Why do I need professional advisers to help me sell my business? If this is your question as a business owner considering exiting your business, you’re not alone. I get asked this often, and I understand the dilemma. Selling your business can seem like a hands-on project. After all, who knows more about your business than you do? Won’t you save time and money if you handle the sale directly? Don’t count on it. There are some very good reasons NOT to make this a “do-it-yourself” project.
Reason 1: The stakes are too high to gamble on inexperience. Would you build your dream home without benefit of an architect, a licensed plumber, or an electrician? You could try, but you’d most likely create a nightmare that someone else would have to help clean up later – at great expense and hassle to you. Why not avail yourself of professional help from advisers who have handled hundreds of profitable transactions?
Reason 2: “Specialization” is not a bad word. You may be at the top of your industry in growing and running a profitable business, but that doesn’t mean you know how to sell a business. Can you be sure you will anticipate the financial and legal pitfalls that show up along the way? Or the capital gains tax repercussions? Do you want loopholes in the sale documents, or an airtight deal?
Reason 3: Is the money you walk away with important to you or not? If you own a profitable business, then numbers probably matter to you. You’ve probably negotiated hundreds of times with vendors and clients just to save a percent or two from your cost or your profit margin. Why would you be willing to walk away from a sale with less than the best possible outcome? If a professional business broker can increase the sale proceeds by even a few percentage points, it’s well worth his or her fee.
Reason 4: Can you really afford a second full-time job? Selling a business takes a lot of time and attention. The problem I often see is that when business owners take on the process without an Exit Planning team to help, their day to day business operations suffer. This detracts from the value of the business, and that’s reflected in what buyers are willing to offer. In the long run, you’ll make more from the sale of your business if you concentrate on building its value while your professional advisers do what they do best – help you sell your business as easily and profitably as possible.
