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About the Tool

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Qualified advisors are essential for an effective business sale. The right advisor can have a huge impact on the success of the sale, by improving the value, reducing risks, and helping to avoiding mistakes.

This tool belongs to ExitAdviser's platform of online services aimed at business owners who are selling their companies.


What can a good advisor do for you?

Larger businesses may choose to use a specialist business broker and/or corporate financial advisor. These are involved at an early stage to take care of producing a credible sales memorandum, valuing the business, finding and vetting prospective buyers, and negotiating a sale on your behalf. Business brokers operate similarly to real estate agents. However, their practice is limited to selling businesses. In most cases, though, a small business owner may want to choose a DIY (Do It Yourself) or FSBO (For Sale by Owner) route in an effort to avoid paying a commission to an intermediary.

You can always call a business broker for a free consultation. Many brokers even offer no-charge, no-obligation evaluations of small businesses. They can provide a broker opinion of value and help you identify obstacles (if any) to sale, as well as give you ideas for improvement to increase the value of your business.

Estate planning and wealth transfer lawyers can guide you through all aspects of estate and tax planning, trust administration, succession planning, as well as exit scenarios and wealth transfer.

Also, you may need to meet a tax advisor to handle sale-related business and personal tax planning questions.

Qualified financial and retirement advisors are trained to help you set financial goals and recommend specific steps to meet them. They give advice on how you should allocate your funds from the sale, what kind of after-sale insurance you may need, and explain how certain moves may affect your tax liabilities.

You may need an accountant. The accountant concentrates on the financial aspects of the business sale, like preparing financial reports and projections for the business.

Advisory and Consulting Agreement Template

Independent contractors

Note: The advisors/mentors listed above represent entities that have no business relationship with ExitAdviser. Feel free to negotiate your own terms with an advisor.


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