JPAbusiness managing director and business broker James Price has created a handy 4-step checklist for anyone considering selling a business.

1. JPAbusiness
Selling
a
Business
Checklist
STEP
1:
Assess
the
saleability
of
your
business
Ask yourself 3 questions:
1. Is my business saleable?
2. What is the likely price the market will pay?
3. What is the likely level of interest?
Answer these questions by doing the following:
o Talk to a business advisor
o Talk to a business broker
o Have your business valued
o Research online business marketplaces such as SEEK Commercial for other similar businesses
and activity
Once you have obtained this information, decide whether or not your business is ready for sale. If the
answer is ‘yes’, proceed to Step 2.
STEP
2:
Develop
quality
content
to
market
your
business
Seek professional assistance in preparing quality, up-to-date content on your business that will be
relevant to a potential purchaser. This should include:
o Business overview
o Financial summary
o The opportunity
o Point of difference and competitive advantage
o Products and services
o Customers and suppliers
o Plant and equipment
o Business premises
o Operating hours
o Location
o Marketing
o People, processes, systems
o Asking price and inclusions
o Appendices and supporting information
©
2014
JPAbusiness
Pty
Ltd
This
work
is
licensed
under
the
Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License.
ABN
62
150
534
099
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of
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visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

2. STEP
3:
Develop
a
marketing
plan
Develop a marketing plan to outline who you will market your business to and how you will market it.
Start by identifying:
o What is your value proposition and the key selling points that will appeal to prospective
purchasers?
o Who is your target market?
o What’s in it for the purchaser? Summarise your key messages and relevant content for use in
advertising.
o How do you locate potential purchasers? Consider online, print media and direct marketing
networks.
STEP
4:
Choose
a
business
sale
method
o Engage a professional advisor or business broker: Contact more than one broker and ensure
you check their credibility and capabilities to sell your business.
o Self-market: Consider whether you have the resources to market and sell your business
yourself.
o Internal sale: Is there an employee or shareholder currently in the business who would be
interested in purchasing?
©
2014
JPAbusiness
Pty
Ltd
This
work
is
licensed
under
the
Creative
Commons
Attribution
4.0
International
License.
ABN
62
150
534
099
To
view
a
copy
of
this
licence,
visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.