What You Need to Know to Successfully Sell Your Business

You invested years building your company and bringing your vision to life.

You committed to making the dream come true and opened up to learning, growth, and innovation. You solved problems, overcame obstacles, and established your company as a leader in your field.

Now you’re ready to move on to the next chapter, and it’s time to sell your business.

Before You Put Up the “For Sale” Sign

I’ve been having this conversation with a few of my Catapult clients lately, and the very first question that needs to be addressed is, do you actually have a salable business??

If you want to sell your business, your company needs to be process-driven, not personality-driven. You can’t be essential to the success of your business, you need to be able to extricate yourself from daily operations.

My company is unsellable because it’s built entirely on my unique combination of knowledge, perspective, and skills. I’ve intentionally built a personality-driven business; without me at the helm, there’s nothing to sell.?

To determine whether you’re in a position to sell your company, ask yourself:

Is your business positioned to survive and thrive without you??

Does your company offer a tangible product or service that is based on a replicable and proven set of protocols and methodology?

Are your books in order?

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” you need to consider the essential elements that make buying a business appealing to prospective new owners.?

In other words, you need to ensure that your company, your team, your clients, and the potential buyers are all set for success.?

What a Successfully Salable Business Looks Like

? ESTABLISHED LEADERSHIP. ?The leadership team in place is invested in the big-picture, accountable for daily operations, and aligned on the next steps to growth.

? PURPOSE-DRIVEN PROCESSES. A process-driven business has clear strategies and established workflows that guide operations. You know exactly what problem you’re solving, what solution you’re creating for your clients, and you have a proven methodology to make it happen.

? CLEAR COMMUNICATION. You have a defined communication strategy to guide client interactions, project progression, and internal development. There is an established structure in place that empowers your team, holds them accountable, and identifies how decisions are made and implemented.

? CLIENT FOCUS. The client journey follows a standardized development process from the very first engagement. This process defines every step along the way - delineating who interacts with the client, how and when they connect, the actions that need to be taken at each stage, and what data, approvals, or outcome is required to move forward.

? TEAM CULTURE & VALUES. Your business is run by a dynamic team who are all in on the company vision, mission, and values statement and working together to bring them to life. In the process of building your business, you’ve established a culture of growth and belonging that offers fulfilling and rewarding opportunities for your team, because if you leave and everybody quits - then you don’t have a business to sell.??

? PROFITABILITY. We can't ignore the fact that, of course, your company needs to be making a revenue that is not only attractive but profitable - and has room to grow.?

Planning Your Next Steps

Selling your company is a major milestone in your personal and professional journey–and sometimes, it isn’t as straightforward as you might hope. Maybe there are still pieces that need to be put in place, processes to refine, or expectations that need to be explicitly defined.?

That doesn’t mean that you can’t sell your business; it just means that you have some work to do first so you can close this chapter with confidence.?

Do you need a sounding board to help you move from CEO to successfully sold your company?

Are you looking for a power partner to help you create a strategic action plan that will take your business from sales comps to salable?

Do you want expert guidance to help you sell your company so that you can move on to your new beginning faster than if you try to do it alone?

Over almost a decade of coaching highly successful business owners, I’ve helped countless consultants, engineers, tech gurus, and real-estate agents sell their companies so that they could pursue their passion and start writing their next chapter.????

The key pieces you need to put in place to sell your business are the same pieces I work on with my Catapult coaching clients:

? Establishing effective workflows

? Streamlining operations for efficiency

? Creating clear channels of communication

? Building your A-team by hiring and training the best people for the job

? Refining your offers to deliver exactly what your clients need

? Defining processes and expectations to empower your team and hold them accountable

? Maximising profitability by aligning your pricing with the ROI that you provide for your clients??

When we work together one-on-one, these nuts and bolts business actions become a playground of discovery and innovation. We explore what your company needs to succeed without you and get clear on what YOU really want–for the future of your business and yourself.

Get ready to start checking items off your “To-Do List” so that you can sell your company.

I’m here to help you create a strategic plan and put it into action, and I’ll walk alongside you as your expert guide every step of the way. Together we will elevate your operations, empower your team, and set you up to successfully sell your business–for a profit!?

If you’re ready to start writing your next chapter, send me a message and tell me where you and your business are at right now. Let’s talk about what you want and what you need and find out if we make a good team.