Selling a house is hard enough, but selling a business can feel impossible. Unless you ran a commercial real estate business, you probably don’t know the first thing about selling your company for a profit. It’s important that you know what to do and what not to do. Try to avoid these mistakes so you can secure your sale and walk away happy.
Don’t Get Greedy
Finding the right selling price is perhaps the most challenging component of selling a business. If you set your price too high, you will discourage legitimate leads who aren’t willing to shell out such a high figure. Bidding too low, on the other hand, will rob you of your profit margin and put you at risk of breaking even – or worse. Finding your sweet spot for pricing is largely based on the size of your business, your context behind selling, the industry, and the local market.
Don’t Ignore Marketing
Just like homeowners need to carefully clean and stage their homes for listing pictures and open house events, as a business owner you need to promote your company to make it appealing to potential buyers. You cannot expect your broker to do all of the work! Put effort into marketing the positive aspects of your business and all of its potential.
Don’t Sell On a Whim
The devil is in the details, right? It is essential to plan ahead and schedule to sell your business within a reasonable time frame. Going into your sale without preparation, or waiting too long to approve a buyer, can have many negative consequences. With a bit of long-term planning, you can be sure that all of your information, records, and paperwork are updated and prepared if you unexpectedly stumble upon the perfect buyer. (more…)