Selling a home and selling a business are remarkably similar tasks.
If you've ever felt intimidated or confused about the process of selling your company, think of the transaction the same way you would if you were selling your home.
Step 1: Staging
When you decide to sell a home, the first thing to do is make sure it shows well. De-clutter cupboards, replace light bulbs, paint, and perhaps rearrange some furniture to project the look or feel you think buyers will want.
Staging your business is much the same.
Organize: Arrange your customer records so a prospective buyer has a sense of who your customers are, how often they buy and how much they like what you sell. If you have contracts, standardize and organize them into a neat binder or easy-to-search electronic file. Do the same with your employee files by assembling a binder with each offer letter, performance reviews, salary and benefit information.
Fix what's broken: Take an "outside in" look at your business and fix whatever is obviously broken. If your receptionist uses a phone with duct tape holding the cord into the receiver, buy a new phone. If a key piece of machinery needs maintenance, have it refurbished.
De-clutter: If you rarely offer certain products or services, get them out of sight. Remove them from customer-facing communications and eliminate any signs of stuff you no longer sell. Extra clutter will dilute buyers' attention and distract them from the core of what makes you successful.
Put on a fresh coat of paint: Take a look at your external communications — your website, logo, brochure, store signage — and make sure it is all consistently branded. A buyer will likely want to tour your office/shop/plant, so make sure your physical office is smart and tidy. Give employees a half-day away from their regular tasks to de-clutter their work area.
As you're "staging" your business, remember the old saying: People buy with emotion and justify with logic. Staging your business is about seducing as many prospective buyers as possible to fall enough in love with your company to engage in a negotiation.
First of six parts. On Feb. 24, we'll look at step two of selling a house or a business: Finding an agent. Look for it on the Your Business home page.
Special to the Globe and Mail
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell . Throughout his career as an entrepreneur, Mr. Warrillow has started and exited four companies. Most recently he transformed Warrillow & Co. from a boutique consultancy into a recurring revenue model subscription business, which he sold to The Corporate Executive Board in 2008. He is the author of Drilling for Gold and in 2008 was recognized by BtoB Magazine's "Who's Who" list as one of America's most influential business-to-business marketers.