New way out: exit strategies for owners.

• Author: Caley, Nora
• Position: ASSOCIATION FOR CORPORATE GROWTH SPECIAL SECTION

There's a lot more to selling a business than signing papers and getting a big check. Chris Younger, managing director of CapitalValue Advisors in Englewood, says business owners are often surprised at the steps they must take before selling a company.

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"They may not fully appreciate how much due diligence the buyer is going to do. That can require a certain amount of detail, investigation and document work," he says.

First, Younger says, determine what you want to accomplish with the sale of your business. "Without a goal or objective, the process is likely to yield less satisfactory results," he says.

The second step is to determine the value of the business. Some business owners overestimate this value, Younger says, because they can't view it objectively. If there is a gap between what you'd hoped was the value, and what the buyer and investment banker estimate is the current value of the business, then assess the business - or, better, get a third party to do it -- to find areas where you can reduce risk and increase value.

Then assemble your team of attorney, accountant and investment banker. "They can all help you think more strategically about the sale process, and prepare you and your business so that the likelihood that your transaction closes goes up."

Younger says the fastest sale he's handled took 25 days, but most take about four or five months. Sometimes the delay happens when multiple owners have varying goals. "You do need to have an open, candid discussion to really understand what those different goals are," he says.

Thor Culverhouse found that out when he sold his database and application automation company, Stratavia, to the technology giant HP in 2010. "It was more time consuming that you would ever imagine," he says. "I thought in a couple of months we would...