I’ve worked with several businesses trying to help them sell their companies. Here are the top 3 lessons I’ve learned from the process:
- Assemble a Great Team: It takes a village to sell a business. Initially I was surprised at all the folks required to get a business over the finish line to a sale…coach/quarterback of the transition, leadership team, lawyer, financial advisor, banker, even family mediator at times, and that’s not even a comprehensive list. Successful sellers know who is doing what on which priorities.
- Know Your Numbers: Accurate books are a must. In every business sale we’ve seen, from intergenerational transfer to multi-million dollar corporate buyout, all parties want to have accurate numbers about the business. Solid books, accurate sales numbers, forecasts that actually forecast, recasted financials to know what a business’s “real number” is…all of it. If the numbers are not solid, the buyer is going to walk away…or soon wish they had.
- Build a Financial & Personal Plan: Successful sellers do one main thing. They take their personal planning and personal financial planning seriously. They know what they want to do in their next act, with whom, and how they plan to fund it. And they know when their business sale will close the income gap.
Focus on these three lessons, and the rest of the process gets a whole lot easier.