Temecula, California Business Brokers | M&A

Tips for Selling Your Business

Be as cooperative as possible with potential buyers: When presented you with a potential buyer, try to be as cooperative and accommodating as possible. Make an effort to schedule meetings around your potential buyer’s schedule and be open with them. Handling all interactions with your potential buyers in a friendly and cooperative manner will allow them to feel more comfortable and will make the entire negotiation process run more smoothly.

Run your business as you normally would: Experience has shown that while our business brokers are handling the technical aspects of selling your business, it is important that you continue to run your business as usual in order to maintain its market value and prevent competitors from gaining market share. Failing to do so could cause your business’s value to decrease, making it significantly harder to sell.

Remove inventory or equipment that is broken or that will not be involved in the sale: When selling a home, homeowners must get their property into top shape in order to demand top dollar. Our business brokers believe this same principle applies to selling a business. When showing a potential buyer your business, you want to ensure that it is clean and that everything is in good working order. Potential buyers want to be reassured that your business is being properly maintained and that taking over operations will be seamless. If possible, it is also a good idea to remove anything that will not be involved in the sale to prevent any confusion.

Prepare your financial information: At Morgan & Westfield, we recommend preparing your financial information before listing your business for sale. This way you will be equipped to show buyers that your business is profitable and will provide a significant stream of income. By demonstrating your business’s financially producing history, you significantly increase the chances of a successful sale.

Be aware of the terms of your lease agreement: Make sure your lease agreement can be transferred or extended to the person who buys your business. The location of your business is extremely valuable to potential buyers.

Maintain your business’s reputation: Along with running your business normally and maintaining your facilities, it is important to preserve your business’s reputation. Neglecting any aspect of your business that impacts its reputation will cause your business to lose a significant portion of its value.

Be willing to negotiate: When our business brokers facilitate negotiations and advise our clients on negotiation techniques, we always remind them that the deal that is negotiated is the deal that will close. For this reason, it is important to remember that any offer that you receive is just that, an offer. It is not the deal that will be closed on but rather a starting point. Instead of feeling offended by an offer that you may receive, we encourage you to consider it an opportunity to further negotiate a more favorable deal.

Sell your business through an experienced business broker: It has been shown that businesses sold with the assistance of an experienced business broker tend to sell for a higher price than businesses sold by its owner directly. Utilizing the guidance of a professional business broker will ease the process and increase your chances of successfully selling your business.