Ready to Sell Your Business? Here’s How to Take the First Step

When preparing a mid-market company for sale, the goal is to find multiple buyers and drive up competition to get the best possible Letters of Intent (LOIs).

𝐒𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝?
According to the latest Alliance of M&A Advisors survey, specific operational and financial factors consistently push buyers to take action. Ranked by importance, here is what matters most to them:

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥: Buyers look at the future, not just the past. A clear runway to scale up commands a higher price.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Predictable financial performance removes a lot of risk from the deal.

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: A company that runs smoothly without the owner is worth much more.

𝐄𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐃𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧: Strong, defensible profitability proves the business is run efficiently.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬: Strategic buyers want to see how the acquisition speeds up their own growth.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: A clear upward trend over the last two to three years.

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Contractual or subscription models lower long-term risk.

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞: Having diversified, repeatable ways to find and win customers.

𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: A willingness from the founder to stay on for a smooth transition.

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Established trust and strong market positioning.

𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Spreading revenue across a wide client portfolio rather than relying on a few large accounts.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲
If you want to sell your business in the next year or two, you should actively improve these specific areas well before going to market. Fixing these metrics early is what transforms a business from just sellable to highly competitive.

At Sierra Pacific Partners, we help owners fix these exact operational areas to match what buyers want, ensuring a smooth process and maximum value at closing.