Transition360 - Business Development & Brokerage Services

Proven. Professional. Principled.

Proven. Professional. Principled. | 425.224.3850
  • Home
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms & Conditions
  • Buy a Business
    • Businesses for Sale That Suit Your Goals
    • Why A Business Valuation Is Critical
    • Why Buy a Business With Us
  • Sell A Business
    • 360 Development Program
    • What Business Brokers Do
  • Services
    • What We Offer
    • Buy A Business Services
    • Acquisition Process
  • People
    • About Us
      • Bellevue Office – Call 425-224-3850
    • Dan Stone, Principal
    • Tod Fiscus, Principal
    • Taralee Muhli, Senior Director
    • (In Memory) William E. Pearsall, Founder
  • The Difference
    • Why We Are Different
    • Testimonials & Recommendations
    • Trusted Affliates
  • Get Started
    • Buy or Sell Your Business in Bellevue, WA – Contact Us Today
  • News & Events
    • Blog
    • Press Releases
    • Upcoming Events
    • Join Newsletter
You are here: Home / Business Selling / How Professional Services Help Prepare Business Owners’ Transition

How Professional Services Help Prepare Business Owners’ Transition

June 4, 2021 By Tod Fiscus Leave a Comment

 

Whether you provide legal advice, financial planning, insurance coverage, or another service entirely, your clients look to you so they can retire when the time comes. Your clients undoubtedly appreciate guidance from you on their current and future endeavors by helping them forecast business climates in order to maintain a sustainable business. As a professional service provider, looking out for your clients’ best interests is likely your top priority.

What is a Business Broker

A business broker manages the optimization of value and smooth transition of the sale of a business. They do this by partnering and guiding business owners and buyers through the sale or purchase of a business.

Preparation for this process is the key to a successful transition. The earlier in the life of a business that the owner starts building an exit strategy the more likely it will command a premium value. When the process is started years in advance of a sale, a good business broker can formulate multiple strategies to help an owner achieve their objective. For any owner who hasn’t started the planning process, the best time to have a conversation about future planning is right now.   Make a recommendation to your client about meeting with a business broker so they can start thinking about long-term goals for their business and their own exit; whether they’re one, five, or even fifteen years out from retirement or selling.

By making this recommendation to your client, not only are you looking out for their long-term interest and success, you’re also providing value over and above what you already provide, making your work and relationship with clients even more meaningful

Transition360 is the only business brokerage firm with a proven and comprehensive program that helps small business sellers and buyers through an optimal transition. This program generates a 93% success rate in selling business that we engage with. This makes us the best Seattle area business broker to use when you want results.

How Business Brokers Provide Value

A business owner’s retirement needs and desires are often closely tied with the successful sale of their company, but few owners understand the function of a Business Broker.  Similar to how a CPA is a critically important part of corporate taxes and a good attorney is necessary when writing business contracts, an effective broker can be invaluable in developing a successful exit strategy that supports reaching your short and long-term financial goals. Despite its importance, nearly 75% of business owners do not have an exit strategy. We see this as a huge opportunity for professional service advisors.

The Importance of Planning Ahead

Most business owners know the importance of planning ahead. Whether by forecasting financial results, analyzing new trends, product or services, or leveraging new opportunities, it’s a smart business decision to have a strategy developed. Ultimately, success in business means planning ahead with multiple outcomes in mind.

A business broker can help create a strong exit plan that helps ensure clients maximize business value, which for many owners, will be the largest transaction in their lifetime.

Potential Roadblocks and Setbacks

Deal killers and roadblocks come with the territory once an owner decides to take their company into the market. The biggest advantage to planning ahead is business owners can prepare for and ultimately move through these potential obstacles more smoothly. Listed below are a few examples of these roadblocks that we have seen in our 40-year history.

Time: A major hurdle business owners face when looking to sell their company is lack time between contacting a business broker and the ideal sell date. On average company in the US takes 13-16 months to move from market to closing.  This is why we encourage business owners to start developing relationships with business brokers several years ahead of their desired exit.

Financial and Tax Documents: Financial records are not always up to date or don’t adequately reflect revenue, cost of goods and profitability by product, service and/or customer.

Finding the Right Buyer: The process of finding the right buyer and avoiding bottom feeders and time wasters is where an experience broker like Transition360 brings critical value to the table.

Owner Dependency: Some business owners wear too many hats, making the business dependent on them.   If a buyer thinks the company is too dependent on the current owner, they’ll look for another business.

Flatline: When businesses have lost steam and are just coasting, buyers wonder what’s going on behind the scenes that caused the owner and the revenue to flatline.

Spouse: Sometimes a spouse is not in agreement that the business owner should sell. Everyone needs to be on the same page before moving forward.

Disbelief: Some business owners do not believe their company is worth anything and do not pursue selling the business because they don’t think the business has assets.   Assets are not the only thing with value in a business.

Personal Identity: Some individuals have a hard time knowing what they would do or who they would be if they didn’t own the business. This fear drives them past good opportunities to monetize their business.

Value of Company: In the valuation phase we establish a general range of value for the business, but this is not always enough to achieve an owner’s financial retirement goals. This underlines the importance of planning ahead. Knowing this years before an owner wants to sell allows them to work with a broker to get to the value they need.

Moving Forward

By building a relationship with a business broker ahead of your exit, business owners are empowered to manage obstacles, increase business value and make the business attractive to the largest buyer base possible.

Our Business Sale Process

At Transition360, we have developed the 360° Development Program™. This is an exclusive multi-phase service designed from 30 plus years of best practices for selling businesses. Different phases are used for different companies to optimize the transition of a business between the owner and the buyer, consequently eliminating Deal Killers and Time Wasters as early in the process as possible.

