Doctors don’t operate on themselves; lawyers don’t try their own cases and you shouldn’t try to sell your business yourself.
For most owners of businesses, selling their business is the largest personal transaction of a lifetime. It is a long, time-consuming process. During the period of selling your business, it is most important to keep the business running at peak efficiency. The detraction of selling your business can reduce its performance, thereby reducing its value.
Loss of confidentiality during the process can have a significant effect on value. It is almost impossible to market your business yourself and maintain confidentiality.
Having an intermediary substantially reduces your time involvement in the process while allowing you to maintain confidentiality. The intermediary becomes a trusted advisor that leads you through myriad of issues during the process and uses the power of limited authority to negotiate the optimum deal for you. The intermediary will more that earn his/her fees through the added value you receive.
Middle market intermediaries (merger and acquisition specialists) don’t have big ads in the yellow pages. Finding good ones is best done by referrals. Talk to your banker, your lawyer and your accountant.
Don’t depend on your lawyer or accountant to do the marketing of your company. They are not set up to do the intensive marketing required and they are in a conflict of interest situation—when the business sells, they lose a client.
Mutual trust and respect are essential. During the process, you will find yourself disclosing things about your business that you might not have disclosed to your spouse.
Interview the intermediary candidates. Talk to their former clients. Select based on chemistry, trustworthiness and successful past performance.