When you build a business from scratch, of course, you do not think about selling it.
This is correct, because you need to think positively and do not look so far into the future.
But no businessman is insured from the moment when a ready-made start-up has to be put up for auction.
It's not so scary, although it may seem like something terrible at first glance.
It's important to just know how to sell a business with the maximum benefit of .
This will help you in a short time to become the owner of a large amount of money, and yet - not to fall for the bait of scammers, which in our time has divorced a great many.
When to think how to sell a ready business?
Businessmen are sometimes very difficult to part with the business that they have been building for so long.
I'm not talking about bankruptcy of a company when it is taken away for debts, or other extreme situations.
I'm talking about sales now.
For some reason it's much easier for Western entrepreneurs to decide how to sell their business than domestic ones, and even if everyone literally screams that it's time to do something, the businessman will most likely pull to the last, hoping for a miracle.
This is not right!
Note the signals and in time decide on the sale in order to get the maximum profit for your company.
To sell your ready business you need when:
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You do not feel the former enthusiasm, doing your own thing.
Earlier you burned, constantly invented new ways to build up the client base, and looked for ways to develop. Now you catch yourself thinking that you are doing everything by force. Perhaps it makes sense to look for another lesson for yourself.
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The company does not have a proper financial return.
The profit has become much more modest. And you constantly do not have enough working capital. There is no money to invest in the development of business, you have to constantly save on everything, etc.
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You do not have a team.
One - in the field is not a warrior. This truth is true not only for military operations, but also for entrepreneurship. We need a team of specialists who will help development, and we can not get it together.
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There are a number of commercial reasons.
For example:
- , you started to lose your market share and do not know how to get them back;
- there is a large leak of customers;
- lost the sales channel, which gave the majority of the profits, etc.
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You have another interesting case.
It is to him that you give all the forces, and this business simply does not have enough time, and there is no great desire to engage in it.
Even if there are good reasons, entrepreneurs are afraid to sell the business, trying to find another way out of the situation, for example, put a good manager at the head or take anti-crisis measures.
You can try, of course, but if you are not the first month trying to get out of the crisis, and you can not do it in the first place, you should not pull it with the sale.
How to sell a business: the beginning of the road
So you made the final decision about what you need to sell with a business by selling, but do not know where to start.
Do not immediately write an ad and put the firm to the auction.
It is necessary to pass the preparatory period, so that later it would be much easier to sell your business.
a) 3 steps to be taken before selling a business
If a businessman decides to sell his business, he needs to do 3 steps in the preparatory phase:
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Solve all organizational issues.
If you are not the only owner, you need to make sure that everyone agrees that you should not pull with the sale. You should also pay off your debts, renew your lease, etc.
If the buyer sees that you leave him a whole heap of unresolved problems, then, perhaps, he will change his mind about buying your case.
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Carry out a business audit.
You can do it yourself, but it's better to hire a professional to prepare an audit report. Having the opportunity to acquaint with the auditor's conclusion of the buyer, you will increase your chances of a quick sale of the business.
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Put all the documents in order.
The package of documents you need for sale must be in perfect order. Any sensible buyer will want the lawyer to check contracts, constituent documents and other papers.
If you have to cook it all along the way or fix the mistakes made, then you can not sell the company quickly. It is better to entrust the preparation of documents to specialists: a lawyer and a financier / accountant - they will do everything quickly and correctly.
If you are not sure whether you are doing the right thing and decide to sell your business and doubt whether you can complete the deal yourself, hire an expert auditor who will give you reasonable advice, will really appreciate the value of your offspring, decide when it should be soldetc.
b) How to evaluate a business that needs to be sold?
It is clear that every buyer wants to sell a ready-made business as much as possible, but if you unreasonably inflate the price, you can wait so long for the buyer that you will be ruined faster than selling it.
To set the real price, view the announcements about the sale of companies that are yours. This can be done on the resources:
- http: //www.beboss.ru/ business,
- http: //prodazhafirm.ru/,
- https: //www.avito.ru/rossiya/ gotoviy_biznes,
- http://business-asset.ru/prodazha-biznesa.
The second way is to hire an independent appraiser who will honestly tell you how much your company is on the market.
The same specialist for a fee will tell you how you can increase the cost of your business in order to sell it more expensively.
Ways to increase the value of a business to sell it dearly:
- Increase sales volumes, increase customer base, etc.- let it be only temporary measures, but they will help you to claim a high price.
- Reduce spending. This can be done by dismissing some of the least valuable employees, reducing advertising costs and so on.
- Demonstrate advantages over competitors. For example, you need to buy your company, because it is geographically located maximally profitable, has the right to exclusive sales of such and such goods, etc.
- Extend the lease of the premises.
- Pay with all debts.
- Eliminate the shortcomings in the work.
- Make a general cleaning before showing the office space to the buyer.
To whom to sell a ready-made business?
Preparatory work behind, the price is fixed.
