Selling a Business Quickly
8 December 2025
This week, we’re re-posting an article by a broker in our network, Jason Huett, founder of Wisconsin-based Collaborative Commercial Business Brokers and a member of The Brokers Roundtable℠. You can contact Jason directly by clicking on the Collaborative Commercial link.
Selling Quickly: A Strategic Guide for Time-Sensitive Business Exits
By Jason Huett, Founder, Collaborative Commercial Business Brokers
Selling a business quickly is possible in 60-90 days (vs. the standard 6-9 months) but requires strategic trade-offs. The fastest approach: price 10-15% below market value, hire an experienced broker, organize financials in advance, offer seller financing, and prepare due diligence materials before listing. Expect to sacrifice 10-30% of market value for speed.
📌 Key Takeaways:
- Quick business sales take 60-90 days vs. standard 6-9 months
- Expect to sacrifice 10-30% of market value for speed
- Price 10-15% below market to generate immediate interest
- Hire a broker with active buyer databases (8-12% commission)
- Prepare financials and due diligence materials before listing
- Offer seller financing to expand buyer pool and reduce delays
Life doesn’t always follow our carefully scripted plan. Whether it’s a sudden health issue, an unexpected family obligation, a lucrative opportunity that requires immediate capital, or simply burnout that’s reached a breaking point — sometimes business owners find themselves needing to exit their company far sooner than anticipated.
If you’re facing a time-sensitive sale, you’re not alone. While the typical business sale takes 6-9 months to complete, there are strategies to accelerate the process without completely sacrificing value. This guide will walk you through the realities, trade-offs, and tactical steps to sell your business quickly.
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Check out our new YouTube channel on how to value, price and sell a business.
Business owners, buyers, brokers, consultants and even real estate agents…resources – including courses, coaching and all the talents needed for selling a business – are available in The Brokers Roundtable℠
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How Quickly Can You Actually Sell a Business?
Business owners rarely plan for a rushed exit, but certain circumstances make it unavoidable:
- Health crises that prevent you from continuing operations
- Partnership disputes that require immediate resolution
- Financial pressures demanding quick liquidity
- Family emergencies requiring your full attention and resources
- Relocation requirements due to personal or professional reasons
- Market timing concerns where waiting could significantly impact value
Whatever your reason, acknowledging the urgency is the first step. The second is understanding what you’re trading for speed.
What Are the Drawbacks of Selling Quickly?
In the spirit of full transparency, know that speed comes at a cost. Before you commit to an accelerated timeline, you need to understand these potential drawbacks:
Reduced Sale Price: This is the most significant trade-off. Buyers know when a seller is motivated, and they’ll use that leverage. A rushed sale often means accepting 10-30% less than market value. Time is your negotiating power, and when you don’t have it, buyers sense opportunity.
Interested in learning what a business is worth? Check out our video series, “How Much is My Business Worth“on our YouTube channel. The latest video discusses customer concentration.
Limited Buyer Pool: Finding the right buyer takes time. When you compress your timeline, you’re working with whoever is available and ready now, not necessarily the buyer who would pay the most or be the best fit for your business and employees.
Emotional Toll: Selling any business is emotionally draining. Doing it under time pressure can amplify the stress The compressed timeline leaves little room for reflection or course correction.
Potential Tax Implications: A rushed sale may not allow adequate time for tax planning strategies that could save you significant money. The difference between a well-structured exit and a hasty one can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary tax liability.
The bottom line: If you have any flexibility in your timeline, use it. But if speed is truly non-negotiable, the following strategies will help you minimize these drawbacks.
How to Sell Your Business Quickly (75-90 days)
- Use Price as Your Most Powerful Lever: If time is your constraint, price becomes your solution. Here’s the reality: an attractively priced business will sell faster than a fairly priced one, and much faster than an overpriced one.
Strategic pricing approaches:
- Price 10-15% below market value to generate immediate interest and multiple offers
- Consider the “quick-close discount” explicitly in your pricing strategy
- Be transparent about your timeline with qualified buyers — some will see opportunity in your urgency
- Avoid the temptation to “test the market” at a higher price first; you don’t have time for that experiment
Remember: a slightly lower price that closes in 60 days is better than a higher price that takes 12 months (or never closes at all).