We’ll walk through five phases with the business owner that include:

  • Phase 1: Business Analysis
  • Phase 2: Market Valuation
  • Phase 3: Value Acceleration
  • Phase 4: Exit Planning
  • Phase 5: Business Brokerage

Nationally the Business Brokerage profession averages a 25% closing ratio. Transition360 sells over 93% of the companies we engage with.

With Transition360’s years of experience and reputation for successful transactions we look forward to building a relationship with both professional service providers and business owners to help plan successful transitions. Contact us today to get started on your exit strategy.

 

Filed Under: Business Selling Tagged With: business broker, company sale, planning ahead, professional service

About Tod Fiscus

Tod Fiscus is Principal of Transition360, LLC, a full service Valuation, Exit Strategy Planning & Business Brokerage Company in the Pacific Northwest that focuses on internal and external Business Ownership Transition Planning for business owners and buyers in the $500K to $20 million range. Tod can be reached at todfiscus@transition360.com or 206.226.4311 for more information.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Our Process

Our <span>Process</span>

Watch and listen on how to prepare your business for sale by Bill Pearsall.
Learn more »

Understanding Brokers

Understanding <span>Brokers</span>

Selling your business may be the most financially important decision you will ever make. Don't you want to make sure your Broker represents your interests?
Learn More »

Get Started

Get <span>Started</span>

Lets schedule some time to understand exactly what you're looking for...

GET STARTED »

Guiding Principles

Guiding <span>Principles</span>

If your agenda is to fraud your partners, your employees, your vendors, your suppliers or the government, we’d like to refer you to our code of ethics.
Learn More »

Client Testimonials

I felt cynical and skeptical about uh the ability of an organization to sell our company and uh we had ideas around the valuation of the company that we’d been dismayed to hear were exceedingly low and so we’d come to believe that those numbers were true. […] We reluctanly paid to have Dan do a v… Read more
Julie and Alan Burke - SellersSellers
Read More »
Transition360 has a remarkable ability to see a deal that is good for both sides before anyone else at the table has seen it. The icing on the cake – they also have the social skills to get the parties to see it and the level of detail orientation to earn the confidence of all involved that he perso… Read more
Mike Dusche - ReferralSenior Sales SpecialistIBM
Read More »
I have worked with Dan and Bill on several client transactions over the last few years and I have considered my work with them a true collaboration with the clients’ best interests in mind. They have not only a breadth of knowledge to handle the multiple issues presented by often complicated busine… Read more
Cynthia HallAttorney
Read More »
Tod is a consummate professional that is deeply respected throughout the market. He leads with intense integrity and is someone you need to know if you want to integrate into the Northwest market.
Darin LeonardCEODream Dinners
Read More »
Dan Stone brings a lot to the table for business owners. He has a wealth of experience in understanding the true value of a business and how to build an effective strategy for buying or selling it. Working with mutual clients, I have noted his genuine interest in developing a win-win strategy for th… Read more
Grant MonsonCertified Financial Planner
Read More »
Tod and the Transition360 team are an outstanding resource for business decision-makers. They are some of the best connected people in the area. When I need advice, I ask Tod as he is one of the few I know that has the depth of experience to give immediately useful advice. He has helped his firm be… Read more
Corey Hansen, MScODPersonal Training CoachHot100Business
Read More »

“There are actual metrics in terms of revenue, multipliers and profitability that are going to make a lot more sense to the Buyer than whatever dreams you have for the future of your business.” – Tim Mather, Investor

—

“Being very clear around what why you want to sell the business right being ver… Read more

Paola Taylor and Tim Mather - SELLER RESOURCES
Read More »

“Transition 360 exemplifies the integrity and the honesty and professionalism that uh really gives you comfort when you’re on the buy side.” – Tim Mather, Investor

Paola Taylor and Tim MatherInvestors
Read More »
Tod brings sincerity, strong business acumen and genuine passion for helping executives to achieve and expand their potential. His firm’s peer roundtables materially improve each member’s ability to develop clear, actionable strategies and execute efficiently against them. In addition, his passi… Read more
Sean CunninghamConsultantPrivate Equity
Read More »

When the time is right [to exit] they’ve been incredible to work with I would so highly recommend them they have immenseintegrity great knowledge of the market of selling and buying.  – Sharon Stewart, Seller

Sharon Stewart, Seller - Bed Voyage
Read More »

Welcome to Transition360 | Business Brokers – Serving the Pacific Northwest

Transition360 is the only business brokerage firm with a proven and comprehensive program that helps small business sellers and buyers through an optimal transition. Our track record of 90% successful business buy and sell transactions make us the Seattle business broker to use when you want results.

We engage with business owners that have built their businesses with sweat, risk and hundreds of hours of lost sleep, resulting in positive cash flow for a new owner to grow the company to the next level and beyond.

Business Buyers

Our Buyer Clients are proven managers with a desire to be their own boss. They have the confidence, skills and resources to take a proven business platform and build a continued legacy. They look … Read More »

Our Partners

After 30+ years of business, we’ve developed relationships with professional service providers who have proven that they understand how to … Read More »

Mission Statement

Transition360 has three primary rules: Complete Transparency No Seller Remorse No Buyers Remorse If your agenda is to defraud your partners, your … Read More »

Connect with Us

If you’re contemplating a sale of your business or in the market to buy, we’re always available for a confidential, no obligation meeting (and coffee is on us). Contact … Read More »

Join Our Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

For More Information or Questions, Contact Us at 425-224-3850 / Copyright © 2025 · Transition360 LLC