Ever had something so unusual happen to you that you weren’t sure how to respond? Well it happened to me on January 24 when I received a call from Hannah Brantingham at radio station 105.5 FM.

Hannah introduced herself as the Marketing Director for the station and wanted to know if I had an interest to host a weekly radio show for one hour on 105.5 FM each Tuesday at 10.00am.

After a lot of thought and deciding if I had the time and willingness to move out of my comfort zone, I said yes. So please join me each Tuesday at 10.00 am on radio station 105.5 FM.

The show will feature what I have been writing about for 4 years; anything that affects a small business owner and helping them be successful whether to start their own business, buy an existing business or buy the rights to a franchise. Of course it also includes helping them to successfully sell their business including a business valuation, SBA lending, legal, accounting, financial planning and other topics.
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How to avoid a lawsuit when selling a business? Selling a business comes with many emotions. The fear of letting go of something that’s been nurtured and cared for like a child, being grateful for the success and financial rewards the business was able to generate, the place or opportunity where so much time was spent and more.

The seller of the business knows and understands the ups and downs of owning a business. To place it in the hands of a new owner and hope they are successful is the equal of any previous decisions made by the owner. To make sure the new owner is set up for success and the seller is not left with dealing with legal problems, here are some suggestions.
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How is the market for businesses for sale? The International Business Brokers Association and M&A Source just released a survey on what is happening in the market for business owners that sold or tried to sell their business during the second quarter of 2012. The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University also assisted with the survey.

The survey divided the businesses that sold into one of 5 categories based on the selling price. The categories were:

• Less than $500,000
• $500,000 to $1MM
• $1MM to $2MM
• $2MM to $5MM
• $5MM and more

Here is a look at some of their key findings.
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Are you ready to sell your business but what is next? By its very nature, becoming a successful business owner can take many years. The reasons are obvious and include defining and refining a service or product the market is willing to pay at a price you can make a profit. To get this worked out you need to bring together the different and diverse skills such as sales and marketing, operations, accounting and finance, management including the need to meet all the new laws and overhead that comes with managing employees and the constant changes from new technologies.

Because of the time, money and energy it takes to keep a business going, not a lot of thought is given to the process to step out of owning a business. What is not known until you do the research is that about 15% to 20% of businesses are up for sale but that only about 1 in 5 of those businesses will actually sell.
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Are you ready to sell your business or become a business owner? If so, what is the cost of not being ready?

At a seminar I recently heard the speaker ask this simple question – what is the cost of not being ready? The speaker quickly gave an answer and moved on to the rest of his presentation. Unfortunately for the speaker or perhaps, more unfortunately for me, I missed the next few minutes or so of the presentation as I kept throwing around his question in my head – what is the cost of not being ready?

This is such a great question that everyone needs to ask if they plan to make any major change in their life. Change is a constant whether we like it or not. It is here and it is all about us. This is no more evident than with the huge growth in social media and how it can create a ‘buzz’ in no time at all. Until recently most of the world had never heard of Joseph Kony and his actions in Uganda. Now the video and talking heads are everywhere; all from a single video that exploded with 58 million global viewers and counting.
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What is the impact of tax when selling a business?  Most small business owners spend a lot of time wrestling with the decision about when they will put their business on the market and try to sell it.  There is no question that selling a business is an important decision for its owner as it touches many aspects of their life.  These aspects of their life include their financial security, their perception of how successful the business has been or alternatively, has the owner taken the business as far as they can take it.  However,  probably the most important aspect of all is what the owner wishes to do with their future and whether or not they see themselves owning and operating the business.

All of the above and many more reasons take time to consider arriving at the right answers.  If the owner no longer sees themselves owning and operating the business and wish to sell, there is an important need to consider the tax implications if they sell the business.  The tax implications happen at two levels.  The first level is the tax consequences preparing the business for sale.  The second level is the impact on taxes when the business moves from the current owner to the buyer.  If you are considering selling your business, here are some tax consequences to consider as you contemplate whether or not you will sell the business.
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How to sell a business? That simple question explodes with so many variables. Do you want to sell to family or a friend? Do you want to sell today or in a month or sometime ‘soon’ with no firm date on when ‘soon’ will start or finish. What about the question that relates to ‘how to sell a business’ and that is ‘how much do you expect or want for your business?’ Do you want all cash up front or are you willing to carry some of the finance? So that simple question, ‘how to sell a business’ all of a sudden comes with a few more complications. The answer to the question of ‘how to sell a business’ reminds me of that expression, ‘it is like peeling an onion.’

