By Wes Lewison · Changing Owners · ← All resources
Every good sale runs the same disciplined sequence. Here it is end to end — the same process behind how we sell your business — along with the pitfalls that quietly kill deals.
It starts with a Broker Opinion of Value grounded in comparable sales data — establishing your floor price and supporting the strongest defensible asking price. Seller and broker agree on the listing price and execute an exclusive listing agreement. Then the materials: the CIM detailing company history, financial performance and cash flow (the prospectus a buyer needs to actually make a decision), and the data room of supporting documentation — complete enough for SBA loan submission. Where possible, we gain SBA lender pre-approval before marketing, so a prepared term sheet rides along with the listing.
The listing goes out as a blind teaser — enough to attract the right buyers, never enough to identify the company. No buyer sees anything past the teaser without a signed NDA on file. Qualified buyers receive the CIM and a walkthrough of the supporting documentation; when the fit looks right, an exploratory video call with the seller comes first, and if that goes well, an after-hours tour without employees present lets both sides get comfortable in person.
Offers arrive as Letters of Intent. Negotiation establishes price, structure (asset or stock), and financing components; on acceptance, the business comes off market for the buyer’s exclusive closing window. From there it’s coordinated execution: formal loan submission immediately (start the clock), the purchase and sale agreement, and the transaction team — CPA, attorney, lender, landlord, banker, escrow — working a shared timeline of key dates. We manage due diligence, the new lease, the seller note and closing documents, through to the wire.
The number-one deal killer is a profit number that changes mid-deal — which is why going to market with verified financials matters so much (a QofE marks the difference between offers that hold and offers that get renegotiated). Close behind: arguing about working capital late in the deal, slow answers during due diligence that erode buyer confidence, and unprepared paperwork that stalls lending. Every one of these is avoidable with preparation — and preparation is the part you control completely.
