Six Tips to Prepare Your Business to Be Sold

1. Establish an Automated Computer System- Measuring sales, cost of goods sold and financial data over a computer system will impress buyers. Today’s buyers want to see automated systems. 

2. Clean Up the Books-The cleaner the books, the more competition you will have for your business and it will speed up the cycle of getting the business sold. Bottom line is that clean books will get you a better price and will separate yourself from similar priced businesses. Invest in a good CPA- it will be worth it in the end.

3. Stop Hiding Cash- Many buyers are turned off to buying a business that rely upon cash since they cannot verify the numbers. However, being able to provide cash receipts for the past few months can go a long way.

4. Establish Your Reason for Selling-This sounds simple but it is a question every buyer will ask and it will be listed on the search engines.  If your reason for selling is not consistent throughout the sales process, the buyer has a higher chance of getting cold feet as they will likely start questioning other consistencies.

5. Exact Sales Numbers Get More Inquiries- Sales numbers that are exact get higher inquiry rates on the search engines. Seeing numbers that do not end with triple zeros makes your business look trustworthy and that you can back up for data.  This creates trust for buyers and will result in more demand for your business.

6. Concentrate on Business- A major mistake owners make before they list and during the listing period is to not put as much time or money into the business. However, financial positive trending is very important to buyers. As such, keep your eye on your business to ensure a successful sale or declining revenue will make you reduce your asking price.