Are you ready to sell your business?

There are many steps to selling your business whether you use a business broker or sell it on your own. The primary reasons for using a business broker are to maximize your sales price and to help protect you after the transaction is complete, but also that the steps to the transaction should be laid out for you. The broker will help provide pricing, marketing and negotiating. Depending on your broker’s experience, they will help guide you through those steps so that once you have a buyer your transaction has a much better chance of succeeding.

Report preparation – Many sellers want to wait until they have a buyer identified to put together most of the information about their business. One of the most important factors in selling your business is that information is provided quickly so that the buyer can make his decision to move forward as quickly as possible. Current and accurate financial statements are critical to selling your business and maximizing your sales price. Other reports that are required such as equipment, inventory, what your employees do along with their hourly rate/salary, lease information on the property, and there will be additional information/reports needed depending on the industry that you are. Reports need to be clean, neat, easy to follow and presented without a lot of adjustments (can also be interpreted to mean “believable”).

Clean up your business – make it presentable. You only get one shot at a first impression. Clean up the older equipment – make it neat. Much of the battle is that the buyer wants to be proud of his new business; making it look good goes a long way to meeting this goal.

Gather the team – We have a team that we work with to help your transaction succeed: Title Companies, Lenders, Accountants, Attorneys, relationships with government agencies that work with buyers and sellers of businesses.

These examples of preparations for the sale are just a start. Over the years, our Brokerage has developed comprehensive checklists that are continually being improved to help you have the most efficient and easiest transaction possible. Our experience helps guide you toward the most successful transaction. Give us a call if you are thinking about selling in the near future. We are confident our experience will improve maximize your proceeds and simplify your sale process.