A question people ask
How do we prepare the company for a sale?
Start three to five years ahead. Buyers pay for a clear market position that doesn't depend on the owner.
A buyer asks: which market are you in, how strong is your position there, and will it survive without the current owner? Most companies can answer the first loosely and the last not at all.
A documented market definition, customer data you can show, and a position the whole team can explain all raise the value of what you sell. None of it can be built in the six months before a sale.
If a sale is a possibility within five years, the market work belongs in the plan now.
Read the longer article: You want to sell in 3 to 5 years? Then the work starts now