It remains to find a buyer and it is desirable to do it quickly enough so that the transaction does not stretch for a long period, as a result of which you can lose money.
1) To whom is it profitable and quick to sell a business?
The best of buyers is one that is ready to buy a business quickly, and for the price you set.
Is it easy to find such a buyer?
It is not easy, especially in times of crisis, when entrepreneurs are not too quick to invest in a new business.
Here are some tips for selling a business fast enough:
- Use different methods to find buyers - do not focus on one.
- Even if you have a serious candidate for buyers, do not stop looking for other options until the contract is finally signed.
- Do not judge the client "by clothes" - you should not sweep away the buyers, who, as you think, float in small quantities, hoping to interest a large corporation.
- Do not waste time idle onlookers - learn to screen out absolutely unpromising customers.
- Do not reject competitive offers of competitors only from the principle of "not selling this vermin to your business, he has taken such a contract out of my nose."
2) Where to look for buyers to sell a ready business?
Now there are quite a lot of companies on sale, so selling a business is not so easy.
Even if you conduct an impeccable preparatory work and set a real price for your offspring, there is no guarantee that you will be able to sell it quickly and profitably. That's why you should use different ways of searching for clients.
Where to look for customers in order to profitably sell a ready-made business:
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On special portals where you can familiarize yourself with sample adverts and learn the pricing policy:
- http://biz-trading.ru/,
- http: //www.bis-broker.com /,
- http://business-guild.ru/.
- Among its partners, just familiar entrepreneurs and even - competitors.
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At specialized exhibitions and forums.
Here's a real example: the owner of the beauty salon decided to sell his business because of different circumstances. He just started training, so he did not ignore the invitation to a major exhibition in Kiev.
There he became acquainted with the owner of the network of salons, which wanted to expand into the regions. Over a cup of coffee, they discussed the main points, and less than a month completed the transaction.
If you do not have time to sell yourself or you can not find a buyer without help, hire a business broker.
There are many companies in Russia, Ukraine and other countries that will help you to sell the company as quickly as possible and on favorable terms for you.
The list of the best business brokers is available here: http: //bizrating.com.ua/ rating_brokers / index.html
3) How to negotiate with the buyer to profitably sell the business?
Many deals break down precisely because business owners are wrong to negotiate and frighten potential customers.
The negotiation process is very important, if you want to quickly sell a ready-made business, so it must be done flawlessly to complete the transaction.
A couple of recommendations for negotiating for those who want to quickly sell a business:
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Make the most of negotiations.
This is not just about the documentation, but also about your ability to answer all questions from the buyer. If you constantly answer "I do not know", "I'm not sure", "I need to check", the negotiations will come to a dead end.
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Keep your head cold.
Often the negotiations are quite emotional. Do not allow this. Even if you do not like the person you are talking to, even if it irritates what he says, do not break.
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Listen and understand what they tell you.
Let your goal - sell, but remember that you are not a bazaar, but a serious businessman. Do not grind without incessantly, do not praise too much of your offspring. And listen to what the other person is telling you. Negotiation is a dialogue.
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Agree to reasonable compromises, but do not let yourself be blackmailed.
The one who came to you to negotiate, perfectly understands that you want to sell your business, and want to do it quickly enough.
He will look for points that can be pressed to force you to drop the price: he will start telling you about the availability of more profitable offers, scare big competition, etc.
Do not be led by such a small blackmail, look for compromises.
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Deposit - a way to consolidate a deal.
If the negotiations were successful, but the client says: "I sort of agree, but I need to think, but you do not have to agree with anyone else", ask for a deposit. You can not afford to refuse to other clients, while someone there thinks, if the contract is not signed and the money is not paid.
How can I quickly sell a business - in just a week?
Two main factors affecting the transaction speed:
5 common mistakes of entrepreneurs who want to quickly sell their business
If you have not previously engaged in selling a business, then you can fall prey to your own mistakes and shortcomings, which are often used by buyers, that fall onsellers-beginners.
But if you are warned about possible misses, then you will do everything to avoid them.
Those who want to sell a business should beware:
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False buyers.
Those who simply fool you, without having enough money to buy your business, or simply trying to find out confidential information to destroy a competitor.
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The timeliness of the decision.
Get the maximum profit will not be easy, and if you tighten up with the transaction, and if you hurry to sell your business. Do everything in time.
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Poor level of personal training.
If you do not take enough time and attention to the preparatory work, then you will scare off clients with your own illiteracy at the stage of negotiations.
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Misrepresentation of their case.
If you inflate the price, you can not sell the company quickly( and maybe you will not find a buyer for it).If you become cheaper, you will lose money.
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Its weakness.
In business, only toothy predators with strong nerves survive. If you are a shy mammal, then prepare yourself for the fact that at the negotiations you will eat and the company will no longer have to sell, but actually give.
If you follow these tips, then the problem with how how to sell a business on the most profitable conditions for , you simply will not arise.