What Buyers Are Really Looking For In a Business

One of the key elements to successfully selling your business is understanding what buyers are looking for as part of their due diligence. Typically, buyers will employ accountants and attorneys to look at financial and legal issues. But the savvy buyer will also be looking behind the curtain to uncover any skeletons in the closet. Business owners who anticipate these questions and inquiries will be a step ahead. If you’re getting ready to sell your business, here are four major areas where you can and should anticipate buyers to look very closely: Finances A qualified, savvy buyer is looking for companies that have monthly financial statements and annual financials prepared on a timely basis. They are looking at bank credit lines and if a bank or creditor has issued any kind of credit watch on the company. Timely bill paying and checking the gross margins for the past several years will also give a potential buyer a clearer picture of how the company has handled … [Read more...]

Are You Really Ready to Sell?

Many business owners may logically acknowledge that it’s time to sell. And while they may know it’s time to sell, they may not be emotionally ready for what selling their business means. Selling a business affects every aspect of your life including finances, time, identity, and purpose. Sellers who are not emotionally ready to sell can inadvertently undermine the selling process. In our years of working with business owners, we’ve discovered that even sellers who feel they are not emotionally attached to their business can be caught off guard during the selling process. It’s often wise to step back and examine feelings in three specific areas. Employees Business owners often form long-term, close friendships with employees. While this loyalty is admirable and creates a wonderful company culture, it can allow emotions to interfere during the selling process. Are you overly concerned with future outcomes for your staff members? Are you worried about breaking up your team and … [Read more...]

Avoiding Deal Breakers During a Sale

Selling a business or buying a business can be an extremely stressful, tension filled journey. The last thing anyone wants is to have the deal end up falling through. Fortunately, arming yourself with a competent team of professionals and the right mindset can go a long way to ensuring a deal goes through. The right set of professionals includes a professional business broker/M&A specialist, the right attorney, and an accountant. Both the attorney and accountant should have previous experience in M&A sales and should be deal oriented. All parities should have the end goal of making a deal in mind and should not be constantly looking for reasons why the deal won’t work. No one likes surprises, so it’s essential for buyers and sellers to be up front from the start. Surprises are all but inevitable in a deal so being patient and staying at the table to work things out is key. Novice buyers and sellers often panic when unknown information comes to light, but a professional … [Read more...]

Maintaining Confidentiality During a Sale

One of every seller’s biggest concerns during the sale of a company is maintaining confidentiality. Understandably, sellers do not want the word to get out that the company is for sale until the business is sold. Potential leaks could affect employee status, customer loyalty, and revenue. When handled properly by a qualified business broker, leaks are rarely a concern. Nevertheless, a seller should take certain precautions to avoid any potential leaks and subsequent problems. Here are a few precautions that can be taken to reduce risks during the selling process: Enlist the help of a business broker to ensure each potential buyer signs a confidentiality agreement. Business brokers will also make sure potential buyers are qualified to avoid unnecessary questions from unqualified buyers. Keep in mind that more buyer inquiries can lead to more potential confidentiality breaches. Reduce the timeline between going to market and closing by gathering all necessary information for … [Read more...]

Reasons Why Now Is the Time to Sell Your Company

Selling a business represents a major financial and emotional decision that most business owners will face some day. Often, it can be hard to discern when it’s the right time to sell. Sometimes business owners move to sell too quickly and are left with remorse and no idea what they will do next. Other times, waiting for the perfect time to sell can result in selling a company too late. Although every business owner has their own timeline, here are a few indicators that now is the right time to sell: Emergency circumstances such as a divorce, illness, disability, or loss of partnership may necessitate a quick sale. Unfortunately, a forced sale can reduce the sale price of a company if proper planning wasn’t in place before the emergency. There is no one to inherit the company. If daughters or sons show no interest in running the business and have moved on, business owners need to consider selling when it’s time to retire. If an owner receives a purchase offer out of the … [Read more...]

