04 Jan How to Prepare Your Business for Sale
You have dedicated your life to building your business from scratch, and it has become a successful, profitable company, all thanks to your vision and direction. It’s a legacy of which you are proud, and now the time has come for you to sell it. No matter the timeline on which you operate, selling a business takes immense preparation in order to have the necessary documentation as well as finding the right business broker to aid you in the sale. In today’s post, we will cover the steps that are necessary to take in order to adequately prepare for selling a business.
The first step that needs to be taken is to gather a strong team to assist in the sale of your business. This team will likely be comprised of both employees and outside parties. Your employees that you choose for your sales team will include management, accounting, and other key employees who will be necessary to complete the deal. Outside parties will include a CPA, a legal team, and a professional business broker with extensive prior experience in selling a business. These resources will all play an essential role in facilitating this sale.
Secondly, once your team has been assembled, it’s now time to gather the appropriate documentation. A prepared owner who has taken their time before selling a business will be able to answer any and all questions and provide the desired information upon the buyer’s request. Transaction fatigue can easily be avoided by being prepared to answer questions and concerns that a potential buyer might have in advance. To accomplish this, your team should conduct its own due diligence, processing the information through the eyes of a critical, potential buyer. This will allow you to fill in all blanks in documentation or at the very least make a backup plan for how to respond if any concern should arise.
Finally, an owner who is in the process of selling a business needs to adjust their expectations accordingly. The vast majority of business brokerage transactions do not end in a sale immediately. More likely than not, you will have quite a few potential buyers with whom you do not see eye to eye and who will likely pass on the conditions of the sale. The seller needs to have realistic expectations of the timeline of closing a deal, as it will most likely take a while to complete.
If you find yourself prepared and have questions about selling a business, it is best to employ a professional business broker with years of experience who can answer all of your questions. Contact Moche Hazout at Transworld Business Advisors today!