When you decide that the time is right to start working out how to sell your business, you have to wonder, “Who can help me build my exit plan?” You may consider trusted advisors, mentors, and internal or external stakeholders. You’ll end up wanting the smartest and most trustworthy person you know. Of course, how you end up landing on who that person is the real challenge.

Regardless of the professional designation of the person that is your closest ally through the exit plan and eventual sale of your company, understanding the motivations and underlying compensation plans of each player is the key to your success.

Think of selling your business in terms of a chess game. You both have the same pieces and rules to abide by. Your company and the buyer have the same goal, to get the highest dollar amount and the best terms possible (i.e. to WIN!).    

Remember that time you first sat in front of a chessboard? If you were to jump into a chess game thinking it was checkers, you wouldn’t get too far. This is the common situation between buyers and sellers. The seller views the game in checker’s terms while the buyer, who is often much more sophisticated, looks that the board as sees all the different pieces serving different functions and is planning moves and countermoves several turns in advance.

Most business owners have never been through the process of exiting or selling a company. Whereas, most buyers have a few transactions under their belt. The experience, practice, and creativity have given them the upper hand. They know when to use the attorney, how to flex the attorney, where to insert the business broker, and how to get creative when it comes to funding.

As a seller, your move is typically to call the closest person you can trust. It could be anyone—Banker, CPA, Attorney, Valuation Expert, Business Broker. You drop the news that it’s time to get the ball rolling. That advisor rounds up their posse and you now have your team by default. At this point you may have a bunch of checkers or a full chess set—it really depends on how lucky you are and the caliber of relationships your advisor has.

To protect yourself from playing checkers there are 7 things to consideration when forming your team:

1.  What are the credentials and experiences of the professionals?

Are they “Deal” professionals or general lay people? Just because you have an accountant that has done your taxes for 15 years doesn’t mean they understand the nature of selling a business—same goes for your attorney. There are professionals in each designation that are experienced in the buy/sell of a business.

2.  What percentage of the time do they represent buyers vs. sellers?

While it’s great to have experience on both sides of the field, you need expertise with regards to the seller’s perspective. It’s also important that they’ve had experience going to bat with several different types of buyers.

3. Who on your staff is going to be involved? How are they going to interact with the exit professionals?

Even whispers of a sale can get the rumor mill churning. Transparency is important, but do a gut-check for squeaky wheels.

4. How, when, and why are each of the professionals getting paid.

Some professionals bill by the hour while others are holding out for a commission on the sale. The deal structure may affect their fee—and weigh on their advice. Additional considerations are bonuses and caps that may lead them to rush a sale.

5.  Do they truly understand what you WANT and what is IMPORTANT to you?

Just getting you the highest number doesn’t mean that the outcome is what you wanted. That might mean firing half your staff, taking more money over a longer timeframe, tying the sale price to a metric, or keeping you on staff. If you aren’t aligned, you won’t be happy.

6. What are the intrinsic motivations of the professionals? Are they working to get you exactly what you want?

Some may be trying to get to the top, win a big deal, or show off with little regard to your satisfaction. Others will become aware that they are working themselves out of a client. Others simply will not be able to commit to the time needed to make the deal happen in your best interest.

7.  After the agreement is signed what will the engagement or resources available to you look like?

You’ll have to smooth out the next few years of taxes and have a complete understanding of all the legal dos and don’ts.

Because there is no dry run when exiting your business, getting the right players on your side is a crucial step towards winning and walking away happy. Buying talent doesn’t guarantee a win but expecting one professional (or even yourself) to do all the work pretty much guarantees that you’ll be coming to the table with checkers. There has to be a balance between cost, talent, motivation, and loyalty. Understanding the pieces, their moves, and motivations will level the playing field so you are playing the same game as the buyer. In this case, both parties can and should walk away like they were treated fair and got what they deserved.