If I was to answer the question, how to sell a business using the skills and techniques I have learned from being a business broker I would answer as follows.
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Always run your business as if it is for sale in case you hear the magic words “I would like to buy your business; are you interested in selling?”

I was recently helping a business owner, and I will call him Rob, conclude the selling of his business with a great outcome because he always ran his business as if it was for sale.  His story is also inspiring so let us have a look at the details.

The time is the day after Labor Day, 2008.  Rob, as the new owner of the business is just closing escrow on his ‘Dream business.’ The excitement was obvious as Rob was concluding just on 8 months of work finding the right business, negotiating the transaction, obtaining an SBA loan, coming to terms with the landlord, completing due diligence and eventually closing the sale.

If you go back to August and September 2008 you will remember that this was what we now consider the start of the ‘Great Recession.’  The collapse of the housing market was beginning to gain momentum with the US Treasury seizing control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  About a week later, the government saved AIG Inc, the investment banking company Lehman Brothers was not saved but allowed to collapse, and a new word was now on everyone’s lips called ‘bailout.’ This word had different meanings for different people depending on if you were the ‘bailor’ or the ‘bailee’ plus there were other chaotic happenings on Wall Street to the auto industry to Main Street.  In simple terms, not the best place or time to buy a new business with a purchase price of $1,100,000.

In Rob’s situation, he was also excited as it meant relocating to a new town about 2 hours from where he lived as well as learning to own and operate his business.
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Here are some tips to successfully sell a business.  Bear in mind that to sell your business successfully requires a lot of preparation, attention to detail and organization.  Most sellers badly underestimate both what they need to do and what to do if a qualified buyer comes along.

A good rule of thumb is that it takes about ten buyer inquiries to reach a potential buyer who has the qualification to buy the business.  There is not a shortage of buyers; there is a shortage of buyers who have the right industry and management experience, a good down payment and credit score and the most important ingredient of all, the motivation to move through the process to buy a business.  So if you find the right buyer, you need to have your “A” game ready so your business sells in the shortest time possible.
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Do you want to successfully sell your business quickly? According to the California Association of Business Brokers it is taking about 8 months to sell a business. That is the good news. The bad news is that only about 25% of businesses actually sell. If you want to sell your business and do it quickly consider the following suggestions.

1. Have a reasonable listing price.
2. Be prepared to negotiate.
3. Have a folder of information readily available for a qualified buyer.
4. Run the business as usual.
5. Make sure the business presents well; give it a “spit and polish.”
6. Get the business financial statements such as Profit and Loss up to date and keep them up-to-date.
7. Put together a current list of Fixtures, Furniture, and Equipment (FF&E).
8. Count all inventory so you know the value before you list the business for sale. This helps the buyer understand the final purchase price and reduces one of the many areas of negotiating a deal.

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Successfully sell your business

Why would you bother when selling your business to include a sales and marketing plan?  After all, the sales and marketing plan is a document that most business owners don’t have time to get around to put together.  I’m not sure why that is as it’s more important than the business plan and indeed complement it but more importantly, when the business owner wants to sell their business it can be the difference in the business selling or closing its doors.

Why is it more important than the business plan?  The business plan outlines the vision, strategic direction and business and financial goals of the business.  The sales and marketing plan breaks down the business plan to show how you are going to get there and the tactics to be used to attract the customers it needs.  Or more importantly, the sales and marketing plan is about growing the business and how to maximize the use of precious and limited resources including money, knowledge, expertise and most important of all; time.
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What are the benefits of a productivity plan for a business? Hopefully you will make a New Year’s resolution which includes building a business plan and in it, your personal and business goals.  You will also do a budget to make sure you can afford to execute what is in your plans.  Hopefully you are rested and as they say, “all dressed up and ready to go.”  You are also saying “Bring it on.”  My question is therefore, you know WHAT you want to do but HOW are you going to do it?

Chances are you have a list of projects and tasks you want and need to do.  It probably does not include answering phones, sending and receiving emails, reading articles and newsletters, attending conferences, staying on top of compliance items that affect your industry but numerous day to day activities that lead most entrepreneurs at the end of the day to say “Where did the day go?”  That’s the point of a Productivity plan.

