There are few business owners willing to announce to their staff or the community at large that they have decided to place their business on the market.
Their concerns about confidentiality are understandable, as some employees may use the impending change as a catalyst to move on, competitors/suppliers might seek to exploit the situation to their advantage, landlords might use the change to amend lease terms, and so on.
The common theme above is “might”. Very rarely do any of these possibilities eventuate, however business brokers are charged with the task of selling a business discretely and at the same time trying to attract would-be buyers from many walks of life. How is it possible to sell a secret?
The two tools most useful to a business broker are a comprehensive database of pre-qualified potential buyers, and the skill in writing an advertisement that fairly represents the business without disclosing its identity. Some sellers will not even allow an industry to be identified, or key words to be used, in an advertisement. Describing a business as a marine manufacturer or owning a tourist icon can send nervous shivers down the spine of a seller, and so other terms must be used.
Buyers are seeking a secure income from an established and well run business, and therefore advertisements concentrate on four main themes:
1. Business type (e.g. manufacturing, service, retail, wholesale etc),
2. Earnings of the owner/s,
3. Price of the business, and
4. General information pertaining to size, location, age and staffing levels.
A well maintained and comprehensive database operated by a business brokerage is a significant and important resource, as it can often generate the name of one or more potential buyers who may be a perfect match for a business. The corollary of course, is for prospective buyers to ensure they are featured appropriately on the database so that this opportunity is available to them. This can be simply achieved by developing a relationship with a reputable business brokerage, like Hallmark Business Sales and getting on their database.
Contact Hallmark Business Sales today for more information.
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