in the case of a business it could be bad for business for everyone to know, employees and customers might leave or think something wrong.
Why cause extra commotion when all you really want are the qualified buyers
do not want a sign
want it done quietly
do not want neighbors coming through their home
advantage of greatest exposure
have work to do to stage it
reporting
people are private in some cases and do not want all their contents to be shown to the public
only want qualified buyers and since their are only select ones
do not want to tie their property up with one agent yet will give you a chance verbally
want the ability to still try to sell it themselves yet will give you a chance verbally
not allowed or not a custom to advertise assignments for instance.
Health
some are not serious enough to think a sale is possible
do not want a for sale sign on their property
most people with high priced homes do not want their home and all its contents marketed on the Internet to the general public. They prefer to have it done exclusively if at all possible.
I have three exclusive listings and mostly use them in Commercial Transactions. The intention is because public knowledge of these listing usually leads to a drop in business and a lot of sellers aren’t willing to take the risk when selling a property/business. Properties like apartment buildings usually see a drop in occupancy when tenants know that the building is for sale.