As stated elsewhere on this site, selling is a process… not an event. Some studies indicate that it now takes, on average, about seven to ten months to sell a small business. This figure seems to creep-up yearly.
Price, terms, and financing are big factors. It is very important not to overprice the business at the beginning of the sales process. A business will also sell most quickly if there is a reasonable down payment with the Seller carrying the balance – often in just a few months.
Should a bank/lender get involved, often an extra 90 days gets added to the time-frame with far more work on the part of both Buyer and Seller. Having assembled all of the necessary due-diligence information, that will very likely be requested by the Buyer and the lender, can also greatly reduce the time period.