Selling a business is a huge decision both for your finances and your lifestyle. In order to exit with the cash you need for retirement, it’s important for you to get top dollar for the sale of your company.
When you work alone, that can be very hard to do. After all, it’s hard to advertise your business to qualified buyers when you don’t have a network of contacts that have already been vetted. You also most likely don’t have knowledge of what other businesses are on the market and what they’re selling for.
You may have very little information on how to value your business. And if you run a service sector business, you may have little to no idea what it could be worth.
Fortunately, hiring a business broker can solve all of these problems for you and several others. Read on to learn more.
1. A Broker Can Assess Your Business
Trying to figure out what your business is worth involves a complex valuation process. Not only are the comparable businesses to look at, but you also have to assess your assets and workforce for profitability
Business brokers are very familiar with the marketplace and can help you position your company as a unique and profitable offering.
2. Brokers Can Negotiate Well
As your business brokerage, we represent your interests. Negotiating a deal that makes the most sense for you is our number one priority.
We will start by going over our strategy for selling your company – from creating a valuation to estimating your cashflow. We will then use these figures to demonstrate the value of your business to potential buyers, using facts to create favorable terms.
If we find that potential buyers are having trouble envisioning themselves running your business, we listen to their needs and strategize a way they could position the company to work for them.
3. Brokers Have Large Confidential Networks
When a business brokerage takes on a new listing, they don’t just post about it in the newspaper. It’s important to maintain the confidentiality of your listing until the business is ready to go public with the sale.
This level of secrecy can make it difficult for you to find a buyer for your business within your network. Working with a brokerage allows your listing to reach more qualified eyes without risking revealing too many details.
4. A Broker Can Save Your Deal
If you’ve got all the way to the negotiation phase of a contract with a potential buyer, that’s great. You’re a lot farther than most will ever get on their own. But, there are still a ton of things that can go wrong at the end of the process.
Have you thought about how you’re going to preserve your workforce? Have you told your employees about the shift? What about your clients and customers? Will the deal be all cash? Have they valued your business properly?
Navigating the final phases of a business sale can often be more than half of the work I do on a listing. Just because you have someone on the hook who is interested in buying your company, doesn’t mean the sale is going to go through without a great deal of work. If you’re noticing that your buyer seems less sure of the deal or if you don’t think the opportunities on the table are what you’re looking for, contact us at Dolan Sales as soon as possible. We can help you negotiate the best terms for your business
I appreciate the detail in this article. Well written and too the point!
Thank you. Bob
I really do appreciate the level of knowledge that you bring to the table with well written articles like this, thank you!
Thank you. Bob