative emotions, so it is important to know how to handle them, which often largely involves acknowledgement but kicking potentially contentious points into a later stage. The ‘DO’ List: 1. Listen and deeply respect the person in front of you and their accomplishments - Show Respect for their business and journey - Listen as long as they want to talk, for whatever they want to talk about. The longer they talk, the more they will trust you. The best way to get them talking is by asking them why they started the business and to share their journey. As a technical point, you will want to be very interested in why they want to sell and what their plans are afterwards. 2. Share honestly and be yourself - Business owners are savvy people almost by definition. They will appreciate someone who is genuine and spot anything fake or salesy and be put off in a heartbeat. Be Humble but equal - is a great expression that you also deserve respect but avoid stepping onto any kind of pedestal. Also, being positive is very important. Avoid talking about problems, biases, issues or too many weaknesses beyond a normal level of honesty. One can share honestly but be positive, even about lessons learned. 3. Display business acquisition competence - A Seller will probably have not sold a business and will be very nervous about it. If you give them the impression you have just shown up and don't really know what you are doing, it may compromise their willingness to move forward. Remember, there are many people that have gone through basic business buying training that have learned to talk the talk (although being a much more inferior Buyer to you in reality) that may be trying to speak with them. This doesn’t mean you need to come
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