The timeframe for Selling your Colorado business depends on many factors:

The popularity of the industry, quality/experience of the Business Broker (Marketing and the number of potential buyers in their database),  sales price multiple to the properly adjusted earnings, quality of the buyer(needs financing or not), seasonality of the business, year-end tax considerations, Sellers health, type of financing if necessary, and/or many other factors.More details on the main factors in order of importance:

Valuation:  The business must be priced correctly compared to similar listings.  The valuation must take into consideration the earnings, trend, size, location, number of and turnover rate of employees, lease/sale of property details, etc.

Marketing of the Business:  All Business Brokers have different talents, marketing techniques, number of active buyers, specialize in different industries, are willing or unwilling to spend their own money to help online exposure, film a video interview of the Seller or not.  Old fashioned “memorandum” or more effective outline with data room and video.

Buyers in Brokers DataBase:  Brokers keep past potential buyers’ names, email addresses, and phone numbers at a minimum.  The number of Buyers is important and if they are categorized.  The more buyers the better which are often because of having more experience but if they are further categorized by industry is important also.  For example, a broker might have 20,000 buyers but if they are in just one database, they are less effective than if they are also listed by the industry they have shown interest in.  Targeted lists of buyers are much more effective and can speed up a listing by personalizing an email to them reminding them that they have looked at the new listings industry before and following up with a phone call.   Obviously more experienced Brokers with assistants and the willingness to spend more money online to generate more interest will have the best database of potential buyers.

Qualifying potential buyers:  Buyers who don’t need a bank for financing will speed up a closing.  Finding buyers who have the right mix of emotional and professional interests is important also which takes experience to understand.  Buyers must see themselves in the business post-closing with confidence and be able to have a post-closing plan before the closing.  Buyers without passion, experience or the ability to see how they can grow the business tend to back out of deals before the closing increasing the overall time frame.

Outside factors:  Health issues, Divorce decrees, Financial stress, other limited-time opportunities, etc can force a quick sell which usually means a below-market price and a cash offer.   If they are just planning on retiring,  the seller will be more likely to hold out for their full sales price.

Trend:  Many factors can influence the revenue and earnings trend of a business that sellers are more in tune with than buyers.  The industry is changing, key employees are leaving or the owner just found a very valuable one, competition is coming or leaving the market, etc  If the trend is up, sellers will typically set the price of the business above the current market and if the trend is lower, they will list it below market hoping for a quick sell.

Typically, Brokers listing agreements are for one year.  In reality, a good Broker will usually get a business under a Letter of Intent within 3 months and the business sold within 6 months.  Obviously, this can be faster or slower which often is due to the factors above.  Find a confident Broker who will offer a 9 month instead of a 1 year contract.  These Brokers are very experienced, have a lot of potential buyers, spend money on upgraded online marketing, have one or more assistant who helps with soliciting the businesses they represent, never charge anything up front or are guaranteed any money unless the business sells, etc.

Finally,  make sure your Broker is properly licensed in the State your business is located, has a solid online Google rating and reviews, will offer references, and will give you a detailed approach and timeline for you listing.