How to Be More Flexible When Selling Your Business
Selling a company will not happen overnight. While a quick closing does happen for some, there are plenty of successful businesses out there that take months or years to sell. Understanding how to best prepare for the sale of your business can help you avoid mistakes and remain patient.
An important aspect of selling your business is to be flexible. So many factors are involved with selling a business, and therefore, lots of issues can come up. Being flexible means being able to work through these issues with buyers to avoid sabotaging your deal.
Price
A good Business Broker will tell you that your price needs to be negotiable. Remain willing to accept a lower offer if the reasons behind it are valid. These factors range from lack of systems, quality of management, and limited geographical distribution, to an overreliance on a handful of customers or key clients.
Compromise
Three things most business owners want when selling their business are confidentiality, the right price, and a quick turnaround. Attaining all three of these is a fairly difficult task. You might have to sacrifice price for quick turnaround, or quick turnaround for price.
Patience
Selling a business takes time. You have got to find the right person, at the right time, with the right capital. Set realistic expectations around how long it is going to take to sell the business. The fact is that stressed out owners are far more likely to make mistakes.
Redefine “winning”
Remember that old saying, “You win some, you lose some.” There will be points of contention in the selling of your business. You will lose some battles and win others, but however it plays out, it’s important to remember that a good deal (not a perfect deal) is better than no deal. Do not) lose sight of what you want to achieve: a new venture with your business sold!
Ready to sell your business? Contact us today!
Read MoreHow to Find the Right Buyer for your Business
When it comes to selling your business, it seems like the person offering the highest price is the right buyer. However, there are other factors that should be considered. Finding the right buyer for your business means looking not only at offer price, but also at motives and potential problems.
Selling to a competitor can be a great option. The competitor already knows the business and how to market it. He will be familiar with potential clients and your own employees may be able to stay on and continue in their current roles. However, if the deal falls through, you’ve just handed the competitor quite a bit of confidential information about your business.
A financial buyer can be a good option and most likely won’t be a competitor. Unfortunately financial buyers are planning to sell your business again in a few years, for a profit. This means they’ll be unlikely to pay your asking price.
A strategic acquirer will be more likely to pay the price you’re asking, but you have to ask yourself what their motive is. It’s possible they’re buying the business just to close it or relocate it. That may mean that your employees will lose jobs or that the business will just no longer exist. This can be difficult for many business owners to accept.
Finally, consider an employee. Often a current employee is a great option for buying and taking over your business. Problems with this situation can occur though if the deal falls through and others at your business learn the business is for sale. Potential issues might arise too if there are many employees who don’t get along with the one buying the business.
Using a business broker like Franchise Sellers is a great option because we can help you wade through the many offers for your business. When it comes to finding the right buyer for your business a broker can take the emotion out of it and find the best option for you and your situation.
If you’re looking to sell your business, contact us today. Looking to buy or sell a franchise? Visit franchisesellers.com.
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