Thinking of selling your business? It pays to get professional help to do it.
Business brokers list businesses for sale, and then they work to find buyers for the businesses. They aim to bring all parties to a point of understanding and agreement. From there they help with the details to get the deal to the closing table.
Businesses that sell with a business broker sell faster and for more money than owners who choose to go it alone. It’s not like selling a house or a car; it is a complicated commercial transaction with many intricacies and pitfalls. Not to mention that owners need to keep running their businesses in the process. Let a business broker use their expertise to sell your business, while you focus on running it and keeping it in tip-top shape.
Here are the top 7 reasons why you should hire a licensed business broker to help with the sale of your business:
1. You deserve to get the best price for your business.
No doubt you have invested extensive amounts of time and money into your business. Maybe you have even built it from the ground up. Your business is an asset and it’s worth money. So, in order to get the best price, you need to know what it’s worth. Business valuation can be a complicated process. However, a business broker has the tools to give you an accurate opinion of market value.
Ultimately the business is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it, but so many business owners have no idea what their business is actually worth. In fact, the majority of owners who sell their business themselves generally sell for less than fair market value. A business broker can help you get the best possible price for your business.
2. The sale of your business needs to be kept confidential.
Keeping the sale of your business confidential is imperative. If it becomes public knowledge that your business is for sale, you risk sales suffering, losing accounts, or employees jumping ship. You will be an easy target for your competitors to start using this knowledge against you as well. It is very important that when you list your business for sale that it retains all of its customers, employees and revenue. It needs to be at its peak performance to attract good buyers and the highest possible price.
Business brokers know how to successfully market businesses confidentially. They will also screen potential buyers. Furthermore, they will have every person who requests more information about your business sign a confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement, to ensure that they keep the details private.
3. You need to keep focused on running your business.
You are the expert at running your business and a business broker is the expert at selling your business. In order to attract the best buyers and get top dollar for your business, it needs to be running efficiently. It also needs to be financially healthy. Many business owners list their businesses for sale and mentally and physically "check out." However, this is the worst thing an owner can do, because the business needs to be at the top of it’s game while it is for sale.
Owners who choose to attempt to sell their business without help often get bogged down in the complicated and time-consuming aspects of a sale. They face various obstacles such as transactional problems, a mountain of paperwork, financing issues, and buyer challenges. It’s impossible to do a good job running your business when trying to handle all of those demanding and time-sensitive things. Working together with a business broker as a team is the key to a smooth sale process.
4. Business brokers know where and how to successfully market your business to potential buyers.
Business brokers have the latest sales and marketing tools available to them that make the businesses they list sell faster and attract a higher quality buyer. For example, a business broker should market your business on numerous global websites, they use digital marketing, webpage ads, business brokerage listing services, the local and state level multiple listing service for businesses, direct mail and email campaigns, and market directly to their existing database of buyers.
5. Business brokers have an extensive database of buyers already looking to purchase.
Buyers who are looking for businesses to purchase also work with business brokers. Because of that, business brokers have an extensive database of buyers who are actively looking to purchase a business. Your business might be the perfect fit for a buyer that a business broker is already working with or has spoken to in the past. Many investors aren’t in a hurry to purchase a business, and they will often wait for the right opportunity to become available. Business brokers have the connections to these investors and can market your business directly to them.
6. The sale process is not often straightforward and business brokers can help with the details and the paperwork.
The amount of paperwork involved in selling a business can be overwhelming. A business purchase requires a tremendous amount of coordination and document gathering.
The data you'll need to give to the buyer to evaluate your business, the documentation required to close a deal, and the overall chasing that must be done between buyer/seller and their professional advisors, can be astounding. A good broker will be an enormous help in letting you know what to gather and putting all of it together.
They will even provide you with the standard purchase contract paperwork, as well as create the Confidential Business Review (CBR). The CBR will be distributed to prospective buyers as part of the marketing package. Any savvy buyer will be expecting to get all of this key information.
7. You will dramatically improve your chances of sale completion with professional support.
It is estimated that 75% of businesses for sale never actually sell. Getting the business under contract is the easy part of the process. Actually getting it to the closing table is the challenge. There is a list of hurdles that can cause complications or result in the loss of a buyer. Buyer Due Diligence, financing, and leases can all be sticking points. However, business brokers can help all parties navigate these elements of the process as smoothly as possible. More importantly, they will know what to do if problems arise and can help minimize issues that do come up. Your chances of completing a sale, and becoming one of the 25% who do sell their business, are vastly improved when you work with a business broker.
It's important to hire the very best business broker for you.
Always remember that not all business brokers were created equal. It's important to get the right one on your side. Work with one who is knowledgable and you feel comfortable with. One who you feel understands your needs and goals. Your business broker should have your best interest at the heart of everything they do. So, find one who really cares about you and your business.