While you may sell your home several times in your life, most people will never sell a business. That’s why the process remains so darkly shadowed and difficult to navigate.
While there are hundreds of thousands of real estate agents who can give you advice on what color to paint your property, how to arrange the furniture in your home, and what plants to have in your yard to close a deal, there are few business brokers who have the knowledge to advise you on selling a company.
That’s why it’s important to get the help of a broker when you create your business listing. They can help you get your listing in front of the right audience using these strategies.
1. Create a Thorough and Professional Digital Presentation
Whether or not someone discovers your business through an online listing, having a well-designed digital presentation will be very helpful for selling your company.
Today, we have many different ways of presenting facts and figures in digital presentations. When your company’s information is organized in an easy to read and digestible format, you will be more likely to get an offer.
A brokerage will help you break down the information about your company into digestible chunks and present it in a format that attracts buyers.
2. Include Accurate Figures
If you post your business listing with inaccurate figures, it can be filtered out by search databases. If you want your listing to reach the right people, you need to make sure all of the numbers are accurate.
That means:
- Include accurate valuation figures
- Include information on properties and assets included with purchase
- Set an asking price for your business
A business broker can help you decide what these figures should be and talk to you about how much more information to include in your advertisement to encourage the interest of buyers.
3. Take High-Quality Photos
Even if your business isn’t particularly attractive to look at, including photos will help buyers get a better sense of your company.
Try to capture some on-the-job photos of your employees in action so that buyers will be able to visualize themselves at the helm of your business. You should also include images of all of the properties that your company uses.
4. Consider Creating a Video
Depending on what kind of business you run, creating a marketing video can be a great way to get the attention of buyers and keep it.
Consider hiring a team to put together some footage of your staff in action. You will also need to hire a scriptwriter, photographer, and director to create an attention-grabbing piece of content. This step is particularly important for technology companies and other businesses where buyers may have difficulty seeing the value on the surface.
5. Share Your Listing on Social Media
While many business owners don’t want to reveal the fact that they are selling until the last minute, your business broker can share your listing on social media without giving away the fact that it’s your company.
By working with someone who has your interest at heart, you can maximize the exposure of your business listing while limiting the potential fallout of competitors finding out about your sale too soon.
6. Add Your Listing to Databases with High-Quality Traffic
There are several different databases and directories for listing businesses for sale. By posting your listing in the right places, you ensure that the people viewing your ad are qualified potential buyers.
A business broker will know exactly where and when to share an ad about your business and know how much information to include.
7. Turn to a Business Broker
Trying to find a buyer for your business without the help of a business broker is an uphill battle. Although you may have built your business from the bottom up, the sales process is still foreign to most owners.
Make sure you engage a qualified business broker to help with the sale of your business. While it may cost a small percentage of your profits, it will help you have a more controlled and easy to navigate sale process.