Negotiating the
Business Sale
The sale of a business can be a highly emotional transaction. You are not just selling your business; you’re moving from one phase of your life into another. Similarly, the buyer is not just buying a business but making a significant investment in the future.
Negotiating the sale of a business is the most critical phase of the business sale process. It can also be stressful for the following reasons:
- Buyers must perform due diligence, investigating your company thoroughly. This can be uncomfortable for the vendor as every aspect of the company is under scrutiny, and the vendor may feel like the information being shared is very personal.
- Buyer and seller have to rely on outside parties: accountants, lawyers, and bankers. Their schedules may not fit with the established timeline for closing the deal and delays, while sometimes unavoidable, this can be frustrating.
- The goals and needs of the buyer may not fit perfectly with your own. While an agreeable deal can be reached in almost every case, doing so requires objectivity, creativity, patience, and experience.
Professionally managing this critical phase is extremely important. Throughout negotiations, our experienced team is skilled at establishing a calm atmosphere and deriving creative solutions, allowing both vendor and buyer to reach their goals. Through careful management, we guide both parties through the negotiation phase in a timely manner, keeping you and the buyer informed every step of the way.
It is rare to fail to come to a fair deal if both parties are willing, providing you have strong negotiating skills, and our close rates are nearly 100%. We have found that, once an offer is accepted, a clear road map to closing is apparent and the end—a fair deal for you and the buyer—is in sight.