How long does it take to sell an agency?
About six weeks to sell. Then six months to hand over.
Two clocks. And they run at very different speeds.
The short answer: plan on 3 to 6 months to prepare, about 6 weeks to sell, and about 6 months to transition.
| Stage | Time | The main job |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare | 3-6 months | Get customers and systems off you |
| Sell | About 6 weeks | Make the deal attractive and keep the momentum |
| Transition | About 6 months | Hand over fast, then settle the money |
The deal clock can be fast. On one deal, it was two weeks from intro to close.
It can also be slow. I've seen agencies sit on the market for years.
The transition clock is steadier. And it's not the work that drags. It's the money and the risk.
1. Prepare: 3 to 6 months before any clock starts
The big job is getting your customers and systems ready.
If you want the best price, the business has to run without you. That means the right strategy, people and systems.
For an agency, your top customers should work with an account manager or someone on your team. Not you.
If you are the business, there's not much to buy.
Then the basics. Clear financials. Management adjustments done. The right people told.
Selling is an emotional rollercoaster, so don't bring the whole team in.
But don't go it alone either. Pick one or two people to bring inside the tent.
Using a broker? Bring them in early and get their feedback.
The best book on all of this is Built to Sell. Its big idea: buyers want a productised service, not a custom job.
For an agency, that's recurring plans your team can deliver, not one-off builds that need you.
For the customer side, read What Happens to Your Customers When You Sell Your Agency. For the numbers, start with How Much Is Your Agency Worth?
2. The deal clock: about 6 weeks
With the right ingredients, this part moves fast.
There are buyers in market waiting to move on the right thing. On some deals we've gone from first touch to a letter of intent in a couple of days, then straight into exclusivity.
That assumes you're in control. Sometimes administrators, partners or other stakeholders set the timeline.
Either way, manage the momentum.
The longer it drags, the more risk you carry. Information leaks. Customers notice you're distracted. The business gets a reputation that nobody wants it.
That reputation is usually wrong. It's normally just a mismatch of expectations between buyer and seller.
Every extra week on the market is risk you carry.
On the market for more than six months? Take it off. Use the buyer feedback, fix the business, and go again next year.
The full step-by-step is in How to Sell Your Agency.
3. What makes it fast: price and terms
Speed comes down to one thing. How attractive the deal is.
Two things drive that. Price and terms.
Price + Terms = Attractive. Attractive = Fast.
Price is the obvious one. Price it right and the buyers already in market move quickly.
Price it too high and it sits. Sometimes for years.
Not sure what right looks like? Start with How Much Is Your Agency Worth?
Terms are the one most sellers miss. They come down to shared risk.
On a 100% cash deal, the buyer has a lot of diligence to do. Once it closes, there's very little ability to chase anything.
With a six-month escrow or some other shared responsibility, it's different. Anything that doesn't come out now will come out later. And you share the good and the bad together.
The more cash up front, the more diligence. It's that simple.
You can never know everything about a business. There are always surprises.
So what does that mean for you? If there are problems in your business, things you don't know, or an uncertain future, expect more of the deal to be deferred or at risk.
4. The transition clock: about 6 months
The operational handover is quick. A couple of months.
Logins, plugins, emails, accounts, relationships, knowledge and know-how. It all moves across.
Watch two-factor authentication. Get locked out of a key account mid-transfer and everything stops.
The team transition takes a couple of months too. If the seller's still around after 90 days, something might be wrong.
The buyer needs a clean slate. When the old owner hangs around, the team gets confused. Who am I serving now? Do I answer to the old guy or the new guy?
Be supportive. Agree in the letter of intent that you're available for a set period, then a fair hourly rate after that. The rate stops you getting pulled back in forever.
What takes the full six months is the money. The escrow or earn-out. Some run longer, and that's the mistake I wouldn't repeat.
5. The mistake I wouldn't repeat
Long, time-based earn-outs.
One of our deals had a 15-month earn-out.
For 15 months, we had to tread carefully. No pricing changes. No new terms. Respect the asset sale agreement.
Even when a change made good business sense. Like offering an annual discount to customers who wanted to pay up front.
A long earn-out ties the buyer's hands. The business stands still.
Now we tie it to outcomes, like reaching a set number of new customers. Everyone pulls toward the same goal instead of watching the calendar.
Four things to do this week
Count how many of your top customers call you directly. That's your prep list.
Write down every problem a buyer could find. Fix it or disclose it, or it'll show up in the terms.
List every account with two-factor on it, and whose phone it's tied to.
Offered an earn-out? Ask what it's tied to. If the only answer is time, push for an outcome.
The deal clock gets all the attention. The transition clock decides whether it works.
Everyone's reputation is on the line: the buyer's, the seller's and the broker's. Get clear in the letter of intent on what's expected of everybody.