Despite what you may have heard:

Due diligence is not the all-consuming monster most people make it out to be.

In fact, it’s not even close.

Of course:

You will need to dedicate adequate time to help the buyer get into the weeds of your business.

How long?

In our experience, most sellers will invest somewhere between 20 and 30 hours.

This is a given.

But here’s the deal.

Unlike those long, protracted ‘horror story’ exits we’ve all read about in the forums, due diligence with an Amazon aggregator is, by contrast, an absolute breeze.

Let me explain.

Firstly:

Practically every aggregator works off a pro-forma (master) due diligence document.

Setup in Google Drive and shared with you upon signing the LOI, this one document contains a complete list of everything you need to supply.

Nice and simple.

Remember:

Most Amazon aggregators will have connected SellerBoard to your Seller Central account.

Since this already summaries your key financials, providing backup copies of (say) your stock invoices, should be a piece of cake.

Next up?

Video calls.

More specially, you will be asked to attend a series of web-based meetings to discuss the primary functions of your business.

These include:

• • Product sourcing
  • Inventory management
  • Sponsored ads and PPC
  • Finance and accounting
  • Staff and contractors
  • Intellectual property

Among several others.

This is the stage in due diligence where you’re going to want to bring your ‘A Game’.

Bottom line:

Present your business in a clear and concise manner, answering any questions as comprehensively as possible.

Now:

One of the challenges of due diligence is that your business, naturally, must continue to trade.

This can prove cumbersome when updating the buyer’s due diligence documents for sales and stock, since these are changing on a daily basis.

If that’s not enough.

You will, of course, have to juggle the stress of running the business in parallel with selling it.

Our best advice here?

Simply accept the fact that, for a few weeks only, you’re going to be busier than normal.

Trust us.

Due diligence is really no biggie. And it’s certainly not worth getting irritated or overwhelmed over.

Top tip:

Whilst you should already be more than equipped to supply the information requested, there are two documents that will further streamline your due diligence.

First up?

A supplier agreement.

I’m not talking about a complex 100-page legally drafted document.

Just a short headline summary of your payment terms, unit costs, quality control steps, and so on.

The document should be signed by both parties, with a declaration that each unit produced will comply with your exact specifications.

This leads me to:

A product specification sheet.

Again, this should be a clear, user-friendly breakdown of each SKU, including everything from dimensions, smell, and colour, right down to the thickness of the outer packaging, with pictures.

In a nutshell.

Approach due diligence with a positive outlook and well-prepared documentation.

This will make the entire process smooth and painless.

Above all?

Give the buyer confidence that the foundations of your brand are solid and that you have a business that’s worth investing in.

Interested in finding out more?

Click here to compare over 150 aggregators in 3 simple steps. We will then reveal the select few companies that are most likely to offer you the highest valuation.