You do not stumble into a great exit. Owners who finish well decide early what a great deal looks like, then prepare to meet it. If you are researching how to sell your business, define the destination and build the plan that gets you there. Choose your route up front: trade sale, private equity, management buyout, or employee ownership trust. Each path sets different expectations for data, leadership continuity, and deal structure.
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What expert planning involves
Expert planning turns your company into something a buyer can evaluate and trust at scale. Clarify your goals for value, timing, and post‑sale involvement. Clean the numbers so they reflect true performance. Prove the business can run without you at the centre.
Set a value target and a timeline. Decide your preferred structure, such as cash at close, earn‑out, or rollover equity, and set your red lines. Brief your accountant on normalising earnings and legitimate add‑backs. Agree with your solicitor on the clean‑up list, including contracts, IP, data protection, leases, supplier terms, employment documentation, and any outstanding risks. Demonstrate reliable cash flow through documented systems, accurate KPIs, and steady margins.
How to present financials buyers trust
If you are working out how to sell your business, prepare a buyer‑ready pack before you go to market: a normalised EBITDA bridge, a clear revenue‑recognition policy including WIP or deferred income, and a twelve‑month working‑capital analysis to set the peg. Commission a light Quality of Earnings review up front to save time and protect value. Buyers examine trends rather than snapshots. Separate personal or one‑off costs. Explain seasonality and unusual variances in writing. If you trade on subscriptions, document churn and retention. If you sell projects, document pipeline and conversion, and include lead times for capacity planning. Clarity reduces discounting in negotiations.
Ready your numbers for buyer scrutiny. Book an Alignment Consultation to build a buyer‑ready pack and a ninety‑day action plan.
What buyers evaluate beyond profit
Profit attracts attention, reliability wins offers. Buyers review customer concentration, contract strength, leadership depth, supplier resilience, technology stack, and compliance posture. They want credible upside they can execute in year one without heroic effort. Map the next moves with basic numbers and milestones, for example new territory, pricing upgrades, or adjacent products. Expect questions on concentration risk and on change‑of‑control or assignment clauses in key contracts. Buyers also probe IP ownership, cybersecurity posture, and single‑source supplier risk. Keep short notes ready for each point because clarity prevents price erosion. When you plan how to sell your business, align your story to these tests so buyers see low risk.
Reduce owner dependency before you go to market
If every decision routes to you, diligence will expose it. Train a second line and delegate approvals with thresholds. Move client relationships into shared mailboxes and CRM records. Publish a monthly management‑information pack that managers can run without you. Record the cash engine processes such as pricing and order to cash and run them in live operation for ninety days before outreach. These moves show buyers you know how to sell your business as a transferable operation.
Sell without derailing day‑to‑day trading
Buyers discount businesses that stall during a sale. If you are asking how to sell your business without hurting momentum, keep revenue activities on cadence while the deal team handles diligence. Keep the sales pipeline full and maintain marketing rhythm while you protect on‑time delivery. Nominate a small deal team with a finance lead and one external adviser so the rest of the business keeps its cadence. Use a secure data room and a Q and A tracker with response targets to keep diligence moving without disrupting delivery.
Protect performance while you sell. Talk with a local coach about a lean deal‑team setup, a Q and A tracker, and a weekly run‑rate rhythm. Find a Business Coach Near Me.
Valuation: what moves the multiple
If you want to understand how to sell your business for a premium, start with risk and momentum. Multiples follow risk and momentum. Reduce risk with diversified revenue and QoE‑supported earnings, and document operations. Build momentum with twelve to eighteen months of clean growth a buyer can continue with current capacity.
Want a stronger multiple? Map a twelve to eighteen month improvement plan with an Alignment Consultation.
Timing and timeline
Schedule an eight to twelve week pre‑marketing tidy‑up to close open audits, refresh key contracts, and stabilise margins before outreach. Speak to your tax adviser early and plan the right structure and reliefs months in advance. A well‑prepared lower‑mid‑market sale often completes in four to six months after launch. Complexity, third‑party consents, and financing can extend timelines. Expect thirty to sixty days of exclusivity for confirmatory diligence and legals once you sign heads of terms. Plan backwards from your target completion when deciding how to sell your business on your preferred timetable.
What documents you need
Assemble a concise, accurate pack: a one‑page teaser for first contact; a clear company profile or CIM with markets served, team, operations, and financial summary; and a data room organised into Finance, Legal, Commercial, Operations, and HR. Label files consistently. Add short notes where context avoids misunderstanding. Redact personal data appropriately to stay compliant while keeping diligence efficient.
How to sell your business: the short version
- Define your route to market and preferred deal structure.
- Build a buyer‑ready pack, including a normalised EBITDA bridge, revenue‑recognition policy, and a working‑capital analysis; consider a light QoE.
- Reduce owner dependency with a delegation matrix, a management‑information pack, shared CRM, and a ninety‑day proof on cash‑engine processes.
- Refresh key contracts and close compliance gaps.
- Keep trading to plan with a small deal team, a Q and A tracker with targets, and a weekly run‑rate snapshot.
- Launch with a tight narrative and a four‑move year‑one growth plan.
- Manage diligence, exclusivity, and legals through to completion.
Your deal team
Most owners benefit from a tight bench: a sell‑side adviser for valuation, buyer outreach, and negotiation; a solicitor experienced in M and A; and a tax adviser who can model structure and net proceeds. A coach coordinates operational readiness so performance does not slip. Define lanes early so each expert owns their part and you keep one message to buyers. If you need clarity on support and budget, review our business coaching cost and pricing.
Common deal killers and how to avoid them
Surprises sink confidence. Unreconciled accounts, undisclosed disputes, weak contracts, and key people with no retention plan trigger retrades or withdrawals. Fix them early. Another common issue is a vague story. Explain next year’s growth in four concrete moves with indicative numbers and milestones. Ambiguity invites retrades and precision protects the headline price.
Communicate with staff and customers
Plan what you will say and when. Brief the leadership team under NDA once the process is real and line up retention offers for critical roles. For key customers, time conversations to protect the relationship and reassure them on continuity. Use templated briefings for senior staff once exclusivity starts, and prepare customer talking points that confirm continuity, service levels, and contacts.
Next step: turn intent into a plan
If you intend to sell in the next twelve to twenty‑four months, begin preparation now. A short planning sprint will surface gaps you can close quickly and a roadmap for the heavier lifts. The payoff is real: cleaner diligence, fewer surprises, and a stronger negotiating position.
Start with an Alignment Consultation to scope the work and timeline: how to sell your business. When you are ready to work with a coach in your area, enquire here: Find a Business Coach Near Me.
FAQs: how to sell your business
How long does it take to sell a business?
A well‑prepared sale often completes in four to six months after launch; complexity can extend timelines.
How do I increase my valuation before I sell?
Lower perceived risk with diversified revenue and documented operations and show momentum with twelve to eighteen months of clean growth the buyer can sustain.
What is a working‑capital peg?
It is the target level of working capital that both parties agree to for completion. If actual working capital is below the peg at completion, the price adjusts down, and vice versa.
This article shares operational guidance from coaching; it is not legal or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisers.