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8 tips to consider when selling your business

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Article Overview: If you are planning on selling your business and your motivation is high, the following tips may help you. Be careful that your desire to sell your business does not come at the expense of making a decision too quickly or indeed being pressured into something you may not normally consider.

8 tips to consider when selling your business

Are you trying to sell your business, and quickly?  Check out these tips as they may help you achieve your goal. 

1. Have a reasonable listing price.
2. Be prepared to negotiate.
3. Have a folder of information readily available for a qualified buyer.
4. Run the business as usual.
5. Make sure the business presents well; give it a "spit and polish."
6. Get a current snapshot of the business financials and keep them up-to-date.
7. Put together a current list of Fixtures, Furniture, and Equipment (FF&E).
8. Consider counting all inventories so the value is known.  This helps the buyer understand the final purchase price and reduces one of the many areas of negotiating a deal.

If you are motivated to sell your business quickly, be careful how you handle each buyer inquiry.  If you disclose too much information too quickly it may result in a lower offer from the buyer.  Additionally, the buyer may sense your urgency, also contributing to a lower offer or in some cases, frightening the buyer away as they may be concerned something is being hidden.

According to the California Association of Business Brokers, it takes about 7 ½ months to sell a business; if it sells.  Once you receive a written offer from the buyer and start the negotiation process, it will take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to close escrow if inventory is included in the sale.  It may take longer if licenses such as alcohol, contractors and other specialties are required.

There are many complexities to selling a business.  Using the services of a qualified business broker can protect you and your business and achieve your goal of selling your business in the shortest time possible for the highest purchase price.

 

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Article Tags: Andrew Rogerson, business, Business broker Sacramento, business escrow, business for sale, business plan, due diligence, exit plan, franchise, franchise for sale, Murphy Business and Financial Sacramento, Sacramento business broker, Sacramento business ownership, sell a business, Sell a business, succession planning



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Re: How to develop sales contacts? - Gary, What kind of products are you selling? Are they something you could sell online? The internet opens up a whole lot of possibilities to generate leads, prospects and eventually customers. You've been given great advice already. The same tips can also apply online as well if you have a website or plan to start selling online. I'm interested to hear about your business and your products. Take Care, Alan
Re: Unsecured Lines of Credit - Hello, creditguru: Thanks for the recommendation. Here are two questions for you that will further help our forum members to make use of your suggestion: 1. How [u:p6n6npsx]does[/u:p6n6npsx] a business establish a strong business credit profile? (Especially small business and home business.) Please provide some tips or guidelines on how to do this effectively. 2. Commercial credit lines can be helpful to a business, but they do require responsible management on the part of the business owner. What tips, recommendations or cautions can you offer to business owners who are considering commercial lines of credit? Thanks. GT :-]
Re: Which is the best for beginners? - Hi Apu, I think one good way for Internet beginners to start is to experiment with selling stuff on eBay. In my own case I began by making a website about Japanese mahjong and then tried selling some mahjong goods on it. It worked! Actually, I remember that before I tried selling mahjong goods I experimented with selling other kinds of thing such as Japanese comics on eBay and things like that. I only got into affiliate marketing later on, and used the money I was making selling goods to fund my experiments with affiliate and network marketing.
Re: Branding Your Business On Facebook: Be Creative - Thanks for the tips, Evan. I just got on Facebook this past week, and am looking for ways to gain exposure to my business. I was already on Twitter and have found this to be a beneficial tool for global exposure. This works for me since my coaching is done over the phone. Great tips! Aneshia
Re: 3 Business Lessons I Learned (and almost missed) - Hello Evan, I watched the video and it was great to listen to your story on how you become a successful entrepreneur! With me, I never wanted to be in business because the thing I most dislike about it is selling. Let's just say that I'm the quiet kind and trying to convince a person to buy isn't really something i enjoy. But now that I'm older, i am more open to it, but I really need to believe in the product or service before I can bravely try to do "selling". I'm also very scared with numbers. The accounting part of managing a business scares me a lot, I am sort of dyslexic but only with numbers. Still, it is great to hear about other people's success. Maybe, if we had something like the Junior Achievement business high school program here, it would have helped me to see the possibility of starting a business. Thanks for sharing your story. I think the lessons you learned makes a lot of sense and I'll try to remember them in case I ever find myself in a business:D


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