Selling your business is a major step to take, and you want to approach it with all the information that you can gather and every tool available. There are a number of reasons why you may be looking to move on from your current project, and it’s important to put in the work to fully explore your business’ sales potential. You’ve built something special, and determining the exact dollar value of your company can be tricky without an experienced eye for this type of work. Luckily, there are a number of options available to you that can help both speed up the process as well as ensure that you understand the maximum potential value of your business so you can plan your sale accordingly. One of the most valuable tools available to anyone looking to sell their business is a business broker. These trained professionals work with you throughout the sale process, including:
- Assessing the value of your business and its assets
- Marketing it to potential buyers
- Investigating potential buyers to ensure viability
- Negotiating the sale and more.
Selling a business can be a long, drawn-out process that takes 8 to 10 months to complete on average. That number continues to climb as the buying and selling landscape continues to shift due to market changes, swings in inflation, evolving needs, and more. Each sale is different, and factors out of your control can inflate the time it takes to complete a sale. However, there are also numerous steps you can take to minimize the risk of unnecessary delays and ensure that you move as efficiently as possible.
What Steps Should You Take When Preparing to Sell Your Business?
Everything from collecting the necessary tax and financial documents, handling inbound questions and requests, screening potential buyers to ensure that you’re working with qualified partners and more can be major time sinks if not prioritized. When working with a reliable business broker, all of these tasks can be handled by a trained professional, leaving you free to manage the important work you still do at your organization.
Staying on top of these changes, including the changing definition of what’s considered “best practices,” is effectively a full-time job — something you may not have the ability to handle while also running your business. Just like any potential business partner, the right broker can not only assist in the execution of your goals but also elevate the value of your plans. Your business is exceptional: a core part of the sales process is convincing other people just how valuable it is and will continue to be once it changes hands. While you may have a person or department in charge of convincing potential customers or prospective clients to use your product or services, marketing the overall value of your business is an entirely different beast to tackle.
How Can a Business Broker Help Position Your Business for Sale?
An experienced business broker understands who to tailor your marketing plans to appeal to when crafting the marketing strategy ahead of a sale.
Understanding the Target Demographic
First, they work with you to understand the ins and outs of your business — who you serve, your expected growth potential, key pillars, etc. — in order to paint the right kind of picture and court the right kinds of buyers. From there, your broker works with you to create a marketing plan that highlights the most valuable aspects of your business and ensures that information reaches the right people.
Knowing Where To Find Buyers
Access to a quality buyer network is another major benefit when working with a qualified broker. Just like you know how to find the right customers who need your services, an experienced broker will know where to start looking when seeking potential buyers.
A business broker might have access to associations with buyers, such as:
- Industry-Specific Networks
- Industry-Specific Trade Publications
- Business Broker Networks
- Online Business Marketplaces
- Investor Groups and Private Equity Firms
A key part of this is knowing where to find multiple potential buyers — with more than one hat in the ring, the chances of boosting the asking price rise exponentially.
Putting Together a Sales Package
When selling a business, a sales package might include documentation like profit and loss statements, tax returns, and balance sheets. Details about the company’s operations, assets, intellectual property, and market position are important, too, as they give investors a top to bottom idea of the company’s power.
Then they take the growth potential, competitive advantages, and industry trends, and put it all together in a presentation (often called a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) or Business Summary Package). When you’re thinking, “It’s time to sell my business in Houston, TX,” working with an experienced and qualified broker can help you put together a comprehensive and enticing sales package that can lead to a significantly higher payout than you could achieve on your own. With more than 40 years of experience completing business sales, IBEX Middle Market Business Brokers has closed more than 400 deals and continues to provide excellent and trustworthy service to our clients.
Final Thoughts: Getting the Maximum Value With a Business Broker
Whether you are in the initial planning stages of selling your business or if you have a clear plan in mind, a business broker can help you define and refine your sales pitch to ensure that you get what your life’s work is truly worth.
