What are the major steps a restaurant owner should follow when selling their restaurant through a broker?  This was a question that a writer for a national magazine recently posed to the restaurant brokers.  We took a few minutes to lay out these five critical steps in selling your restaurant or bar and we're sharing it with out readers and web visitors. 

Which are the most important steps in the process of selling a restaurant?  We believe the first two are the most important when listing your restaurant for sale, but all can make a difference in selling your restaurant.

Step 1: Prepare your restaurant for sale  

• Get your financial reports in order.  Buyers are purchasing only assets if you can't prove the cash flow of the business.
• Make sure all equipment is operating and take out anything broken or damaged.  If it's broken (even it you don't currently use it), you're just asking a buyer to make you get it repaired or replaced.  Move it out.
• Remove anything that will not be part of the sale.   Often you will have memorabilia or personal items in the restaurant.  If a buyer visits and sees these items, he's going to want them included. 
• Make a list of all furniture, fixtures and equipment
• Make a copy of your lease and franchise agreement (if applicable)

Step 2:  Interview Brokers & Select Your Representative.  Ask the 10 Key Questions for Hiring a Restaurant Broker.

• How long have you been a business broker?
• Are restaurants your only area of specialty or do you represent other types of businesses?
• What was your business background before you began selling restaurants?
• Are you licensed?
• Do you have references or testimonials for restaurant sellers you’ve worked with in the past?.
• How many restaurant listings do you have now?
• How many restaurants have you sold?
• Do you have prepared contracts for purchasing a business?
• What other resources do you have available to assist in the sale of a restaurant?
• How much is my restaurant worth?

Step 3:  Sign the Listing Agreement and Assist the Broker

• Make your restaurant available for showings before and after hours
• Provide all information required by the broker
• Keep the restaurant clean, open all hours and profitable
• Operate as if you are NOT selling
• Provide updated financial information monthly (or as available)
• Return phone calls, emails and messages from your brokers as soon as possible as buyers get cold by the hour
• Call your broker to get buyer feedback and activity on the listing

Step 4: Review/Accept Offers and Assist in the Transaction

• Make sure all parties to the agreement review the offer details (beyond just purchase price) before countering and accepting an offer.
• Be open to negotiations as everyone needs to feel some “win” in the situation
• Make your restaurant available for inspection
• Make sure your CPA is on board to provide due diligence information
• Do not make any big changes in the restaurant (hours, menu, large expenditures) while in contract
• Return phone calls, emails and messages from your broker as soon as possible as issues arise that could affect the closing (liens, tax issues, equipment inspection results, etc.)
• Work through the Seller’s Checklist provided by your broker

Step 5:  Attend the Closing and Collect Your Check

• Work with the buyer after the closing on training and transition
• Turn over all keys, alarm codes, website access and social media passwords

Every step is the process is important but the first two are critical. Assembling the information up front will allow the broker to see all the earnings and insure the most accurate pricing for the business.  Hiring the right broker can mean the difference between a successful sale or a listing that drags on without a buyer. 

Follow these five steps and assist your restaurant broker and you will soon sell your restaurant. 

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 Robin Gagnon, Certified Restaurant Broker®, MBA, CBI, CFE is the co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and industry expert in restaurant sales and valuation. Named by Nation’s Restaurant News as one of the “Most Influential Suppliers and Vendors” to the restaurant industry, her articles and expertise appear nationwide in QSR Magazine, Franchising World, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and BizBuySell. She is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award-winning book on buying restaurants.