Top Tips For Selling Your Business
Top Tips For Selling Your Business
* Ensure that you have good legal and financial advice from someone experienced in the process of selling a business. Your local City or County Enterprise Board, Leader Company or Enterprise Ireland may be able to direct you towards suitable experts.
* Focus your advertising spend bearing in mind your target audience and what they are likely to read. Advertising in national newspapers can be very expensive while advertising in trade media and local media can yield good (if limited) results. Advertising on online portals, such as thebusinessshop.ie, opens up your business opportunity to a national and international audience of serious prospects.
* When advertising online, remember that potential purchasers are looking through long lists of possible business opportunities on screen. The title of your ad and a short description is what they will see first. Make sure you grab their attention and sell the future potential of the business in those few short sentences so that they read your ad in detail. Highlight unique aspects of your product or service and if it is a “lifestyle” business, sell the dream!
* Profile the kind of person who would be most likely to buy your business so that you can make a call on whether or not people who respond to your ad are likely to be serious.
* Filter out time-wasters early. Have a short list of pertinent questions prepared for them at the first interview to see if they are serious about purchasing your business. Ask your accountant and legal advisor for assistance with this. Prepare a process in advance so that if discussions do not progress beyond a certain point you can politely withdraw and concentrate on more serious prospects.
* Be prepared before you place your ad so that you can respond quickly. Put together two Company Information Packs 1) A summary overview with topline information such as company history, mission statement, description of what is special or unique about what you do, list of products/services, percentage growth year on year, key accounts held, patented technology or proprietary processes, awards or other industry recognitions and your assessment of the opportunities for future growth. Do not go into too much detail, this is just a taster document and you don’t want to give away commercially sensitive information at this early stage. 2) Produce a more detailed pack covering all of the above but also including additional information such as customer testimonials, sectors serviced, financial history (independently audited) and financial projections. Pack 1 should be presented to interested parties early on in the process once they have been vetted to ensure that they are bona fide potential purchasers. Pack 2 should be presented to parties who have progressed past the initial enquiry stage and have been thoroughly vetted by you.
* Ensure both parties sign a non-disclosure agreement if discussions are progressing in a serious direction.
* Research the purchaser carefully. If a business, checkout their website and company information and it may be worth while attempting to access their accounts through the Company’s Registration Office in Dublin Castle. If you are progressing discussions, ask for references from trade, accountant and bank sources.
* Be careful with giving out too much commercial information at an early stage in the process.
* Don’t give out your customer list or supplier list until very certain that a deal is imminent.
* Be aware that the process can take quite a long time from initial enquiry to completion of sale.
* You built up this business yourself, selling it can be an emotional roller-coaster. Be prepared for this and try to stay calm and focused on the end game!
For more information contact johnryan@thebusinessshop.ie // johnahern@thebusinessshop.ie
Top Tips For Selling Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit John Ryan's Website.
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Contributed by the business-owners who have placed ads on www.thebusinessshop.ie and successfully gone through the process of selling a business.
* Ensure that you have good legal and financial advice from someone experienced in the process of selling a business. Your local City or County Enterprise Board, Leader Company or Enterprise Ireland may be able to direct you towards suitable experts.
* Focus your advertising spend bearing in mind your target audience and what they are likely to read. Advertising in national newspapers can be very expensive while advertising in trade media and local media can yield good (if limited) results. Advertising on online portals, such as thebusinessshop.ie, opens up your business opportunity to a national and international audience of serious prospects.
* When advertising online, remember that potential purchasers are looking through long lists of possible business opportunities on screen. The title of your ad and a short description is what they will see first. Make sure you grab their attention and sell the future potential of the business in those few short sentences so that they read your ad in detail. Highlight unique aspects of your product or service and if it is a “lifestyle” business, sell the dream!
* Profile the kind of person who would be most likely to buy your business so that you can make a call on whether or not people who respond to your ad are likely to be serious.
* Filter out time-wasters early. Have a short list of pertinent questions prepared for them at the first interview to see if they are serious about purchasing your business. Ask your accountant and legal advisor for assistance with this. Prepare a process in advance so that if discussions do not progress beyond a certain point you can politely withdraw and concentrate on more serious prospects.
* Be prepared before you place your ad so that you can respond quickly. Put together two Company Information Packs 1) A summary overview with topline information such as company history, mission statement, description of what is special or unique about what you do, list of products/services, percentage growth year on year, key accounts held, patented technology or proprietary processes, awards or other industry recognitions and your assessment of the opportunities for future growth. Do not go into too much detail, this is just a taster document and you don’t want to give away commercially sensitive information at this early stage. 2) Produce a more detailed pack covering all of the above but also including additional information such as customer testimonials, sectors serviced, financial history (independently audited) and financial projections. Pack 1 should be presented to interested parties early on in the process once they have been vetted to ensure that they are bona fide potential purchasers. Pack 2 should be presented to parties who have progressed past the initial enquiry stage and have been thoroughly vetted by you.
* Ensure both parties sign a non-disclosure agreement if discussions are progressing in a serious direction.
* Research the purchaser carefully. If a business, checkout their website and company information and it may be worth while attempting to access their accounts through the Company’s Registration Office in Dublin Castle. If you are progressing discussions, ask for references from trade, accountant and bank sources.
* Be careful with giving out too much commercial information at an early stage in the process.
* Don’t give out your customer list or supplier list until very certain that a deal is imminent.
* Be aware that the process can take quite a long time from initial enquiry to completion of sale.
* You built up this business yourself, selling it can be an emotional roller-coaster. Be prepared for this and try to stay calm and focused on the end game!
For more information contact johnryan@thebusinessshop.ie // johnahern@thebusinessshop.ie
Top Tips For Selling Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit John Ryan's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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