PROFESSIONAL
SELLING PROCESS
Understanding Value
If you were asked, what’s your residence worth, or your retirement account, you probably would know within 5%. So, what’s your business worth? Are you confident you know the answer to within that same 5%? Less confident, we’d guess? If you miss by 20% when you sell your car, you’ve lost a few thousand dollars. If you miss by 20% on your business, you may have lost millions.
Preparation
For the entity we sell your business to, this won’t be their first or last transaction. It is likely to be yours. The hours required to properly execute an M&A transaction range between 600 – 1500 hours. Few business owners have either the time nor the skill set to execute their sale properly.
Marketing
In marketing your business, there is an immutable truth. One buyer is no buyer. One buyer can change the price and/or the terms very late in the process, even on closing day. If you have one buyer, you have two choices when that happens, both of them bad. Start over or accept a disappointing transaction.
Due Diligence and Closing
We already know your employees don’t have any money, neither do your children. So, if you want to maximize the sell price, rather than give it away, our challenge will be to find a sophisticated buyer who can build on your effort, with their greater resources, both human and capital.