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What are the benefits of a communication plan for a business? The life blood of what we do as human beings and the glue that keeps us all together as a society whether at a local, regional, national or indeed international level is the ability to communicate with one another.  Many times that communication breaks down and many times this leads to negative consequences.  All entrepreneurs are familiar with a Business Plan and a Sales and Marketing Plan but not everyone has heard of a Communication plan.  So what is a Communication plan?

A Communication plan is an attempt to standardize the message that goes out from the business to its customers.  It complements and dovetails with a Business Plan and Sales and Marketing Plan.  In some instances there can be an overlap but essentially it includes all written, spoken and electronic communications.
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What are the benefits of a management plan to sell a business? Buying or selling a business is a complex matter.  There is no question about it.  The complexities start from the moment a buyer and seller start interacting.  These include, for example, the buyer not having any history or knowledge about the operation of the business and so have to rely entirely on the representations of the seller.  Conversely, the seller lives and breathes the business, knows its ups and downs as well as its strengths and weaknesses.  My Golden Rule when assisting with a business transaction is for each party to put their feet in the shoes of the other party.  In other words, the seller should see things from the buyer’s perspective and the buyer should see things from the seller’s perspective.
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Do you have a New Years resolution to sell a business or buy a business?

Everyone is familiar with the Christmas song, The 12 Days of Christmas.  Without going into every verse of the song, the carol works forward with the first day of Christmas being a partridge in a pear tree, the second day of Christmas two turtle doves and so on.  The song is full of optimism and hope that the giver and receivers of the gifts will be thankful for life, the opportunity to share and hope for the future.

From researching the origins of the song, I came across something interesting.   One of the articles I read suggests the 12 days of Christmas is not about the 12 days prior to Christmas but in fact, the 12 days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany which begins on January 06.  When I thought further about this, it naturally combined with another favorite thing we do during the Holiday Season and that is to make New Year’s Resolutions.
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Use a Business Plan to sell a business.. Being an entrepreneur requires the need to constantly make decisions.  Being a successful entrepreneur requires constantly getting most of those decisions right.  No entrepreneur gets every decision right.  Just ask Tiger Woods.  Besides, if that was to happen it would be boring.  However, being an entrepreneur does require bringing your A game to business as much as possible.

One of the best tools that enable entrepreneurs to be successful is creating and working a business plan.  In simple terms there are two types of business plan.  The first type of business plan is for a brand new business that is moving towards entering the economy.  A new business or enterprise requires a different approach to an existing business as there is a lot of data gathering and initial research to build and make decisions.  Additionally, there are a lot of one offs to attend to such as researching and deciding the best legal entity, setting up and creating a proper set of financial records.  It also includes knowing what business licenses, permits and other regulatory requirements to meet, creating job descriptions and hiring the right people for those positions, researching technology options, buying the right equipment, getting it setup correctly including any necessary training, and the list goes on.
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How to prepare a business for sale? If you are thinking of selling your small business, one of your first questions to answer is more than likely; where do I start?

One of your first starting points is to be clear exactly what you are selling.  This may seem obvious but many sellers think they will deal with it when they get an offer.  So let’s break this down and look a little more closely at it.

In simple terms, the two most important things to a buyer when looking to buy a business are current cash flow and potential.  From the buyer’s perspective, the cash flow is the fuel that feeds the business to pay the suppliers, employees, landlord, tax man, lenders and to keep the business going.  In addition, they need cash flow to feed their family, pay the mortgage, pay any loans and have something left over after all their work and capital investment in the business with a little in reserve in case something unexpected happens.
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Caveat Emptor – Let the seller beware! If you own a business and receive an unsolicited offer to buy your business please be careful. If your business is currently for sale be even more cautious. There are con artists that have developed a clever process of taking your business from you and leaving you not only with absolutely nothing, but totally destroying your business and leaving you in debt.

Here’s a basic breakdown of their process.
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Tips to sell a business

Strategies to successfully sell a business

These strategies and top tips when selling a business will increase your chances of success.  Successfully selling a business requires a lot of preparation, attention to detail and organization. Most sellers badly underestimate both what they need to do and what to do if a qualified buyer comes along. A good rule of thumb is that it takes about ten buyer inquiries to reach a potential buyer who has the qualification to buy the business. There is not a shortage of buyers; there is a shortage of buyers who have the right industry and management, a downpayment and good credit score and the most important ingredient of all, the motivation to move through the process to buy a business. So if you find the right buyer, you need to have you’re “A” game ready.

