You only get one shot at appealing to your potential buyer, so follow these key steps to ensure that
Good advertising can transform the fortunes of your business sale, increasing your exposure to buyers, showing off the very best features of your business and potentially improving the final selling price of your business.
In any form of ‘big ticket’ sale process, whether it’s a boat, a bungalow or a business, the asking price and selling timeframe are at odds with one another. Price the business too high, and it will sit on the market for potentially years while you wait for a seller. Price the business too low, and you’ll risk selling the business at a less-than-ideal offer. The time to conduct the research on asking prices is not when you’re half-way through your advertising term; it’s now.
How realistic is your selling schedule? Are you giving yourself enough time to get the business sold? You might think that your business will fly off the shelf in a matter of days, but in reality the market moves at its own pace, and it can take weeks for a new buyer to complete their due diligence procedures, apply for finance and sign on the dotted line. In 90% of cases, it takes at least 8 weeks to sell a business; if you think you can sell your business faster than the average seller, try to quantify precisely why you think this. Is your asking price below average? Have you got certified trading information ready to go out to potential buyers? Is your solicitor queued up and ready to do the necessary?
You have an instinctive working knowledge of your own business – this can make it hard to express exactly how and why the business works so well, and why it’s worth what you’re asking.
Try to offer tangible information, such as specifics on shop frontage and proximity to local hotspots such as tourist attractions and train stations. If it’s a hospitality business, such as a restaurant or hotel, then capacity is important; make sure you explain how many letting rooms and/or restaurant covers your business has. Try to include some basic financial information such as profit margins and weekly takings. Mention any awards you have won, or good reviews on online ratings sites.
Now is not the time to be bashful about your business achievements. This is a selling process and you have to treat it as such – you must put your ‘best foot forward’.
A photo is more than a visual description – it’s a window into the buyer’s future. The buyer should be able to look at a photo of your business and imagine themselves ‘behind the counter’ of your business.
If your advertisement contains typos and sloppy grammar, you risk leaving potential buyers with the impression that you are careless or amateur in your business dealings, which can be extremely off-putting to a new owner.
Thinking of selling confidentially? You’re not alone: hundreds of sellers on Daltons Business choose to advertise their business for sale without revealing the precise location, photo or trading name of the business. In some cases, this approach is wise; the employees, competitors and customers might not be aware of the sale, and you might want to keep it that way until a contract is signed.
One of the primary benefits of advertising on a business for sale site like Daltons is the 'niche interest' traffic that it attracts; few unqualified people ‘stumble across’ your advertisement, because our website is exclusively of interest to business buyers and sellers. If someone isn’t in the market for a business for sale, it’s unlikely that they’ll see your advertisement.
There's plenty of time to go into detail later on. Once the buyer has made contact with you, you can discuss the specifics of your business for sale directly in person or over email.
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