How to Sell Your Business Fast and for the Highest Price

Most entrepreneurs are not ready for the day when they have to exit their venture. Nevertheless, they have to deal with the situation at one point or another. Thus, it makes sense to realise the complexity of the task and plan ahead to have a seamless transition.

Once you have decided to sell your business online, you need to find out ways of speeding up the process. Also, you must be able to get the maximum value for your company to enjoy a lucrative life post the handover. So, here is how you can sell your business quickly at the best price.

1. Find the Right Value of Your Business

The first step towards selling your business is to get it evaluated by a professional so that your emotions and personal bias do not interfere with the calculations. It must take into consideration the location, industry trends, economic conditions, tangible and intangible assets, liabilities, and everything else that can affect the price.

An appraiser will offer a detailed report on the valuation of the business and provide an accurate price tag. The report can be utilised to confirm the actual worth of the entity in case the prospective buyer is not convinced with the asking price. So, it will save the time spent on going back and forth with the price negotiations. In addition, you will know the threshold when the buyer tries to bring the price down.

2. Check all Financial Documents

Selling a business fast and at the best price requires having all the financial records in an organised manner. These will be analysed by the prospective buyers before the sale during the due diligence process. Also, keeping them in order will help you to assess the profitability of the business at any given period so that you can pitch it with accurate and up to date information.

The documents and records that you need to review include the balance sheets, cash flow statements, income statements, budget, inventory, etc. The historical data will help the buyer to understand the performance of the entity when compared with its estimated targets for each quarter. Also, you will have quick access to this information and can provide it to potential buyers at any time.

3. Get the Business Listed

You do not want anybody and everybody to turn up at your office. It can create rumours about the business and lead to attrition. Thus, you must make the whole process discreet by getting it listed online for sale. You will not have to go to publishing houses to get the business advertised. An online listing will get you enquiries from qualified buyers who are interested in making the purchase.

You can provide the required details about your business and a few pictures to get started and it can be all done over emails and phone calls. Thus, you can reveal the exit plan to your employees whenever you are ready and find a suitable buyer quickly. The listings are viewed by hundreds of buyers, which improves the chances of finding one at the earliest.

 4. Get All the Business Data Systematised

During the transition, you will have to provide the buyer with all the information about the business. Thus, it is a good idea to create a repository of all the classified documents that can be handed over at once without causing any delay in the transfer. All the documents will help the new owner to operate the business with the least effort and your need to train them in the daily operations.

The database must include the business plan, employee records, list of suppliers, customer data, procedure manuals, organisational structure, long-term contracts, office lease, intellectual property, website domain and hosting details, software, bills of equipment, competitor analysis, and loan documents. Keeping all of this in one place will save a lot of time when you sell the business.

5. Prepare Legal Documents

You must prepare for the transfer of the property and the intellectual property in advance by creating the legal documents and contracts. Bring your lawyer in at this phase and have him make the papers with the required terms and conditions. You will not have to spend a lot of time on this later if you follow this step.

Thus, it is better to keep everything ready and just add the name of the buyer and the price at the time of the sale. The contracts have more than 20-30 pages, so you can revise them and make corrections before getting them signed.

6. Improve Your Profits

An entrepreneur cannot expect to get a great price for the business if it is not performing as per expectations. Thus, the business owner must work on boosting sales before beginning the sales procedure. Divert your attention towards making the entity successful so that it is able to get the best price in the market.

Ask your bookkeeper and accountant to help you with improvement in cash so that the venture appears promising and viable to the buyers. Eliminate the redundant stuff in the office, such as extra stock and equipment, which has never been used. Sell it to bring more money into the organisation.

If there are any clients who have not been paying, you must settle their accounts and never deal with them again. Get rid of debts as quickly as possible to make your business more attractive.

7. Finalise The Sale at The Right Time

While you have been pushing your limits to make the business boom, it may make you feel a bit more attached to the entity. You may not want to sell it at a point when it is making more profits than you anticipated. It is a known fact that you can delay the deal to reap more benefits. However, if you have found the right buyers who are offering a good price, do not make them wait.

They will not be around forever, and they will be only interested in a business that is generating revenue. Thus, you must sell your business when it is at its peak because it will get the maximum value from the buyers. So, if you have got the best projects, team, and a high-performing business, you must go ahead and sell.

Conclusion

When you are planning to sell your business online, there are thousands of tasks to be covered. Thus, it is recommended to start preparing in advance for the big transition in your life and make sure it works seamlessly by following the tips mentioned above.