A business owner wanted to sell with the stipulation that we could not advertise it. They did not want the exposure of being listed for sale on websites (even though we list all businesses confidentially).
This was a high-profile seller who was very sensitive to being identified with the business being listed for sale. We said okay! Our first approach was to contact potential buyers in our personal and professional network. This led to an accepted Letter Of Intent to purchase the business. However, this did not make it to closing, so the seller wanted a break from trying to sell the business.
A few months later, a potential buyer contacted us on another listing, and in our conversation, we determined it was not a good fit. However, this buyer appeared to be a potential fit for the personal services firm (that was no longer listed for sale). We introduced this buyer to the seller, which turned out to be a good first step, leading to this buyer purchasing the business.