You need to take into consideration a lot of things to sell a business successfully. After all, it is a rather complex venture. Moreover, selling your business fast will be even more complex because of the time factor. There are many things to be taken care of, such as enlisting a broker, finding an attorney and an accountant.
Meanwhile, there is the element of profit as well, which depends on the reason and time of the sale, as well as the strength and structure of the business. While many people tell you that it is extremely difficult to make a decent deal for selling your business fast, it may not be the case.
These seven steps will make selling your business fast possible:
Step 1 — Answer the Why
When you tell someone you want to sell your business fast, the first question they will ask you will be why? Try going through the process without having a reason to sell a business with a potential buyer. There may not be much chance of being successful then.
The most common reasons for wanting to sell a business are:
- Retirement
- Illness and death
- Partnership disputes
- Boredom
- Becoming overworked
These are not the right kind of reasons to impress a buyer, though. You are not there to make them feel like you are dumping your burden onto them and making them pay for it as well. Moreover, they will quote a lower price for the business as well in this case.
It is better to sell a business when it is thriving. Make it sound like you are regretful to let go of your business but you have no choice because you are looking for a new adventure and investing in something else. This means you are a passionate person and your business has attractive attributes such as:
- Increasing profits
- A strong customer base
- Consistent income figure
Step 2 — Plan Ahead
When the idea to sell a business introduces itself to you, do not act on it immediately. Take your time and plan first. Playing with the idea for a year or even two years will help you with improving the financial records, customer base, and business structure. This will increase the profits considerably. Moreover, it will keep the business stable, making the transition easier for its new owner as well.
Step 3 — Find out the Value of your Business
This step is extremely crucial in determining the success of your deal. You can only ask for a fair market price and increase the chances of getting it accepted, if you know the correct value of your business. Most of the business owners are unaware of the true value of their business and end up asking either too much or too less.
Asking a big amount of money will diminish your chances of getting a deal while in the opposite scenario, you will sell your business with a loss. Both situations are detrimental for your profits and therefore, you need to consult a professional. There are several business appraisers who are experienced enough to provide an accurate value of your business, helping you come up with a realistic selling price. Moreover, they provide a document as well, which provides credibility to your claim, increasing the chances of selling your business fast.
Step 4 — Hiring a Broker or Going Direct
Now, you will have to make a final decision regarding whether you should sell the business directly or hire a broker to take care of the things for you. The answer to this enigma is rather simple. If you are selling to someone who is trustworthy, such as a family member, then not hiring a broker will be the best solution, as it will save your money.
However, in case, you have to sell it to strangers, a broker can be of immense help. They can take care of the legalities and bargain with the potential buyers while you get the time to ensure the business is going well. Moreover, they will try to maximise the profits as well so their commission increases too. However, you should stay in close contact with the broker, keeping yourself updated on every detail regarding the business deal.
Step 5 —Prepare the Documents
While your broker is busy convincing the buyers to pay the maximum amount of money for your business, you can make sure the task is made easier by providing the necessary paperwork to the potential buyers. Here are some of the important documents you need to assemble to sell a business successfully:
- Financial statements
- Tax returns
- List of items you are selling with the business
- List of contacts involved with supplies and transactions
- Other relevant paperwork, for example, your lease
Also, provide a manual and summary of how the business is operated. Also, make sure that all of the equipment and the general condition of the business are presentable.
Step 6 — Find a Buyer
This is the trickiest step when you are looking to sell your business fast. While you are advised to plan ahead, finding a suitable buyer may take a lot of time. Besides this, you need to be sure the potential buyer is trustworthy. In some cases, the sellers also want to know if the buyer is interested in keeping the business or not. This happens if they are emotionally attached to their business and letting go of it because of some emergency. All of this takes considerable time and then there is the paperwork. All this can make the task of selling your business fast almost impossible.
What you can do, however, is find a trustworthy broker to take care of every detail for you. Also, you can seek buyers at Business Trade Centre. We get over a million views on a monthly basis and are still growing. What could be a better way to find a suitable buyer than this?
