Built to Sell: Ted's Best Tips for Selling Your Business
Throughout the entire “Built to Sell” story, Ted Gordon drops advice on Alex like a professor who actually wants his students to pass. Not theory. Not abstract business school stuff. Just clear, practical tips that came from real experience.
John Warrillow collected all 17 of Ted’s tips at the end of the book. And honestly, this section alone is worth the price of the book. You could tape these to your wall and check them every quarter.
Let me walk through them and add my own thoughts.
Specialize or Stay Invisible (Tips 1 and 6)
Ted’s first tip is simple. Don’t generalize, specialize. Pick one thing and get really good at it. Hire specialists, not generalists. Your work gets better and you stand out from everyone else.
Tip 6 goes further. Say no to projects outside your specialty. This sounds scary. But here’s the thing. The more you say no, the more people send you referrals for the thing you actually do.
I’ve seen this pattern over and over in IT. The companies that try to do everything (web dev, mobile, AI, DevOps, cloud, security) end up being mediocre at all of it. The ones that pick a lane and own it? They get known. They get recommended. They charge more.
Don’t Let One Client Own You (Tip 2)
No single client should make up more than 15 percent of your revenue. If they do, you’re not running a business. You’re basically employed by that client with extra steps.
Buyers see this immediately. If your biggest client walks, does your company survive? If the answer is “barely,” nobody is buying that.
Own Your Process (Tip 3)
Have a clear process. Name it. Own it. When you can explain exactly what you sell and how you deliver it, customers trust you more and sales become easier.
This is the difference between “we do custom work for each client” and “here’s our five-step process that gets results.” The second one sells itself.
The Business Must Work Without You (Tip 4)
If buyers think the company dies when you leave, they won’t pay good money for it. Maybe they won’t pay at all.
This is probably Ted’s most important tip. And it’s the hardest one for founders to accept. You built this thing. Your identity is tied to it. But here’s the problem. If the business IS you, then there’s nothing to sell. Just a job with your name on it.
Fix Your Cash Flow (Tip 5)
Once you standardize your service, charge up front or use progress billing. Stop doing work and then waiting 60 or 90 days to get paid. That cash suck will drain you.
As someone who spent years in academia before IT, I can tell you. Cash flow problems destroy more businesses than bad products do. Get the money moving in the right direction.
Know Your Numbers (Tips 7 and 11)
Tip 7 says to figure out your pipeline. How many prospects become actual sales? This matters because when a buyer looks at your business, they want to estimate market size. If you can’t answer that question, you look unprepared.
Tip 11 takes it further. You need at least two years of financial statements that show your standardized model working. Not one quarter. Not six months. Two full years. Buyers want proof, not promises.
Build a Real Sales Team (Tips 8 and 9)
Two sales reps are always better than one. Sales people are competitive. They push each other. And having two proves to a buyer that your sales model works, not just one talented person.
But here’s the thing. Hire people who sell products, not services. Product sellers figure out how your product fits the customer’s needs. Service sellers agree to customize everything. That’s the opposite of what you want when building a sellable company.
The Painful Transition Year (Tip 10)
When you switch to a standardized offering, your profit and loss statement might look terrible for a year. Ted says ignore it. As long as cash flow stays strong, you’ll recover.
This is real advice. Most people panic when the numbers dip and go back to the old way of doing things. That’s a mistake. The short term pain is worth the long term gain.
Build a Team That Stays (Tips 12 and 17)
Build a management team. Give them incentive plans that reward performance and loyalty. This one is straightforward but so many business owners skip it.
Tip 17 is interesting. Don’t use stock options to keep people after a sale. Use a simple stay bonus instead. Pay it in installments to people who actually stay through the transition. Stock options get complicated. Cash is clear.
I like this advice a lot. Simple beats clever when it comes to keeping good people.
Pick the Right Adviser (Tips 13 and 14)
When you’re ready to sell, find an adviser where you’re not their biggest client and not their smallest. You want someone who knows your industry and gives you real attention.
And watch out for advisers who want to connect you with just one buyer. That’s a red flag. You need competition among buyers. Otherwise you’re just helping your adviser do a favor for their best client. That’s not a negotiation. That’s a setup.
Think Big, Talk Right (Tips 15 and 16)
Write a three-year business plan that shows what’s possible. The company buying you will have resources to grow faster than you could alone. Show them the opportunity.
And change your language. Stop saying “clients” and start saying “customers.” Stop saying “firm” and start saying “business.” Remove anything from your website that makes you look like a generic service shop. Words matter. They signal what kind of company you are.
Which Tips Matter Most?
If I had to pick the three most important tips from this list, here’s what I’d choose:
- Tip 4: The business must work without you. Everything else falls apart if you skip this one. It’s the foundation.
- Tip 1: Specialize. You can’t build a process, you can’t train a team, and you can’t scale if you’re trying to do everything.
- Tip 5: Fix your cash flow. Charge up front. Don’t let customers pay whenever they feel like it.
The rest of the tips are important too. But these three are the ones that change everything. Get these right and the others start falling into place naturally.
Ted’s tips read like a checklist. And that’s exactly how you should use them. Print them out. Check where your business stands on each one. Be honest about it. Then start fixing the gaps.
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