Successfully Selling Your Business

Selling a business can be an emotionally charged endeavor. As a result, even the most experienced business owners can make mistakes that cause delays and sometimes even inadvertently can disrupt a deal. In this article, I’ve outlined some of the winning strategies that will help you enjoy the smoothest and most trouble-free experience.

Understand that Deals Take Time

One of the most significant errors that business owners make when selling their businesses is that they expect a faster turnaround than what is realistic. While you may be ready to move on to your next endeavor, is critical to understand that it will often take a period of months or even over a year to sell a business.

While quick sales do happen, the bulk of transactions will take time. When you resist the urge to rush, it increases your odds of a successful transaction that is closest to your desired price point.

Prepare for the Sale

Working with an intermediary well in advance of putting your business up for sale is a prudent move. Brokerage professionals know what steps to take to get your business ready. From finding ways to optimize your business to organizing your finances in preparing for a sale, an intermediary can be an essential ally in the process of ensuring that your business is truly ready to go through due diligence and the sales process.

Keep Your Focus on the Business

There is nothing magical about selling a business. Trying to operate a business while dealing with all the often-unfamiliar issues related to sales, can often prove to simply be too demanding. Your business must continue to be run in a streamlined manner during the sales process. Prospective buyers will carefully evaluate not just what your business did three or five years ago, but also how your business performed last month.

Prioritize Confidentiality

The failure to maintain confidentiality can be, as many business owners have learned, a costly and painful mistake. Breaches in confidentiality can result in chaos, as key suppliers and employees become concerned about the future of your company. Additionally, competitors learning that you are considering selling may shift how they do business or approach your largest and most important customers. So, err on the side of caution, and do everything you can to reduce the risk.

Selling a business can be a remarkably complex process and one that merits a good deal of attention. Bringing in experienced professionals who understand what it takes to get a business ready is the most efficient way to a completed transaction.

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