Why would I use a broker to sell my business?

There are many reasons to use a business broker and every day I get reluctance on why I am not needed to assist in the sale of the business.

While some people are successful at selling their own business many times you do not hear about the problems that were encountered either during or especially after the sale and many times the business was really just an asset sale of a very small business.

Most businesses have so much at stake and mistakes can be very costly that we can justify our fees and there have been many times that I have gotten the seller more than what they actually had anticipated.

1. Confidentiality

The number 1 reason to use a business broker is confidentiality.

From personal experience I have seen customers stop paying or frequenting a business or employees quit! If this happens this adversely affects your business. I have seen bartenders take the clients after they have found out the business was for sale, contractors that have not gotten paid when their sub-contractors found out they were selling, vendors that have told other restaurants that a business was selling and every single competitor that finds out will use that to their advantage.

All of these circumstances can adversely affect the sale of a business and can greatly diminish the value of your business. I have a proven method to confidentially market your business, qualify potential buyers and making sure that it is not your competitor trying to find out who is for sale.

2. Evaluation – Don’t leave money on the table

How much should I ask for my business? There are so many factors that are dependent on this and rarely are sellers very close on what they should be asking. On smaller businesses too often I see a seller asking too much for their business and of course it does not sell and the seller ends up just closing the doors due to the inability to find a buyer but there are many cases on the other end of the spectrum as well. I have recently sold several businesses for over 150% of what the seller had anticipated on getting. Sometimes this is due to the demand for a certain business, improper record keeping and sometimes a seller just wants out.

After a proper evaluation which includes a proper presentation package and even re-creating a sales log or financials can we truly attract the right buyer for the business as showing a P&L or tax returns is just not doing you justice. Sometimes training an employee, a slight restructure or the company is also needed but after an in depth consult we will pinpoint any issues and all of the positives that your business really has.

3. Business Continuity

The average business that actually sells takes about 9 months. Qualifying 10’s or 100’s of potential buyers is very time consuming and many times a single buyer can take hours out of any single day going over the particulars of a business or industry. When you start to factor in the time and money that you spend trying to find a buyer you may have lost out on sales or neglected other aspects of your business when in fact you should be concentrating on building your business and making sure that business as usual is happening. Many buyers are very astute and can recognize lapses in your business and will make sure to discount your business because of that.

Let us handle the marketing and you focus on doing what you do best and that is run your business.

4. Marketing

I am here to provide maximum exposure at no cost to you. We have dedicated telemarketers, mailing campaigns, we are on dozens of websites, we have a large network of current buyers from other states and many other countries as well as access to over 1,000 other business brokers that I will market your business to so you can be assured that if someone is looking for a business like your we will find them!

5. Legal protection

I have seen a recent study that shows nearly 25% of all closed business transactions are ending in litigation. This can be from improper contracts, buyers will sue if they feel that they were lied to or if they feel like they did not receive what was expected or any other reason. To protect yours interests in any type of lawsuit is very costly.

Our process is to prevent any lawsuits through education and documentation. Although there are no guarantees to prevent a lawsuit I have protected sellers when a claim has come up that has prevented litigation and even mediators siding with my seller.

As you can see there are many reasons to use the right business broker.

Feel free to comment, post any questions or experiences that you may have had and I look forward to working with you.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@InfinityBusinessBrokers.com