- Hire an Experienced Business Broker: This isn’t the time for DIY. A qualified business broker will accelerate your sale in multiple ways:
How brokers help speed up the process of selling:
- Established processes that eliminate trial-and-error delays
- Pre-qualified buyer databases providing immediate access to serious prospects
- Experience avoiding common mistakes that derail transactions
- Professional marketing materials created quickly and effectively
- Negotiation expertise that keeps deals moving forward
- Network of professionals (attorneys, accountants, lenders) who can move quickly
A broker’s commission (typically 8-12%) is an investment that pays for itself through speed, higher prices, and deals that actually close. When you’re selling quickly, the cost of not having professional representation is far greater.
What to look for in a broker for a quick sale:
- Proven track record with fast transactions
- Active buyer database in your industry
- Responsive communication (under 5-minute response times)
- Clear, systematic process with defined milestones
Organize Your Financials Before Going to Market
Nothing extinguishes deal momentum faster than disorganized financials. Buyers and their advisors will scrutinize your numbers, and any delay in providing clean, clear financial information adds weeks to your timeline
Financial documents to prepare:
- Three years of complete financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow)
- Tax returns for the same period
- Month-by-month financials for the current year
- Detailed explanation of add-backs and owner discretionary earnings
- Accounts receivable aging report
- Accounts payable summary
- Inventory valuation (if applicable)
- List of all assets included in the sale
- Breakdown of all debt and liabilities
- Explanation of any anomalies or unusual transactions
Pro tip: Have your accountant review and organize these documents before you list. A clean financial package signals professionalism and reduces buyer concerns.
Along with this, be proactive in terms of developing metrics that a buyer might be interested in obtaining:
- Customer retention rate
- Customer concentration
- Vendor concentration
- Website traffic
- Cost-of-Acquiring Customers (CAC)
- Lifetime Customer Value (CLTV)
This Post is Sponsored By Deal Memo, a provider of Confidential Information Memoranda For Business Brokers and M&A Specialists
Prepare Your Due Diligence Materials in Advance: Due diligence is where deals slow down — or die. By preparing these materials before your first buyer inquiry, you’ll shave weeks off your timeline.
Essential due diligence checklist:
- Legal Documents
- Operational Documents
- Financial Documents
- Detailed revenue breakdown by product/service/customer
- Marketing & Sales processes
- Real Estate (if applicable)
Organize these materials in a secure virtual data room that you can grant access to immediately upon buyer qualification. This preparation alone can cut 4-6 weeks from your timeline.
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REALTORS! Our course, “Learn How to Value and SUCCESSFULLY Sell Businesses“, teaches you how to accurately value and successfully sell businesses.
Don’t Miss Out on the “Silver Tsunami”!
Be Willing to Provide Seller Financing
Benefits of offering seller financing:
- Expands your buyer pool to include qualified operators who lack full capital
- Reduces buyer’s lender approval time (often the biggest bottleneck)
- Demonstrates confidence in the business’s future performance
- Can command a slightly higher price in exchange for favorable terms
- Provides ongoing income stream rather than a single lump sum
Final Thoughts: Speed with Strategy
Selling your business quickly doesn’t mean selling it recklessly. The strategies outlined here — competitive pricing, professional representation, thorough preparation, flexible financing, and systematic marketing — will help you achieve a faster exit while preserving as much value as possible.
Remember these key principles:
✓ Acknowledge the trade-offs but don’t let them paralyze you
✓ Invest in preparation before you go to market
✓ Leverage professional expertise to avoid costly mistakes
✓ Be transparent with qualified buyers about your timeline
✓ Stay focused on buyers who can actually close quickly
If you’re facing a time-sensitive exit, the worst thing you can do is nothing. The second worst thing is to rush in unprepared. Take the time to do it right — just do it faster.
Check out our video series, “How Much is My Business Worth“on our YouTube channel.
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.“
– Vidal Sassoon
If you have any questions or comments on this topic – or any topic related to business – I’d like to hear from you. Put them in the comments box below. Start the conversation and I’ll get back to you with answers or my own comments. If I get enough on one topic, I’ll address them in a future post or podcast.
I’ll be back with you again next Monday. In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and profitable week.
Joe
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The author is the founder, in 2001, of Worldwide Business Brokers and holds a certification from the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) as a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) of which there are fewer than 1,000 in the world. He can be reached at jo*@*******************og.com
