Our core processes are mostly in our heads or scattered in loose docs. How do we document operations quickly to prove to a buyer we are a turnkey business?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Buyers hate key-person risk. If your business processes are locked in the heads of your employees, a buyer will see your company as an unrepeatable, high-risk bet, and they will price it accordingly. To prove your business is a turnkey operation, you must document your core processes. Under the EOS® Process Component, this does not mean writing massive, three-hundred-page manuals that nobody reads. Instead, use the 20/80 rule. Document the twenty percent of the steps that yield eighty percent of the results. Start by identifying your core processes, which typically include HR, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Customer Service, and Finance. Keep the documentation simple. Use high-level bullet points, clear checklists, and short video screencasts to show exactly how work gets done. Store these in a centralized, accessible digital knowledge base. Once documented, you must ensure they are followed by everyone, or FBE. Show the buyer that your team actually uses these processes by pointing to your weekly EOS® Scorecard metrics, which should tie directly to process performance. When a buyer sees that any trained employee can step in and run your systems, your business becomes highly transferable, attracting more competitive offers and higher multiples.