While you may have taken all of the necessary steps to prepare your business for sale, like organizing financials and determining your business’s worth, there are still some valuable ways to attract the right buyers you should consider. When your business has taken years to build and make successful, it is important to put in the effort to ensure the sale is smooth and effective. Right before completing an official listing, consider following these steps to sell your business quickly and efficiently but most importantly, to the perfect buyer.
1. Prepare accounting books
As mentioned, the first and most important step before a listing your business is organizing your financials and finding your business’s value. In the process of doing this, be sure to prepare your accounting books. In essence, this means making clear and easy-to-follow documents that will be requested by buyers during the selling process. They want to be able to easily pinpoint your profit margins, equipment, and property values, as well as other intangible assets that give your business its worth.
2. Clean up your business
Whether your business is online or has a storefront, the first impression is vital. It is crucial to make sure you have a clean, neat, and organized business in order to attract the best potential buyer. Your business will not only attract the right buyer but it will look more valuable.
3. Take inventory (and sell/dispose of old equipment)
This goes hand-in-hand with step one. The best and easiest way to clean up your business is to dispose of old inventory. This can be everything from old computers, old storage bins, and even unsold products. In doing this, you can raise some money that can be donated to a local charity which helps your business’s image in the community but and you are also cleaning up the business to make for a smoother transition after the sale. When potential buyers tour the space before making an offer, clutter does not leave the best impression.
4. Strong social media presence
Social media is likely the most accessible and important marketing tool. A strong social media presence is the quickest and easiest way for a potential buyer to grasp your business’s values and history. Social media, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, allows for free branding opportunities, and even a place to share new services and products to customers. Not to mention, a larger following provides a definite vote of confidence in the success of the business, even after ownership has been transferred.
5. Charismatic, trained workforce
Equally, if not more important, is a well-trained and charismatic team. Although loyal to you, loyalty to the success of the business no matter who owns it will do wonders for the selling process. A potential buyer is more likely to purchase (and at a higher value) if they feel your existing management team is reliable. Without the need to re-hire and train, the buyer will not get the sense they will be starting from scratch once they take ownership. Your current team of employees can make the difference in attracting the right buyers.
6. Manage online reviews
As your business continues to grow, even as you prepare it for a sale, encourage customers to leave online reviews. A strong online presence - beyond the one you have crafted on social media - is crucial. Positive online reviews can make all of the difference in separating your business from competitors and demonstrating the customer loyalty you can claim to have, but would otherwise have difficulty displaying.
7. Finalize long-term contracts
If you can negotiate contracts that have served your business well and extend them before your sale, a buyer will likely see that as an advantage to purchasing. The more prepared and organized you can make your business, the more valuable it becomes. When a buyer makes an offer and considers taking ownership of an existing business, there are many unknowns - no matter how prepared they may be or feel. However, by removing some of those unknowns for them, you may just attract that perfect buyer who was previously on the fence.
Are you really interested in finding the right buyer? The professional business brokers at Transworld Business Advisors Houston are experienced in finding the right buyer for every business. With Transworld’s vast network of buyers and sellers, you are more likely to attract the right potential buyers. Listing your business for sale is often private - almost secretive - in the beginning. It is no wonder having the support of a broker makes the process that much easier and simpler, and dare we say, more effective.
If you are ready to put your business up for sale, contact your local experts at Transworld Business Advisors Houston today! Transworld Business Advisors of Houston has 15,000 local buyers and are experienced at selling businesses in every industry.
