After years of sitting across from business owners wrestling with the decision to sell, I’ve learned that making that decision can feel overwhelming, emotional, and nearly impossible to navigate.
Selling your business is more than a simple transaction—it’s the closing of a significant chapter filled with passion and hard work. The decisions you make now will not only influence you and your family’s financial future and legacy, but they will also affect the well-being of your employees.
When a business owner asks is it the right time to sell my business, the answer isn’t simple because it depends on many variables. But when a business owner makes the decision to sell and asks, “Can I sell my business on my own?” my response is, “Yes, you can—but should you? You only have one shot to get it right.”
As someone who works helping business owners sell or grow through acquisitions, there’s always the risk of sounding self-serving when talking about the value of using an M&A advisor or Business Broker. However, I’ve seen too many business owners try to go it alone—only to end up leaving considerable value on the table, having to retrade the deal, burning out, or even losing a hard-fought deal in the final moments after months of effort.
When you’re ready to sell, you’re stepping into a rare moment —a final opportunity to optimize enterprise value. An experienced M&A advisor or business broker does far more than put a price on the business and find a buyer. They guide you through every step—from valuation and buyer screening to negotiation, managing the due diligence, problem-solving during financing, and managing expectations all the way to the closing table.
Protecting Your Time and Sanity
You’ve worked hard to grow your business. You’re likely still overseeing sales, managing staff, and keeping operations running.
Now imagine taking on buyer calls, compiling financials, drafting confidential memorandums, creating pitch decks, and leading negotiations on top of it all.
Selling a business is an intense process that requires expertise and undivided attention to get the best outcome. A quality advisor takes the reins— doing a thorough and supported valuation, marketing the business, coordinating buyer-seller meetings and zoom calls, reviewing paperwork, handling due diligence, communicating with all parties and more —so you can stay focused on running the company.
More Than Numbers: Telling the Right Story
Selling a business is a multifaceted endeavor that demands both strategic insight and compelling storytelling. Conventional wisdom might suggest that numbers alone—your revenue and profitability—are the sole arbiters of value. However, how you position your company – articulating its market position, detailing the operations, highlighting your team’s strengths, conveying your unique culture, and projecting future potential – can be just as influential.
A seasoned M&A advisor transforms these elements into a persuasive narrative, crafting what is known as “the buyer’s thesis,” tailoring your company’s story to resonate with buyers. They illuminate your business’s market position, the expertise of your team, and untapped growth opportunities to align with the specific drivers that motivate buyers.
A good advisor doesn’t rely strictly on standard financial metrics, instead he is aware of the various criteria buyers use to identify a target acquisition and markets accordingly. By recognizing what appeals to each buyer, an advisor may lean in hard with the opportunity for market expansion, synergistic or diversification of products or services, or new innovative technologies or capabilities.
Bringing Buyers and Creating Competition
Of course positioning doesn’t matter without being able to bring buyers to the table. An advisor with extensive buyer relationships—whether private equity groups, strategic acquirers, or independent investors and owner operators—can introduce your business to a broader pool of qualified candidates.
An experienced advisor doesn’t just bring one buyer to the table – they communicate and engage with hundreds of potential buyers. The best deals happen when buyers know they’re not the only ones at the table.
The resulting competition not only increases your options, it creates a sense of urgency, potentially driving up the final sale price. Competition doesn’t just validate your business’s worth—it often increases it.
Avoiding Awkward Interactions and Costly Exposure
The top concern for most sellers is protecting their employees and preserving their customer and client base. When word of a sale leaks too soon, it can create unnecessary panic among employees, worry customers, clients, and suppliers, and embolden competitors.
It is nearly impossible for an owner to protect their business’ identity and sensitive details if they are the primary contact fielding every call. A seasoned advisor knows how to market the business discreetly without anyone knowing the exact business. They screen serious buyers, ensure NDA’s are signed and time disclosures wisely.
Maintaining confidentiality safeguards your business’s value, protects key relationships, and ensures operations continue without disruption. With the right plan in place, you can explore your exit quietly, confidently, and on your terms.
Knowledge is Key
No one knows your business as well as you do, but knowing your business is not the same as knowing how to navigate an ever-changing market and maximize value. It’s an advisors’ job to anticipate how outside forces such as fluctuating interest rates and regulation changes can impact a deal and they pivot accordingly. A good advisor provides timely, strategic guidance on deal structures, the payout schedule, contingencies and earnouts that might apply – ultimately ensuring a smooth transaction in your best interest. While you are running your business, your trusted advisor should be running the sale and addressing all the challenges you might not see coming.
You Built A Great Business – Now Let’s Sell It Right!
If you’re considering selling your business, my advice is this: You’ve got one shot at getting this right, talk to an experienced M&A advisor or business broker early. The right guidance can help you prepare for a better outcome down the road, and with the right expertise by your side, you can secure an exit that truly reflects the full value of your enterprise.
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