Route one: sell direct
Selling direct to a competitor, a key employee, or an inbound buyer is the fastest path and the cheapest on paper. The catch is structural: one buyer sets the price, the pace, and the terms. Without competition, even a fair buyer has no reason to stretch, and most of the money owners leave on the table is left here.
Route two: marketplace listing
Online marketplaces are inexpensive and put your business in front of a wide audience. But a listing is not a process. It attracts unqualified inquiries, leaks confidentiality, and puts the burden of vetting, negotiating, and structuring entirely on you, usually while you are still running the company full time.
Route three: a sell-side advisor
The third route is to engage an advisor who works for you, prepares the business, and runs a real campaign that brings multiple qualified buyers into competition. It is not free, but the structure is the point: preparation lifts the price, and competition defends it. The route you pick shapes the outcome more than any single negotiation move ever will.