Here are 5 tips to use when selling a business. Do not forget to prepare and be ready.

1. Assuming you know what the buyer wants.

Buying a business is a unique experience; every transaction is unique. If you meet a buyer with the right qualifications and assume you understand their needs, wants and motivations it is a bad practice as a smart buyer will not reveal their true motivations.
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Is your New Years resolution to sell or buy a business? Everyone is familiar with the Christmas song, the 12 days of Christmas. Without going into every verse of the song, the carol works forwards with the first day of Christmas being a partridge in a pear tree, the second day of Christmas two turtle doves and so on. The song is full of optimism and hope that the giver and receivers of the gifts will be thankful for life, the opportunity to share and hope for the future.

From researching the origins of the song, I came across something interesting. One of the articles I read suggested that the 12 days of Christmas is not about the 12 days prior to Christmas but in fact, the 12 days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany which begins on January 06. When I thought further about this, it naturally combined with another favorite thing we do during the Holiday Season and that is to make New Year’s Resolutions.
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Here are more tips to successfully sell your business. Deciding to sell a business you own and operate and love like a child is rarely easy. Business ownership includes many practical matters such as providing an income, helping customers, paying your bills on time etc but it also includes many emotions. These include being successful, honest, going above and beyond to help customers and employees to name a few. If it’s time for you to sell your business, consider the following 5 tips to help you be successful.

1. Avoid using high-pressure sales tactics.
Buying and selling a business is a unique set of circumstances. No two transactions are the same. You can never “sell” a business; the buyer has to want to “buy” for reasons that make sense to them. The law recognizes this by defining it as a willing buyer and a willing seller with neither party under any compulsion to close the transaction.
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Here are 4 buyer personality traits to watch when selling your business. Just as there are different sellers with different motivations, there are also buyers with different types of needs and personalities. If you’re the seller of a business or looking to buy, understanding these different personality types may help you be more successful.

1. Unemployed
This is the best type of buyer. But there are some catches. They need to have enough money as a down payment to buy the business. Zero down payment to buy a home hasn’t been successful. As well as the down payment, they need a good credit score (FICO 700 plus), good credit report and if they want to qualify for a third party loan such as an SBA loan; they need to have industry experience. If you are the seller of a business, the unemployed are motivated and generally want to move quickly to make a decision and start earning an income again.
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What is the importance of a business valuation when selling a business? When most business owners decide to sell and they wish to be the one to start the process, the first and obvious place to start is with a business valuation. A business valuation gives the owner a reference point as to whether the price they hope to get for the business will be reasonable and/or achievable.

Some business owners choose the selling price for the business based on what they want in order to sell. They may have a certain amount of debt they wish to retire, money they need for retirement plus an ache that makes them think there business is worth a certain amount of money. Not a good basis for trying to convince a buyer about the asking price for the business.

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Avoid these myths when selling your business. The typical business owner will only sell a business once. Understanding the complex process involved will help produce the best results. But don’t fall prey to the myths that can derail or seriously affect a potential sale.

Myth 1 – I Can Sell It Myself

Many owners believe they’re qualified to sell their business without professional assistance. Many owners are entrepreneurs and the key salesperson for the company. But selling a business is not like selling a product or service.

If you’re looking to sell on your own, confidentiality is lost. If word of a potential sale gets out, there are definite risks of losing clients, employees and favorable credit terms.
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Here are 10 things to expect from your business broker. Buying or selling a business is complex task as there are so many moving parts. The moving parts obviously include the buyer and seller but may also include lenders, landlord, franchisors, attorneys, accountants, customers, suppliers, competitors, employees and others. Just as you can get help from a residential real estate to buy or sell a house, there are also business brokers or intermediaries who provide the services of an intermediary. If you are looking for the help of an intermediary or business broker, consider the following.
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Can I sell a business in tough times? Should I buy a business in tough times? With negative economic news grabbing the headlines in the United States, business owners may think it’s not a good time to sell their business. But fortunately for owners looking to sell, that’s not necessarily true.

Business sales are still taking place with sellers capturing attractive prices and favorable terms, when the deal is structured properly.

