One of the questions that have become more frequent following the difficulties imposed by the pandemic is “How can I sell my business?”. If you are among those posing this question, you need to be quite sure why you are thinking of selling. Your reasons for doing so could have a significant influence on the necessary sales strategy and its outcome. If yours is a relatively minor concern, you might feel that you could achieve a sale more cheaply by advertising in a local newspaper or online and handling the negotiations in person. However, at some stage, you will need the professional services of an accountant and an attorney to complete the deal.
“Can I sell my business in person?” is often the following query. One can only stress that you should be prepared for hard work and some unavoidable expenses if you decide to proceed alone. The larger your company, the more effort the sales process will entail. Before approaching the market, you will need to do some housekeeping, starting with an updated statement of accounts. You will also need to settle any outstanding employee disputes or litigation and ensure that the company’s leases and contracts are in order. It may also be a good idea to curtail some of your personal and less crucial expenses to boost the bottom line.
In practice, it would probably be more expedient to hire an estate agent or business broker, despite costing a little more. In practice, “Why do I want to sell my business?” should be the first question to ask yourself. If it is a relatively large operation, there may be an alternative and more appropriate option. Perhaps you are among those entrepreneurs who have devoted their entire life to building a large and lucrative operation and choose to sell because you seek to relax and enjoy your personal and financial freedom without ownership responsibilities.
In this situation, consulting a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor is the better choice and could also offer you an alternative to an outright sale. Under the circumstances, opting to merge with a buyer’s company could be a means to sell my business or yours, yet retain a financial or executive role or both in the new joint entity. It may surprise you to learn how many firms are on the lookout for a company like yours. Perhaps more surprising is that some of these may be trading in apparently unrelated fields but plan to extend their market share by diversifying. Transactions such as these require carefully formulated sales and marketing strategies, meticulous attention to detail, and the negotiating skills that stem from years of experience and hundreds of satisfied clients.
Should you decide to ask Google: “How can I sell my Business?” while most answers will suggest consulting an M&A specialist, the choice will also depend upon its value and your desired exit strategy. That said, retaining some control and securing a lifelong income are not the only reasons to consider a merger. Growing your company requires repeated investment. When other finance options are unavailable, a merger opens the door to expansion.
Forget asking family and friends or even estate agents; “How do I sell my business?”. Instead, call a mergers and acquisitions expert at Deal Leaders International.