Understanding Buying and Selling a Business from the Other Side of the Table

When it comes to the process of buying and selling a business, there’s the sellers side and the buyers side of the deal. Because selling a business can be a lengthy process, it’s helpful for buyers and sellers to be knowledgeable about each other’s perspectives. Many sellers are too removed from the risk they took when first starting or buying their own business. Many buyers fail to recognize that there are legitimate reasons an owner might be selling that don’t always include a struggling or failing business. Statistics show that only about one out of 15 would-be business buyers will actually buy a business. This is probably for good reason. Buying a business can be a large financial risk for potential buyers and can often include leaving a stable job for the more uncertain waters of business ownership. From the buyer’s perspective, there are many factors that go into the decision to purchase a business. There is the need to research the company for sale. This includes reviewing … [Read more...]

Don’t Save Due Diligence Until It’s Time To Sell

When it comes to the process of buying and selling a business, there’s the sellers side and the buyers side of the deal. Because selling a business can be a lengthy process, it’s helpful for buyers and sellers to be knowledgeable about each other’s perspectives. Due diligence is typically performed by the buyer during the process of selling a business. Due diligence is the thorough process of examining a business to see if what you see is what you get with the purchase. Because of the critical nature of due diligence, current business owners and future business sellers may be wise to consider incorporating their own due diligence as part of their annual business review. Why would a business owner want to go to the trouble of performing due diligence on their own company? There are a couple reasons for this. The first is that business owners may find themselves in a situation where they need to sell the business quickly due to unexpected circumstances or an offer from a buyer. If … [Read more...]

Want to Sell Your Business Quickly? Make Sure You Price It Right

Recent studies indicate that the average business takes 8-12 months to sell. While this may seem like a long time to a business owner, this is the best-case scenario. Unfortunately, businesses that are overpriced in the beginning often take longer than average to sell. Even if your business is appropriately priced, having unreasonable or undesirable terms can also ward off potential buyers. There are a variety of factors that go into pricing a business correctly. Seller’s discretionary earnings are often used to price a small business. Seller’s discretionary earnings are the earning of a business before the following items: Income taxes Nonrecurring income and expenses Non-operating income and expenses Depreciation and amortization Interest expense or income Owner’s total compensation for one owner/operator, after adjusting the total compensation of all other owners to market value Once a seller’s discretionary earnings are calculated, a multiplier is added to … [Read more...]

Is Seller Financing Right For Your Business Sale?

In BizBuySell’s 2014 nationwide survey of business brokers, nearly half said that over 60 percent of their closed sales included seller financing. Business owners are often reluctant to offer seller financing when it comes time to sell their business. But in our many years of business brokerage, we have seen positive results for both the seller and buyer when seller financing is offered. Often potential buyers don’t have the cash on hand, are reluctant to use all of their capital, or are unable to borrow the money. In these cases, it’s obvious why seller financing would benefit the buyer. But what’s in it for the seller? Sellers often have concerns that buyers will be unsuccessful at running the business. In our experience, a carefully crafted deal with the help of an experienced business broker can offer protection for the seller and other advantages as well. Following are 5 key reasons to consider seller financing. Seller financing shows potential buyers that the seller is … [Read more...]

Choosing the Right Business Broker to Sell Your Business

For many business owners, selling their business represents the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication. Whether the reason for the sale is to fund a retirement or simply to move on to the next venture, sellers need a team of professionals ensuring the most successful outcome. Because selling a business typically represents a significant investment of time (the average business takes 6 months-3 years to sell), it’s crucial to select a business broker who can successfully represent your best interests. When it’s time to sell, it’s important to look at the following qualifications when choosing a business broker. 1. Marketing Strategy The best business broker will emphasize finding the right buyer and pre-qualifying buyers over selling a business to anyone with the financing. The best match for selling your business in NJ and the Tri-State Area, will also be a broker with experience selling businesses of the same scope or industry as yours. Understanding your … [Read more...]