Wilmington Business Brokers

Tips for Selling Your Business

In addition to these services, our business brokers also offer advice and support throughout the entire process of selling your business. We make it a point to answer any questions that you may have and offer advice to help you avoid obstacles before you encounter them. One of the ways that we advise you and help you avoid common mistakes is by offering you informative tips along the way. Some common tips that our business brokers give include:

• Continue Business as Usual: As you go through the process of selling your business, be sure to continue running your business’s daily operations as you normally would. This includes: maintaining inventory levels, maintaining all equipment, keeping a good rapport with customers and employees, and remaining fully engaged in all business activities. Failure to run your business normally as you go through the process of selling it can be detrimental to the value of your business.  
• Sell Your Business Discreetly: Tell as few people as possible that your business is for sale. You should even refrain from telling employees too early in the process. This will both protect your privacy and enable you to continue running your business normally. It will also protect your business from opportunistic competitors, thereby protecting the value of your business. Keeping the impending sale of your business discreet will also prevent a significant amount of stress.
• Set a Realistic Price: When you set the asking price for your business, make sure that your expectations are realistic. Make sure that you understand the current market and the fair value of your business. Our business brokers can help you to determine an asking price. Setting the price too low will prevent you from maximizing your profits. But setting the price too high will prevent potential buyers from taking a serious look at your business. It is important to balance these two elements and determine an asking price that is both fair and realistic in the current market.  
• Have Realistic Expectations: Similar to setting a realistic asking price, you must also manage your expectations. If you go into negotiations expecting a buyer to initially pay your full asking price, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Many business owners have struggled to sell their businesses because buyers fell short of their unrealistic expectations. It is important to keep an open mind and be prepared to negotiate. 
• Do Not Take Negotiations Personally: As you go through the negotiation process, remember that this is a business deal for both sides. Just as you want to maximize your profits by selling high, they want to minimize their cost by buying low. You must not be offended by low offers. Instead, our business brokers encourage you to look at any offer (even a seemingly low offer) as an invitation to continue negotiating. Keep in mind, the fact that an offer was made means that the buyer is interested in your business; so just keep negotiating. Taking an offer as a personal insult will hurt the negotiation process and decrease your chances of making a deal. Always remember that the only deal that will close is the negotiated deal — any offers along the way are just steps in the overall negotiation process.
• Be Aware of Your Tax Situation: Depending on how your specific business was incorporated, there are rules that determine your tax status and financing options. Some of these rules can even affect the amount of money that you can make off of the sale of your business. It is important that you consult a tax professional early in the process so that you do not make a deal only to find out that your net profits from the sale are being reduced. 
• Understand Your Lease Agreement: Because a business’s location is an essential part of the equation, potential buyers will likely want to continue operating at its current location if they purchase your business. It is important to ensure that the lease can be transferred to a buyer, or at least extended for a reasonable price so that the new owner will be able to maintain its location. 
• Be Accommodating: When you are working with potential buyers, be as accommodating and as friendly as possible. Make an effort to schedule meetings at times that are convenient for the buyer and provide them with any relevant information that you can (assuming they have signed a non-disclosure agreement). Buyers want to know that your business can produce income for them, and providing them with documentation will alleviate any of their fears. If you take your time in giving them this information or are unaccommodating, they may be concerned that you are hiding something. The entire negotiation process will always go more smoothly if you are able to build a good rapport with your potential buyers.