Emotion and the Business Sale Process

You don’t let emotion get in the way of clear thinking, do you? Of course you do. Think about how upset you got the first time someone did not pay you for your services. Or how uncomfortable that employee discrimination lawsuit made you feel. Or many of the other unfortunate things that happen when you have a business.

Think about how excited you made your first big sale. Or when you found the perfect location or many of the wonderful things that have happened as you built your business.

This is emotion plain and simple.

Emotion is an important part of any business business sale transaction. Properly channeled emotion provides the energy and drive to get the transaction done. Emotion can be used in negotiations to your advantage or disadvantage. You cannot completely separate yourself from your emotions when you are selling the business you have spent a major portion of your life building.

Be aware of your emotions as you go through the business sale process. Try not to let them get in the way of getting your transaction completed. That is why we stress that you make sure selling your business is the right thing to do before you begin. We highly recommend that you spend time reflecting on this decision. Review it with your trusted advisors. Make sure it is what you want and need. You will still wake up sweating in the middle of the night convinced that you are doing the wrong deal, but you will get over that sick feeling much quicker.

Never discount emotions. They are the unspoken half of every transaction.