Selling a business is one of the biggest financial decisions an owner will make. After years spent building revenue, customers and a team, the way you sell deserves as much thought as the decision to sell.
One of the first questions is whether to handle the sale yourself or hire a professional. There is no universal answer. The right choice depends on the size and complexity of the business, your experience, your available time, how much confidentiality matters and how objectively you can negotiate.
What selling it yourself involves
A for-sale-by-owner approach means you run the process: set the asking price, prepare financial information, create marketing materials, find and screen buyers, answer inquiries, negotiate terms and coordinate due diligence with attorneys and accountants.
You keep direct control and avoid a broker's fee. You also take on a process that grows more complicated as it moves forward. Buyers will ask for financial records, contracts, customer data, employee information and tax returns, and they will expect them organized.
What a broker does
- Valuation. An evidence-based price that buyers and lenders will support.
- Confidential marketing. Blind profiles and NDAs, so staff and competitors do not find out.
- Buyer screening. Qualified, financeable buyers only. No tire kickers.
- Negotiation. A buffer between you and the buyer, so emotion does not cost you money.
- Transaction management. Lenders, attorneys, CPAs and diligence kept on schedule.
When selling yourself can make sense
If the buyer is already known to you, such as a key employee, a family member or a business partner, and the business is small and simple, a direct sale with good legal and accounting help can work.
When a broker usually makes more sense
When confidentiality matters, when you need a wide pool of buyers to create competition, when the business is complex, or when you cannot afford to let results slip while you spend hours a week on the sale. That last point is easy to underestimate. The most common way owners lose value is by taking their eye off the business while it is on the market.
Questions to ask any broker
- How many businesses like mine have you sold, and where?
- How will you keep the sale confidential?
- How do you find and qualify buyers?
- Who will actually handle my deal day to day?
- How are your fees structured, and when are they paid?
You still need an attorney and a CPA
A broker does not replace legal or tax advice. The structure of a sale, asset or stock, the allocation of the purchase price, and any seller financing all carry tax consequences. The best results come when broker, attorney and CPA work as one team.
Not sure which route fits? A complimentary valuation conversation will tell you what the business is worth and what a sale would involve, with no obligation to list.
