Step lists for selling a business are usually written in the order things happen, which is not the order in which they matter. Several steps can be done at any time and one or two block everything behind them. Ordering by dependency instead produces a shorter list and puts the slow items first, which is the difference between a sale that moves and one where every stage discovers a delay that could have been started months earlier.
The blocking steps, which belong first
Anything you do not currently hold and cannot produce yourself: a lease you need the landlord's copy of, filings you need from a former adviser, records held by a departed bookkeeper, permissions that need somebody else's signature. These take weeks of somebody else's time and nothing about them speeds up under pressure, so they are started first regardless of where a list puts them.
The steps that only need you
Assembling what you do hold, writing down how the business actually works, tidying the obvious problems, deciding what you want from a sale and what you will accept. These can happen in parallel with the blocking items and they are entirely within your control, which is why they should never be the reason a timetable slips.
The steps that need a buyer to exist
Heads of terms, diligence, the purchase agreement, completion. There is no point optimising these before there is somebody on the other side, and owners who spend the preparation period thinking about negotiation instead of about documents arrive at diligence unprepared. The order is: unblock, assemble, then find the buyer. The other reason to order by dependency is that it tells you when to start. A list in calendar order implies you begin at the top when the sale begins; a list ordered by what blocks what says the first item should have been started months earlier, which is a far more useful thing for an owner to be told.
Questions people ask about steps to selling a business
How many steps are there really?
Published lists run from five to twenty and the count is arbitrary. What matters is which items depend on somebody else, because those set your timetable and nothing else does.
When should advisers be involved?
Your accountant early, because the financial picture takes time to present properly. Your solicitor when a document is on the table. Both are decisions about your specific situation and are theirs to advise on, not this site's.
Can steps be skipped?
The preparation ones can be skipped and are paid for later at a worse exchange rate, usually during diligence when the buyer is watching.