How to sell businesses

An insightful article on AltAssets on how to sell businesses, even lemons. Summary (but do read the complete article):

Tell a coherent, credible story that seamlessly takes the business from the past into the future. Pitch the business appropriately for the intended purchasers. Beware the disingenuous over-bidder; they are often the worst of all time wasters. Agree a process to allow the purchaser to get comfortable with the risks of the business. Look well ahead as well as at the road in front of you and know when it's best to do nothing. And, remember Akerlof's Nobel Prize and "The Market for Lemons": Where information is asymmetric, if you don't know what you are doing, there is a very real risk that an asset won't sell, whatever the price.

Link: How to Manage a Private Equity Sale Process: "The Market for Lemons"