So you want to sell your business to your management team.....

Or at least, in an ideal world, you'd love to pass along the business to the troops who have helped you along the way, and who are already trained and qualified to take your baby to the next level, over the next decade and beyond, while you move on to fine-tune that backswing.

It's different for every intermediary, but generally speaking, you should expect your relationship with your business broker (i.e. your contract) to last at least 12 months, as it takes a long time to sell a business properly.

You can't reach your goals if you don't have a clear target, and assessing your exit options as soon as possible helps you to start coordinating your operations and business efforts to align with your ideal exit option goals.

It's crazy how many entrepreneurs out there, after so many years of running their business according to plan, simply don't plan the exit process, or simply wing it when it comes to choosing the right professionals to help manage the exit process for their baby.

A good intermediary can be an invaluable component to a successful transaction, so it's important you know what to look for when choosing this type of advisor to help guide and coach you through a successful exit.

It's important to be on top of the types of valuation methods potential buyers might use to put a number on your business.

If you're not familiar with the different types of approaches used in the current market, check out what the pros had to say about the most common methods acquirers are using to start the discussion and frame their potential offer.

In a seller's market, there are countless reasons business owners decide to pull the trigger and take their baby to market.

Maybe they've been cold-called by a buyer.

Maybe they just want to get out while the getting is good.

Maybe their risk tolerance has decreased and it's time to diversify.

When you're ready to pass on your business to your family, it's important to make sure that everyone is on board and understands the challenges that are ahead for successful exit planning. While many owners are worried about losing control, diligent business exit planning is key to ensuring that everything goes smoothly. There are many ways to maintain ownership while still giving family members a stake in the company. You can create a succession plan that allows you to transfer ownership gradually over time to avoid disrupting operations and giving family members time to learn the ropes. You should also consider creating a buy-sell agreement that outlines what will happen if one member dies or becomes incapacitated and cannot work in the business anymore. The deal origination agreement should include…

We could never have built BizNexus without our teammates and friends from across the Ukraine, -mostly based right in Kyiv. For anybody looking to take whatever action you can to help, we’re publishing and will be updating links to the organizations that are popping up at such a rapid pace to offer assistance to Ukrainians in this moment.

Having an accountant on your deal team is a great sanity-check for your company valuation before you go to market.

Be careful, as accountants don't typically have their fingers on the pulse of the actual buyer market.... -what the most likely, most attractive potential buyers of your business will actually pay.

What questions should you ask when choosing a potential attorney to represent you as you move towards selling a business?

What relevant experience should your attorney have to be considered best "qualified" to represent you and your business through to the transaction close and beyond?

An increasingly popular and controversial exit option for companies with enough marketable traction is the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

Clean financials?

Dummy-proof, transferable processes that a new business owner can quickly understand, implement and run with?

We've gone through the common approaches to valuation, but what should you expect to encounter in the real world when you start conversations with buyers?

Most first phone calls with a private equity professional will zero in on EBITDA and what multiple range to simply slap on top of that, prior to potentially digging deeper and moving towards LOI.

Leveraging comparable transactions to help you negotiate an acquisition price for your business is a GREAT way to put a $$$ on your baby.

Working with a knowledgeable intermediary in your company niche, one who knows the comparable transactions and buyer valuations intimately, from firsthand experience day-in, day-out is invaluable.

The process of selling a business can take upwards of six to twelve months, and you should expect to hire a business broker for that timeframe to coordinate buyers and maximize competitive interest.

We recently asked our community for some tips on best practices for qualifying potential buyers, and below, you’ll see the preferred tactics our BizNexus Community Advisors and M&A professionals referenced as some of their reliable go-to strategies for managing this successfully at scale, -an art form not easily replicated.

Each day we ask our community of M&A experts questions about niche topics related to strategies for getting your business acquired or recapitalized. For today’s poll, we wanted to know “What’s the most common reason you typically see for owners deciding to sell?”

Our M&A experts from the BizNexus Community shared with us some insight into what they’ve routinely observed as the top five factors driving and detracting value from a business prepping to sell and offered up some quick advice. Read below to see what they had to say.

What are the top reasons business owners change their minds last minute when they’re looking at selling a business?

Ready to buy an existing business? Check out this article to make sure you’re ready.