Important Stakeholders Who Impact Your Business Sale

When you are contemplating the sale of your small business there are a lot of stakeholders that you need to manage. While you may be the boss and own the business these stakeholders can and do usually do have a large impact (positive or negative) on the sale outcome.

So who are the stakeholders and why?

• Your family (e.g. because they want to see you more),
• Your business friends (e.g. because they might have been through a sale process before),
• Your staff (e.g. because they are important to the buyer),
• Your customers (e.g. because they are big part of the value of your business),
• Your suppliers (e.g. because they underpin the ongoing operation of your business),
• Your competitors (e.g. because they might buy your business),
• Your professional advisors (e.g. because you need them to get the deal completed).

How do you manage them so that you get the best outcome in your business sale?

The best approach incorporates;

1. Thinking about how your business sale will impact each of them,
2. Based on 1 understanding where the risks and opportunities are;

• For risks (e.g. will a key staff member leave because of uncertainty on their future) - develop a plan to mitigate them, 
• For opportunities (e.g. are there business friends who might know of a buyer for your business) - develop a plan to capitalise on them,
• Working out a plan for when and how you will communicate with each of them.

The communication plan may be different for each stakeholder. But it will always cover;

• When you propose to tell them that the business sale process has started.
• What you expect to happen through the sale process.
• What you expect of them during the sale process.
• What they might anticipate once the business is sold.

In the next post I’ll provide a more detailed overview of the risks and opportunities and a basic communication plan for each of the stakeholders I listed above. If you identify and manage each of these stakeholders your business sale process will less stressful and far more effective. 

Cheers Michael Kerr,