A deep oxblood classic car under a single museum spotlight in a dark detailing studio — the metaphor for detailing a business before sale.
Pre-sale brand prep · $500K–$5M revenue

Detail your business before you list it.

We rebrand, redesign and reposition small businesses so they sell for higher multiples. Acquirers pay more for companies that already look acquired — we make sure yours does, with a finished website and brand in your hands in under 60 days.

The math

Goodwill is the single biggest line that moves on a small-business sale. Brand work moves it up.

0%
Reported lift in exit value from strategic pre-sale brand work, per Harvard Business Review reporting cited across the M&A branding industry.

On a $3M business selling at a 3× multiple, that's a $900K to $1.8M swing — almost always more than the cost of the brand work itself.

Try it on your own numbers below.

Live calculator

What's a brand upgrade worth on your sale?

Drag the sliders. We model the published 10–20% lift on top of your expected sale price. No email required.

$2M
3.0×
Mid-point brand uplift on your exit
+$900K
Range: $600K to $1.2M (10–20% lift)
The diagnosis

Your business looks like a job, not an asset.

The website

Last touched in 2017

The site you'd send a buyer to was built when WordPress themes had drop shadows. A buyer takes one look and prices the rebuild into the offer.

The identity

Logo made in Canva

It's not just the logo. It's the whole visual system — colors, type, deck, social — assembled piecemeal over a decade. A buyer can't transfer brand equity that isn't designed to transfer.

The story

Pitch is a Google Doc

Founders describe the business the way they think about it. Acquirers want to read about the business they're buying: category, differentiation, proof, transferability.

Phase 1 · Audit

Buyer's-eye review

We read your company the way an acquirer's analyst does — site, sales pages, reviews, press, deck, customer touchpoints. You receive a written scorecard of what's helping and what's hurting your multiple.

Phase 2 · Position

Sharper than the spreadsheet

We rewrite your positioning around the version of your company an acquirer wants to inherit — category, differentiation, audience, proof. Output: messaging architecture, taglines, value-prop hierarchy.

Phase 3 · Identity

Logo, color, system

A refreshed identity system designed to outlive the founder. Logo, color, typography, photography direction, and a brand guidelines PDF the acquirer receives on day one.

Phase 4 · Site

The page buyers Google first

A new conversion-focused website — fast, indexed, mobile-clean, written to read well to both customers and acquisition analysts doing pre-LOI research.

Live · AI-assisted audit

Drop your URL. Get a buyer's-eye read in 48 hours.

We'll review your site, your positioning, and the visible buyer-facing assets — then email you the 3 things we'd fix first and an estimate of the impact on your multiple. No pitch, no obligation.

We respond within two business days. Used only to send your audit — never sold, never shared.

Case studies

Three companies we'd be proud to send to a buyer.

Home services · HVAC

A 22-year-old family HVAC business, restaged for a strategic buyer.

Logo refresh, 28-page conversion site, sales deck rebuilt. Listed eight weeks after launch.

+18% multiple lift at close
Professional services · CPA

A CPA firm that wanted out — without losing the team.

Positioning rewrite, identity, 42-page site, CIM-ready collateral. Sold to a regional roll-up in 90 days.

+14% over initial broker estimate
E-commerce · DTC

A $2.4M DTC brand, prepared for an aggregator pitch.

Brand system, photography direction, Shopify rebuild, founder one-pager. Pre-LOI in six weeks.

+22% final offer vs. pre-engagement comp

Cases above are composite engagements assembled from real client work, anonymized for confidentiality.

Built for

US owner-operators selling now, listing soon, or planning a near-term exit.

  • Revenue: $500,000 to $5,000,000 annual
  • Profile: Owner-led, founder still on the cap table, decision-maker on brand
  • Timeline: Already listed, listing in the next 60 days, or up to 12 months out
  • Sectors: home services, professional services, e-commerce and DTC, manufacturing, healthcare and dental, light SaaS, hospitality.

Not a fit? We'll tell you on the first call and point you to the right shop.

Where we fit

There are four kinds of provider in the pre-sale brand space. Here's where we land.

ProviderWho they serveProductized?Below $5M?Brand & site?
Brand2SellOwner-operators selling now, soon, or already listedYesYesYes
The Grist / Branding for Buyout®$5M–$150M + PENo — multi-year retainerNoYes
Backstory BrandingGrowth-stage / mid-marketCustomSometimesYes
Lab CreativeFounders 2–5 years from sale (Canada)CustomYes (Canada)Yes
Atomicdust / MonogramGroupPE portfolio post-acquisitionNoNoYes
Generic local branding agencyWhoever callsSometimesYesSometimes — no exit framing
Business brokersSellers, on commissionN/AYesNo brand or web
Common questions

Direct answers to what owners ask us first.

How much does a Brand2Sell engagement cost?

Engagements are productized at fixed scope and fixed price, generally a fraction of a percent of your expected sale price. See the pricing page for current packages and what's included.

How long does it take?

Under 60 days from kickoff to a finished, public website and brand system. Most engagements hit the 6–8 week mark. If you're already listed, the new site goes live mid-engagement so buyers researching you today see the upgraded version within 30 days.

Do you work with my broker or M&A advisor?

Yes — we coordinate from kickoff. Many engagements are referred by brokers because a polished seller closes faster and at a higher multiple, which is good for everyone on the sell side.

Will you guarantee a higher sale price?

No, and be skeptical of anyone who does. Sale price depends on earnings, growth, multiples, terms, the buyer pool, and dozens of variables we don't control. What we do control: the brand assets a buyer evaluates. Industry research suggests well-executed pre-sale brand work lifts exit value 10–20% — we work to put your business in the upper part of that range.

Can we just do the website, not the brand?

Yes, but we'll usually push back. A new website with the same dated logo and unclear positioning under-delivers. The combined engagement is priced lower than the components bought separately.

What if I'm not actually selling?

Then we're probably not the right fit. We're built around the buyer's-eye review. If you're not preparing for a sale, hire a general branding agency — they'll cost less and the work will fit your goal better.

30 minutes. No pitch.

Start with a free brand-to-sell audit.

We look at your site, your positioning, your sales pages, your visible buyer-facing assets — and we tell you what would help your multiple and what wouldn't.

Book the audit