Imagine this. You wake up to an unexpected email in your inbox. Someone wants to buy your business. No pitch deck. No broker. Just a direct message: “I’m interested in acquiring your company. Are you open to talking?” Most business owners freeze in that moment. And worse, most are wildly unprepared to respond as they have never thought about exit planning.
Here’s the hard truth: your biggest opportunity to sell your business could show up long before you’re ready to sell. That’s why exit-preparation isn’t just a strategy to leave for the end. It’s a smart business move to make now, even if you’re not selling for years.
Whether you’re planning to sell at some point or just want the option to sell one day in the far future, this article walks you through 7 smart steps every business owner should take to prepare for an exit:
- Step 1: Get Clear on What You Want from the Sale
- Step 2: Find Out What Your Business Is Actually Worth
- Step 3: Assess If Your Business Is Truly Sellable
- Step 4: Know How to Handle an Unexpected Buyer Inquiry
- Step 5: Decide If You Need an Exit Advisor, Broker, or Team
- Step 6: Learn the Basics of Negotiation
- Step 7: Keep Learning at Your Own Pace
No jargon. No hype. Just clear, strategic actions you can take to be ready—before the offer lands.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Want from the Sale
Before you entertain a single buyer conversation, get brutally honest with yourself: Why would you sell? Is it about freedom? Financial independence? A new adventure? Maybe you want to step back, retire early, or just start something new.
Your “why” matters more than you think. Buyers will ask. And if you can’t answer with confidence, it weakens your position. They’ll sense uncertainty and that can cost you leverage in a negotiation.
The clearer you are on what you want—financially and personally—the stronger you’ll be when it’s time to talk numbers and terms.
Step 2: Find Out What Your Business Is Actually Worth
Most owners fall into one of two traps: overestimating their business value (and scaring buyers away), or underestimating (and leaving money on the table).
Neither is good. Both are preventable.
Understanding your valuation is about understanding how the market sees your business. What’s your revenue or EBITDA multiple? What kind of buyer would be interested? How do your systems, margins, or recurring revenue impact the sale price?
There are tools and experts that can help, but even a quick independent valuation can give you a realistic range to work with. Knowing your ballpark number helps you prepare emotionally and financially. It also helps you spot a good offer when it comes.
Step 3: Assess If Your Business Is Truly Sellable
Here’s a tough pill to swallow: not all businesses can be sold. In fact, only 1 out of 10 do. And some businesses that look successful on the outside are too dependent on the owner to attract serious buyers.
Sellability is different from profitability.
A sellable business is one that runs without you. It has clean financials, documented systems, transferable client relationships, and a team or infrastructure that can operate without daily involvement from the owner.
Ask yourself: “If I disappeared for a month, would the business keep growing?”
If not, you’ve got work to do. Identify and close those gaps now. So when a buyer shows up, you’re not scrambling to make your business look transferable.
Step 4: Know How to Handle an Unexpected Buyer Inquiry
This is where most unprepared owners make costly mistakes. A buyer emails out of the blue. You get excited. You feel flattered. And before you know it, you’ve sent over your financials, pricing model, and client list.
Stop.
Every piece of information you share should be intentional. You don’t need to send your books or hop on a call right away.
First, vet the buyer. Who are they? What’s their background? Have they bought businesses before? Are they serious or just browsing?
Second, control the flow of information. Think of the exit process like a slow reveal. You don’t give away all your business secrets in the first conversation. Professional buyers are trained to ask the right questions and find your weak spots. Don’t make their job easier by oversharing.
Step 5: Decide If You Need an Exit Advisor, Broker, or Team
Not every small business needs a broker to sell. But that doesn’t mean you should go at it alone.
A big exit often requires input from a few key people: a legal advisor to review contracts, a financial expert to model deal structures, and someone to act as a sounding board. That could be a mentor, an advisor, or someone who’s sold before.
The key is knowing when to bring in help and who to trust.
It is important you know how to stay in control of the selling process. That means knowing the role of each expert and choosing support based on your goals.
Step 6: Learn the Basics of Negotiation
Most business owners don’t realize this: the negotiation doesn’t start when you sign a Letter Of Intent (LOI). It starts with the very first message you send to a buyer.
Your tone. Your answers. Your timing. All of it shapes how the deal unfolds.
Learning how to negotiate isn’t about being slick or manipulative, but about understanding the flow of the deal, knowing how to respond to common buyer tactics, and staying calm when the stakes get high. Great negotiation is often about what you don’t say. You’re not hiding information, but managing how and when it’s shared.
Even a few simple negotiation principles can help you protect your value and avoid being steamrolled in conversations with savvy buyers.
Step 7: Keep Learning at Your Own Pace
The truth is, exit planning doesn’t need to be overwhelming. It doesn’t have to take over your life. And you don’t need to sell tomorrow to start thinking smart today.
That’s why it is important you start educating yourself on the exiting process. Whether you’re answering your first buyer email or just planning ahead, the best time to prepare is now. Because you only sell your business once. And when that moment comes, you want to be the one holding the cards.
Final Thoughts About Preparing For An Exit
If you’re serious about making your business more valuable and sellable over time, start exit planning today. Your future buyer will thank you. And so will your future self.
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