Selling A Small Business in 4 Months
6 Full Price Offers. 2 Weeks On-Market. 4 Months Start to Finish.
This is how Chinook’s process created an efficient and successful sale for a small business owner.
Our client approached us to help them sell their business with a common reason: “I’m done.”
They had started the business in their 50s and had grown it successfully for over a decade. Now the business was at a size that the owner could no longer keep growing. It needed technological implementation — but the owner was admittedly not interested in doing that. The business was simple and in a great industry with growth “tailwinds.”
The special sauce in this business? The owner’s care. Care for the clients, care for the staff, and care for doing business the right way. This is a typical feature of small businesses — but it can also be a big reason why they are so hard to sell.
How do you sell a business that is so dependent on the owner? Find a buyer with the same values, passion, and vision — but with a little more time left in their career.
This is what Chinook was hired to do.
What It Takes to Attract Multiple Buyers
There are a few key components to offering a business for sale that will attract multiple buyers bidding for the chance to buy:
1. A Fair Price
Our client was reasonable when it came to price. When we shared our opinions on what the market would bear — and why — they trusted our experience.
We listed the business at almost 4x EBITDA, and we were able to defend it:
- Service contracts
- Sticky customers
- Low overhead
- No CAPEX
- More demand than the owner could handle
2. A Comprehensive Buyer Presentation (CIM)
In our presentation of the acquisition opportunity, we show both the good and the bad about the current state of the business — and help lay out a clear investment thesis.
- The good? This is what buyers are paying for.
- The bad? This is the opportunity buyers have to make the business worth more than what they’re currently paying for it.
3. A Plan
Our goal is to create competitive tension amongst a group of buyers in order to achieve our asking price. Chinook has a buyer database of over 10,000 individuals and deep relationships with qualified search funders, private equity groups, and strategic buyers.
Once we hit the market, we set a clear deadline for LOI submissions and use automated communication to coordinate introductions, meetings, and seller/buyer interactions.
The Result
6 offers within 2 weeks.
Our client picked their preferred buyer and moved confidently into due diligence. Because we pre-qualify buyers, the process was straightforward — and every party knew that if they tried to renegotiate the price unreasonably, we had other offers ready to go.
The Takeaway
Selling a business quickly is not about having a perfect business. It’s about having a well thought-out process.
We can never guarantee a timeline — but controlling the controllables lets us sell as efficiently as possible.
Chinook can help you do this too. Give us a call.
