A successful exit strategy takes a lot of planning to ensure you secure the best valuation possible and a suitable buyer to take over. Changing business ownership also presents several legal and tax questions, which is why it’s worth to consult experts who will walk you through how to sell your business.

Start preparations to sell your business 2 years before. Hire a good Chief Financial Officer or a specialist accountant to prepare your finances 3-5 years back and a forecast into the future. Sell it through an investment bank or a business broker.

Advertise your growth potential by selling your growth story for the future long before you sell. Show that your business is abundant in customers and the forecast sales trend is going up. This is a real value for the buyer. Make them believe that buying your business is going to bring them benefits they expect.

Get audited financially by a good company, have in order your receivables account, debts, credit line and your financial database and archive. Decrease cost.

Before you sell you’ll first want to assess how appealing your business is to potential buyers. Imaging you want to buy your business and ask yourself following questions: Do I have a growing, loyal customer base? Have my profits been increasing consistently? Do I have a strong position in my market? What is my potential for expansion?

These are just a few of the factors that make it easier to find a buyer, so it’s worth spending some time making sure your business is in a good position before going to market. Here are some actions you can take to put your best foot forward for a smooth transition: organise your records, contracts, and paperwork; make sure your accounts are up to date and resolve any ongoing disputes

Preparing to sell involves some serious improvement work. But if you in the end decide not to sell, you will have a better working business. So there is no risk in business sale preparation.