1. The Valuation Call
You send the form or call. A broker who sells companies around Detroit reviews your details and calls at a time that works. You talk through a likely price range and what drives it. There is no cost and no contract.
Many owners stop here for a while. That is fine. Some come back a year later after fixing a few things.
2. Hiring a Broker
If you decide to sell, you sign an agreement with the brokerage. The broker then gathers your financials, recasts your earnings, and builds the selling package. This usually takes a few weeks, depending on how organized your records are.
3. Quiet Marketing
The broker lists the company without its name and reaches out to buyers directly. Interested buyers sign a confidentiality agreement, then get the package. Your employees and customers are not told.
The broker also screens buyers before they see much. Can they actually pay? Have they run something like this? Tire kickers and competitors fishing for your prices get filtered out here.
4. Meetings and Offers
Serious buyers meet you, often after hours. Then they send a letter of intent with a price, terms and how they plan to pay. Your broker helps you compare offers on more than price: cash at closing, any seller note, your role after the sale.
5. Due Diligence
The buyer checks your books, contracts and people. Lenders do their own review if an SBA loan is involved. This often takes 30 to 90 days. See what buyers check in due diligence for the list.
6. Michigan Filings
While attorneys draft the purchase agreement, your CPA handles the state side. You request tax clearance, hand the buyer the unemployment notice, and plan to close your tax accounts. The paperwork and taxes guides cover each piece.
7. Closing Day
Documents get signed, money moves, and part of it may sit in escrow until your tax clearance arrives. Keys and passwords change hands. Then, and only then, you tell your staff.
What You Keep Doing the Whole Time
Run the company like it is not for sale. Bid the work, chase the receivables, keep the machines maintained. A buyer who sees sales sag during the process starts to worry about what they are buying.
It is also smart to keep a short list of questions for your CPA and attorney as they come up, so nothing waits until closing week.
8. The Handover
Most sellers stay on for a training period, often a few weeks to a few months. You introduce the buyer to key customers and suppliers. A noncompete keeps you from opening across the street.
All told, seven to nine months from hiring a broker to closing is typical.
Ready for step one? Send the short form or call (313) 555-0152. If you want the bigger picture first, read sell my Detroit business.