Look at the buyer’s credibility
Of course, you want to find the best buyer possible. Whether it’s an individual, another company or a Private Equity Group, look for a potential buyer with business acumen, significant assets to pledge as collateral or a committed fund, as well as demonstrated success.
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How do you think about selling your business? The question of whether to sell your business is a difficult one. It is, no doubt, the biggest financial transaction you’ll ever make. Yet every successful business owner must face it eventually.

There are several things to consider when selling your business:

• When is the right time to sell?
  It’s important to pay attention to what’s going on within your company and industry. For a successful sale, you and your business must be ready. Your business should be properly managed and you should be able to demonstrate your company’s financial capability. If you want to sell your business by a certain date, allow sufficient time as selling a business is a complicated process that takes time.

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What does recasting Financial Statements mean when selling a business or buying a business?  As a business owner and part of the baby boomer generation, you have seen your share of ups and downs in the business world.  If you are considering the sale of your business there are a growing number of brokers and mergers and acquisition specialists available to offer professional assistance to help you determine the value of your business and how the market might react.

Most businesses track their financial performance by using balance sheets, profit and loss statements and tax returns. These reports are beneficial in determining the value of a business. In most instances it’s the cash flow that prospective buyers need to identify to better understand the health of a business. They must also understand how the money is being spent and the available opportunities to generate positive cash flow in the future.
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Do not forget to consider Seller financing if you are selling a business. As baby boomers begin to hit retirement age, many who are business owners are ready to sell. It’s created a market that has many businesses for sale.

At the same time, concerns about the economy had made it tough to get financing for many potential deals. Seller financing is one option that could be the solution to get many deals done.

Seller financing involves a seller helping to finance the sale of the business by taking back a second note on the business. It differs from a traditional Small Business Administration (SBA) loan because the seller essentially extends credit to the buyer against the purchase price of the business. However, seller financing is misunderstood by many, even though it may be the best way to sell a business during a stagnant economy.
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Confidentiality critical to selling a business. As you prepare to put your house on the market, you get the word out to as many people as possible. The “For Sale” sign is placed in the front yard, you invite people into your home during an open house and you put ads in the newspaper and online. You want everyone to know your house is for sale.

However, that’s not the case when selling a business. Place an ad that your business is on the market and people start to wonder. It creates an air of uncertainty that can be detrimental to your bottom line and put the company in jeopardy.

To increase the likelihood of a successful sale of a business at an optimum price, keep it confidential!

What’s likely to happen if people find out the business is up for sale?
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The importance of due diligence when buying a business? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Due Diligence as “research and analysis of a company or organization done in preparation for a business transaction.” Some even look at it as a pre-marital background check and counseling. But it should be noted that dissolving a merger is much more difficult than ending a marriage if things aren’t as they appear.

Ultimately, due diligence is the process of being sure that things are as they appear before a deal is sealed. For someone considering a merger or the purchase of an existing business, the review of documentation and the answers to your due diligence questions are critical. There’s no doubt it is a complex process that can be time-consuming. But with so much on the line with any merger or acquisition, you don’t want to make a decision without all of the information. You want to be sure everything is reviewed and all questions are answered to your satisfaction.
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Succession planning is never too early if you own a business. There are more than 15 million family businesses in the United States, ranging from giants like Wrigley and Marriott to the local corner grocery store. Yet, history tells us that less than one-third of family owned companies will make it to a second generation. 

One reason for the disheartening statistic may be that business owners tend to forget about succession planning. It’s often not a priority and it definitely can be an emotional issue. Many owners just can’t imagine the business succeeding if they aren’t involved or they may be too busy with day-to-day operations to take the time to adequately plan for someone else to take the reins when it’s time to step aside. 

But as more and more baby boomers approach retirement age, the time for succession planning is today. Tomorrow may bring a serious illness, disability or even death. Having a well thought out plan is critical to the continuation of a business, particularly for a small, family-run operation.

Plan early.
Developing a succession plan early will help to smooth the transition. You may think the plan won’t be implemented for years, but unexpected factors may move up the timeline. 
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Here are 8 reasons why a business does not sell. Selling a business is a complex and often contradictory process. For example, sellers normally don’t want customers, employees, landlords, suppliers, sometimes immediate family and others to know the business is for sale in case it damages the business. Yet they need everyone else to know it’s for sale so they can get the highest price possible.

