How to Sell Your WordPress Agency

You're ready to sell your WordPress agency.

You've got a new, exciting idea you want to chase and some extra cash for your hard work would be helpful.

I've been on both sides of the table. Here is the what you need to know to get a good deal done.

The High-Level Process: What to Expect

Selling a business boils down to a few key steps.

Request for Information (RFI): A potential buyer will reach out and ask for some basic information about your business.
Conditional Offer: If they like what they see, they'll make you a conditional offer is the form of a Letter of Intent (LOI). It's based on the information you've shared so far, and it's not legally binding. The reason for it being conditional is that if anything doesn't check out in due diligence, then the deal may change or be taken off the table.
Exclusivity Period: Once you sign the LOI, you'll enter an exclusivity period. This means you can't shop the business around to other buyers. During this time, the buyer will dig deep into your business and start incurring real costs to get the deal done. They'll bring in their lawyers, accountants, and other experts to go through everything.
Formal Documents: If everything checks out, you'll move on to the formal documents. Lawyers get involved. The numbers and terms are all reconfirmed, and the deal becomes unconditional.
Closing: This is the final step. The documents are signed, the money is wired, and you the business begins the next chapter.

It all comes back to the things we talked about in the valuation article - How Much is Your Agency Worth.

If you want to get top dollar for your agency, you need to focus on:

The more you can improve in these areas, the more your business will be worth.

When you're selling your business, you're going to have to open up your books.

A buyer will want to see everything.

Here's a quick rundown of what you should have ready:

History: The story of your business. How did you get started? What are the key milestones? What are the strengths and weaknesses?
Client List: A redacted client list at first, with more details to come later. You'll want to include information on churn, both by logo and by net dollar retention.
Financials: At least three years of profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
KPIs & Metrics: how does the business acquire customers, how much did each one cost on average, how long did they stay, what is the payback period etc.

You've got a few options here.

Directly to a Buyer: You can reach out to other agencies or strategic partners that you think would be a good fit.
Brokers: A broker can help you find buyers and navigate the sales process. But they'll also take a cut of the sale (between 5% and 15% of the final sale price).
Marketplaces: There are a number of online marketplaces where you can list your business for sale, like Flippa, FlipWP, and Acquire.

This is the most important part.

Numbers are easy to focus on and analyze, but buyer fit for your customers, team and legacy are more abstract and much more important.

The most important thing for everyone is the long term success of the business and customer retention.

Here's what to focus on (in order):

The Quality of the Buyer: Is this someone you want to sell your business to? Will they take care of your team? Your customers? Your reputation?
The Terms: The terms of the deal are actually more important than the valuation. Is it all cash up front? Is some of it in escrow? Is it paid out over five years? You want strong terms that protect you and give you the best chance of getting paid.
The Valuation: Of course, you want to get a good price for your business. But don't let the valuation be the only thing you focus on.

The best deals are about more than money. It's about finding the right buyer who will take care of what you've built.

Selling your WordPress agency is a big decision. It's a lot of work, and it can be an emotional rollercoaster.

But if you're prepared and you know what to look for, you can get a great deal done.