A business broker San Diego is charged with the responsibility of helping you find the right buyers and speed up the sale process. All in all, even when working with an experienced broker, it pays to learn a thing or two about the sale process. By understanding how brokers search for buyers and how they qualify them, you will be more competent to sell your business. Below are the important pieces of information you need to know.
Before advertising
Although maintaining confidentiality is important, it is good to tell your employees and even trusted suppliers, clients, distributors and manufacturers about the sale. This helps build goodwill which would otherwise be lost if they feel you are selling behind their back. You might even find a genuine buyer within this group. Second, you need to come up with a good reason why you want to sell. If your reason is not good, you might even have trouble finding the best business brokers San Diego to work with.
Types of buyers
The second thing you will need to do is to understand the different types of buyers that might come knocking at your door. The buyers fall in three key categories.
- Financial buyers
These are buyers that are interested in the cash flow of your business. They will be interested in investing your business rather than running it. Such buyers will focus more on your financial records. They only invest in healthy businesses. Your business broker San Diego can pitch your business to financial buyers if this is the type of sale you are considering.
- Strategic buyers
These are buyers who want to acquire your business so that it works as part of their own business strategy. This will mostly be people running similar businesses. They can buy your business so as to open a new branch where your business is located. These buyers are normally buyers ready to pay the most for your company. The more your products are aligned to theirs the higher the price they will pay.
- Business insiders
These are the people who know you. They include family, friends and employees. These buyers understand a lot about your business and they often have personal reasons for buying your business. They may pay more than outside financial buyers. However, they are more likely to require capital for the outright purchase.
Qualifying buyers
The golden rule to remember is that not everyone that shows interest in your business has the means to buy it. This is why one of the main duties of business brokers San Diego is to qualify buyers. Below are some tips you should use when qualifying potential buyers:
- Don’t disclose all the details about your business right away.
- Inform buyers of the ballpark figure then assess their reaction.
- Ask about their financial ability to buy your business.
- Know if they have experience owning or running a business
- Remember a desire to buy isn’t an ability to buy
The sale of a business can be overwhelming. This is why you should consider working with a business broker San Diego throughout the process.