When it comes to business sales, there is information that we must provide - in a contract for sale, and there is information that we need to provide to get a buyer to make an informed decision (offer) about owning a business.

Buyers must know the staffing structure, who works within the business, what they do, and the staff/employee remuneration strategy.

The buyers also need to know your involvement, the owner's involvement, what your typical day, week and year looks like.

This information may need to be updated periodically during the campaign and must be accurate and detailed.

So, staffing and operations are broken down into two essential components.

• Employee and staff involvement
• Owner involvement

There is an adage in business: "People aren't the most important asset in your business; the right people are."

If you want more than asset value for your business, that is, the replacement value of your assets, then you must explain how your people run your business.

In the marketing and negotiation phase of the sale, when we send the information package to prospective buyers, we must send a detailed summary in a concise table of the following:

1. Name or initial (your call) of the employee
2. What they do within the business
3. How many hours on average per week do they work
4. Employment status casual, part-time

There are further requirements, but this is the base information you must provide to get to more than asset value.

It takes a long time to realize that shiny things and fancy buildings are less valuable than those who run the business!

In the marketing phase, we don't need to provide the full names of employees, you can, but you don't need to.

The only people/buyers we will provide the people list and employee data to are those who have signed the confidentiality deed.

If you think demonstrating the value of your employees' skills is optional in obtaining maximum value for your business, then you should expect only asset value for your business.

We must be blunt because so many small to medium-business sellers need to be aware of this information's importance when selling.

When we move into the contract phase, we must provide a detailed table as an annexure or attachment to the contract relating to employees and the associated entitlements.