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When It Comes to Selling Your Business, Make Sure to Have This in Place

A great team is crucial if you want a good sales outcome.

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how to sell your business
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Selling a company is a complicated and intricate process. The preparation to sell can often take up to 12 months (and sometimes longer). The sale can take equally as long.

If that comes as a shock to you—and it does to many first-time sellers—stay with me. The sales process should be long. After all, you spent years building your business. Do you really want to turn around in seconds and sell it? 

Chances are if you say “Yes” to that, then you’re motivated only by the money. Not a bad thing; many people are. But something tells me that for most of you, if you’ve spent years building a business into a multi-million-dollar enterprise, then you have some emotional attachment. If that applies to you, you’re not alone; it should be a complex and complicated process to let it go.

So, stay the course. I promise the reward outweighs the boring, tedious parts of the process that can make your head spin. It may help to liken the selling of your business to selling the sum of all its parts, rather than focusing on the final step; if you look at it that way, then you’ll more easily recognize that the process is managed well in stages. Many who’ve come before you have emerged victorious. You will as well.

To make the whole process easier, there’s one key thing you cannot go without: a great team. As you are assembling your team, remember that one of its most important members is a good attorney. To help you find the right one, I spoke to Mike Coker, one of the best transactional attorneys I know.

Mr. Coker has a long track record representing clients in multi-million-dollar exit sales. He’s also an “AV Preeminent” Peer Review Rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest recognition possible in the legal industry. Let’s go through some of the insights I gleaned from my conversation with him.

#1: Initial Questions are Crucial

Finding a great attorney starts with asking the right initial questions. Make sure you interview prospective candidates to find out if they’ve handled your particular type of sale before. Ask them about their track record, too, and make sure you can speak to former clients about them. Along with talking to former clients, speak to your CPA or other accountants about the attorney.

While it’s important that you ask prospective attorneys some questions, they should also ask you some questions. Mr. Coker, for example, said that the first thing he asks every client is, “What are you planning to do after you sell? Have you considered how this is going to affect all your employees and the people you support? What are your reasons for selling?”

Make sure you’ve thought about your motivation for selling before you start interviewing attorneys—and before you start the sales process. Make a list of the pros and cons of selling, and use it to help come to a logical and well-informed decision. At the same time, spend some time thinking about what you’ll do after you sell. It’s a big change; it’s vital to be prepared.

#2: Understand the Process

Once you’ve interviewed prospects and decided on an attorney, your job isn’t finished. It’s important that you understand the sales process and what role you will play in it.

First and foremost, get your accounting in shape. Work with a good CPA (your attorney can recommend one if you don’t have that member of your team yet) to get your books in order.

Next, start targeting your prospective buyers. It often makes sense to use your lawyer for this part of the process. Mr. Coker advises targeting your competitors; so, if you already know your top competitors and have buyers in mind, that’s a plus.

Finally, make sure you understand how the attorney will proceed with contacting the buyers without leaking the sale or breaching confidentiality. Mr. Coker, for example, explained that his team calls the buyer anonymously and asks if they might be interested. Then, they draft an NDA and ask the potential buyer to sign it before disclosing any details about the sale.

#3: Be Part of the Team Effort

When you have a great team around you, it can be tempting to step back and let them handle every single detail. Avoid that temptation, though—remember, this is a team effort. That means your team will all be working with you, but they’ll also be working with each other.

For example, your attorney will work closely with your financial advisor to start the financial planning. This is so crucial that they should start the process before the sale is complete. Same for the estate planning: it should begin well before the close.

Because collaboration is so important to the success of the sale, make sure you trust and like everyone on your team. In some instances (like your financial planner), you’ll be working with these people far beyond the duration of the sales process; if you don’t like them or trust them, it’s going to be very difficult to have an effective and productive relationship.

You Have the Final Say

A great team is crucial if you want a good sales outcome. Ultimately, though, remember that you are the one making the final decisions. Your team—especially your attorney—is there to advise you, but you have the final say.

This is especially important to remember when you’re considering which offer to accept. Sometimes, your emotions will draw you to one offer over another. The one you’re drawn to might not be the best financially, but it might appeal to your emotions (or you might simply like the person who made the lower offer better).

Your team can advise you on which offer is the best fiscally, but they should not get in the way of a sale. However, they should never nitpick or stand in your way. Their role is to move the sale along and advise you about potential risks.

Bottom line, when you are embarking on an exit sale, particularly a multi-million-dollar exit sale, make sure you have a great attorney, CPA, and financial advisor on your side. I’ve seen it over and over: having a stellar team truly can mean the difference between a successful sale or a failed one.

This content is adapted from Seasons of Selling.

For 30+ years, Randall Childress, CFP®, AAMS™ and the Childress Wealth Management Team have been serving faithfully as Certified Financial Planners™ and financial advisors to hundreds of families and business owners around the country. Randall is one of the top 25 advisors of over 20,000 at one of the largest, Fortune 300 financial services firms in the nation. He and his wife, Darla, live in Tyler, Texas where he gets to work alongside his sons, Grant and Kyle.

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
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When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs

Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

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how to build a business empire
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Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)

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Change Your Mindset

Why Ideas Are More Valuable Than Resources for Entrepreneurial Success

Discover why ideas, not resources, are the true driving force behind entrepreneurial success, innovation, and lasting growth.

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Power of ideas in entrepreneurship
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History shows us that the greatest minds, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Stephen King, and countless others, faced failure early on. Yet, instead of seeing failure as the end, they treated it as a comma in their story, not a full stop. (more…)

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