Preparing Your Business To Sell

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10 Simple Steps to create higher value and a smoother sales process of your business.

Steps to Preparing Your Business for Sale


These are the most common steps to prepare your Business for sale:


Step 1:  Your initial decision to sell your business, reflecting your true and honest motivation.


Step 2: Avoid discussing your plan to sell the business with even your most trusted employees.

Step 3: Organize your financial records, as every buyer will want to review your profit and loss statements. Make certain these records are as up to date as possible. Be prepared with a copy of your property lease and any other financial documents, such as your inventory, your accounts payable, and your accounts receivable.



Step 4: De-personalize your business. This may mean removing your name from menu items such as “Mary’s Meat Loaf” or “Harry’s Hot Dogs”.

When sellers are so involved with the business, a buyer’s concern is that business may go when the seller does. This step may even include removing many personal items from business elements.


Step 5: Remove items (clutter and junk) that are no longer needed or used in the business. (Buyers are impressed with clean and clutter-free businesses). We have seen that organized business tend to sell faster and for higher amounts than businesses that are disorganized and in disarray.


Step 6: Contact a professional Business Broker who can provide a valuation for your business. The Business Broker will offer a Market Price Analysis based upon a realistic price to help you determine if this is the right time to sell your business.


Step 7: Make certain that the Business Broker has sufficient information and documentation when marketing your business to buyers so that he or she may adequately provide details.

Step 8: Plan to be available to meet with buyers brought to you by your Business Broker and be prepared for difficult questions from qualified buyers.


Step 9: Plan to work as a team with your Business Broker to position your business to its best possible advantage.


Step 10: The most important step. Be honest about your business. Once a buyer discovers that something is not as you described, the buyer will worry about the possibility of other statements not being true and will move on to the next business.

A woman is sitting at a desk talking on a cell phone.

Step 3: Organize your financial records, as every buyer will want to review your profit and loss statements. Make certain these records are as up to date as possible. Be prepared with a copy of your property lease and any other financial documents, such as your inventory, your accounts payable, and your accounts receivable.



Step 4: De-personalize your business. This may mean removing your name from menu items such as “Mary’s Meat Loaf” or “Harry’s Hot Dogs”.

When sellers are so involved with the business, a buyer’s concern is that business may go when the seller does. This step may even include removing many personal items from business elements.


Step 5: Remove items (clutter and junk) that are no longer needed or used in the business. (Buyers are impressed with clean and clutter-free businesses). We have seen that organized business tend to sell faster and for higher amounts than businesses that are disorganized and in disarray.


Step 6: Contact a professional Business Broker who can provide a valuation for your business. The Business Broker will offer a Market Price Analysis based upon a realistic price to help you determine if this is the right time to sell your business.


Step 7: Make certain that the Business Broker has sufficient information and documentation when marketing your business to buyers so that he or she may adequately provide details.

Step 8: Plan to be available to meet with buyers brought to you by your Business Broker and be prepared for difficult questions from qualified buyers.


Step 9: Plan to work as a team with your Business Broker to position your business to its best possible advantage.


Step 10: The most important step. Be honest about your business. Once a buyer discovers that something is not as you described, the buyer will worry about the possibility of other statements not being true and will move on to the next business.