Key Mistakes Sellers Make

Part 1 of 10 Part Series

Business owners often allow too little time to complete an exit strategy and they focus on the price while disregarding the terms and structure of the transaction. Other key mistakes business owners make in exiting their companies are:

• Selling to the (only) competitor who approaches them

• Not using experienced advisors (hoping to save transaction costs)

• Setting expectations based on personal needs and without reference to the market

• Failing to explore legitimate positioning strategies

The owner who prepares with professional advisors, plans thoroughly, and negotiates to ensure that the wealth transfer mechanism chosen most closely delivers on his goals is the owner who will have executed the optimal exit strategy.