Here are 8 reasons why a business does not sell.
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Looking to find the right professional to help you sell or buy your business? As a business owner, and part of the baby boomer generation, you’ve seen your share of ups and downs in the business world. The time is coming to step back and take life in a different direction. You’ve decided it’s time to seriously consider selling your business. Where do you turn? 

Many business owners in similar circumstances look first to their accountant or their business attorney, people they’ve worked with and have developed a relationship with. But the fact of the matter is they aren’t experienced in selling a business, just as you probably would not ask them to sell your home for you (which is much easier). No doubt, you’ll consult with them as you prepare to sell your business. But an initial step should be to enlist the help of a professional business broker or intermediary. 
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Are you looking for tips for a successful business loan? Money tends to rate high up on the list of needs for people planning on starting or moving into business ownership. Here’s 7 tips if you need financing for your business.

1. Clearly identify how much you have available.
The best place to start is yourself. If you have some capital available to invest in a business this is a great start as other parties you approach will take you more seriously. They will take you more seriously as they want to see that you have “skin in the game.” Once your position is clear, family and friends are the next to approach. If you say they have money make sure it truly is available. There is nothing more frustrating than approaching professional lenders with your well thought out business plan showing a clear financial plan that includes a partial capital injection from family and or friends. The lender then approves their loan subject to the other parties contributing but then everyone finds out the family and or friends have changed their mind and all the planning by all parties has been a waste of time.
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How to add value when selling your business? If you’re looking to sell a business, it’s critical to look at the value of the business. But a typical business really has two values. The “academic” value is the one determined by a professional business valuation. The other is the “true market” value. The academic value is arrived at with a formula based on the firms’ hard assets, cash flow, industry averages and multiples. The fair market value also takes those items into consideration, but then considers what buyers are really willing to pay.

For many small and mid-sized businesses hard assets like equipment, vehicles, land, buildings, and inventory may be limited. For some small businesses there may be no hard assets at all. Instead, their value is based on intangibles like employees, business processes, customer lists, location and business relationships.
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Why use a Business Broker to sell your business? Are you thinking of selling your business? Perhaps you are thinking of selling your business or hiring a business broker? Any business owner who has sold a business on his of her own will tell you it’s a long, tedious and stressful process. It consumes time and distracts you from the day to day operation of the business. When your focus should be on maintaining or increasing the value of your business, all of your time and energy is directed to the sale process.

That’s where an experienced business broker can pay huge dividends. There are many areas where the business broker expertise pays off:
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Not just the money when selling your business? Sure you want a big payoff, but when it comes to selling your business, money should not be the only consideration. You don’t want just any buyer, you want the best buyer.  With the market we’re now experiencing, many sellers are getting limited offers, but the buyers they choose aren’t always the ones offering the most money.

Would you consider a lower price for a buyer that fits the company’s culture? Would you consider an offer that’s a million dollars lower if it meant the difference between years of seller financing and cash at close?

It’s common for deal structures to include a variety of options which must be carefully considered and evaluated, long before you get to the negotiating table.
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Is a management buyout right for you when selling your business? A management buyout is an option for some business owners to consider. For a business owner approaching retirement age, a buyout by the core management team in certainly an option. But with any business sale it’s important to proceed with caution.

Selling the business that you’ve poured your heart and soul into for many years to managers you’ve work with side-by side can be very rewarding. If the sale is set up properly, it gives them a chance to own their own business. It also helps protect your legacy since these are people who believe in your vision and understand the company culture.

But if the sale is not structured properly, a management buyout can be extremely detrimental. A company’s strong, positive culture can quickly turn negative with a rift between the owner and management team.
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Time is of the essence when selling a business or buying a business. Whether you are selling a business or buying a business keep the process moving. Many factors can bog down the sale of a business.Many factors can bog down the sale of a business. In fact, more than purchase price or structure, time is the most likely reason that a business sale may fail.

Time can breed frustration and fatigue. As a potential sale drags on, the owner is left in an uncomfortable state of flux. The buyer may also become frustrated as fees mount. The deal can reach the point when one party declares…”It just wasn’t meant to be.”

National figures indicate that the average business sells in nine to 12 months from start to close. Once a Letter Of Intent (LOI) has been signed, the final due diligence and closing process usually takes 30 to 90 days.

So how do you keep the sales process moving forward?
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