A buyer just called you.

The phone rang, or a message landed, and someone wants to buy your business. Maybe they were friendly and casual: "we should just grab lunch, keep it simple." That casual tone is not an accident. Here is how to keep your footing.

1. Do not agree to anything on the call. Not a price, not a meeting agenda, not a timeline, not "sure, let's keep it between us." A pleasant "I appreciate the call, let me think about the best way to talk" is a complete and correct answer. Get off the phone.
2. Write down what they said while it is fresh. Who called, what company, how they found you, any number they floated, and what they asked for next. You will want the exact words later, because the first approach often reveals the buyer's real intent.
3. Notice the "let's just talk directly" move. When a buyer pushes to keep it one-on-one, with no advisors and no other buyers, they are trying to set the price with no one to keep them honest. It is a normal move. It is also the single biggest reason owners leave money on the table.
4. Do the multiple math before you feel anything. If they floated a number, divide it by your trailing twelve months of profit and compare it to the going range for your size and sector. A number is not good because it is bigger than you expected. It is good relative to what your business would fetch in a real process.
5. Call one deal person, not your CPA. Your accountant and your general lawyer are not trained on deals. Call one of three: a lower-middle-market M&A advisor, an experienced M&A lawyer, or an owner who sold a similar business recently. One honest 30-minute call.
6. Take the next meeting, on your terms, under an NDA. Meetings are cheap and full of information. Sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement first. Then listen. Ask how they found you, what they buy for, and what a deal would really look like. Do not negotiate. You are gathering information, not making a deal.
7. Never say the three things. Never name a price you would take. Never say you are tired or thinking of retiring. Never say there is no one else interested. Each one is leverage, and once you say it you cannot take it back.
8. If it is serious, get a banker in before real talks start. The banker brings competition, and competition is what moves the opening number. Hire one as if you might not sell. The option to walk away is the thing you are buying.

A phone call is not a deadline. The buyer called because they want your business. That is your leverage, not theirs. Keep it.