If you are looking to sell your Florida small business, you owe it to yourself to understand all of the steps it takes for an optimal sale. Regardless of the industry you are in, there are a few things that every business needs to do to ensure the best outcome. Here are those steps.
Do you know why you want to sell? Knowing your why ensures that you sell to a truly interested party and that you do not shortchange the value of your business. You should also do a final self analysis to determine if selling is really the path you want to take.
You will need a thorough analysis of your earnings, assets and statements before you can actually get an asking price for your business. Make sure that you have these records. If you don’t, it’s a good time to begin consolidating them, because these records are a huge part of what you will actually be selling.
Once you have determined why you are selling and what you are willing to sell for, you can put together a marketing strategy that showcases your key values and optimizes your potential profitability. You will also be able to tailor your marketing strategy for the outcome that you are looking for. If you want a quicker sale, your marketing should reflect that. If you were looking to optimize the sale price, then you will employ a slightly different marketing strategy.
Now that you have your marketing strategy in place and your asking price on the market, it is time to meet with buyers that you have curated. This list should be narrowed down before you ever take a personal meeting with anyone. You want to be sure that anyone you meet with has the financial resources and the value system you were looking for.
Now that you have qualified buyers at the table, it is time to see who really wants your business the most. Make sure that you set aside time for negotiations with multiple buyers. You should also look to change your marketing strategy depending on how these buyers behave relative to each other. There is nothing wrong with facilitating a little bidding war to ensure that your business is respected on the market.
The actual sales process has a number of little steps within it. First, you will likely receive a letter of intent from your chosen buyer. After all of the contingencies have been worked out, you can move forward to the actual purchase step.
Make sure that you have a qualified business broker by your side to get the best results selling your business. The dedicated experts at Murphy Business are available by phone at (727) 725-7090. You can also talk to a professional by filling out the email form directly on the website.