There are various reasons business owners decide to sell their company. These can range from retirement to finding new opportunities elsewhere. Whatever your reason is for selling your business, here are a few tips that will help ensure that you get the best price out of your sale:
Seek professional help and advice
Selling a company is an incredibly complicated process. It’s also a difficult choice to make if you have strong emotional ties to it. It’s highly recommended that you work with a seasoned business brokerage professional who can guide you through the process, as well as help you maintain objectivity and emotional distance when making decisions. They can be an impartial third party who will try to close the most favorable deal for you. They’ll be able to find and deal with the best prospective buyers for the business and help you through the steps of the sales process.
Evaluate your company’s actual worth
Determining the true cost of what your business will fetch in the marketplace is incredibly important if you want to get the best price out of it. The best way to do so is to hire a professional valuator to do a business evaluation for you. You can also do this yourself, but it won’t be as accurate. Nevertheless, if you can’t afford to hire a professional, you can always figure out your company’s worth by analyzing economic trends, the current market, and what other similar businesses have sold for.
Sell your business at the appropriate time
Don’t wait until you’re too sick or too old to run a business to decide to sell it. This is quite possibly the worst time to do so considering you’ll be adding too much stress onto yourself. Potential buyers may see your condition and possibly use this against you. The best time to sell is when you’re still healthy enough to and when your business is still doing well. Buyers are more inclined to buy a business if you’re only selling it because you’re interested in a new business opportunity or if you’re retiring.
Determine the business’ assets
It’s important to be specific about what you’re offering to potential buyers. If you don’t know exactly what your business’ assets are, you could end up getting less money than what your business is actually worth. Do a thorough check-up on your business and figure out what assets you can and have to sell. These assets can include trademarks, client lists, goodwill, and physical assets. If your company is incorporated, you might want to decide whether you’re selling your company as an asset sale or a share sale.
Fix up your business
As with anything you’re trying to sell, you need to make sure your business shows well. That means keeping things in tip-top shape such as by stocking inventory, maintaining the premises, and updating business records. You’ll want potential buyers to see that you’re offering them a thriving business and not one that has fallen by the wayside.
Making the decision to sell your business is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth by following these easy tips.
