In “Lucrative Exits,” Gregg Kunz dives deep into two game-changing elements of selling your business: identifying and engaging with your most probable buyer, and creating your personal business story. He masterfully drives the discussion on why knowing your ideal buyer is crucial to navigating negotiations and achieving the best possible outcome, while emphasizing the impact of a well-told business story. These chapters are packed with essential strategies that will redefine how you approach your business sale.
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CHAPTER FIVE
Identifying and Engaging the Most Probable Buyer
Understanding who your potential buyers are is a core element of the sale process. Far too many businesses’ daily operations and services revolve entirely around the business owner. In such cases, when the owner leaves, no one is left to deliver the specialized services or the unique value the business is renowned for. Finding not only a financially qualified buyer but one with those same unique talents can be extremely difficult, which is why these businesses can be virtually impossible to sell, and if they are, much of the value will be left on the closing table.
If you’ve invested your heart and soul into your business, it’s hard to imagine it running without you. But here’s the reality: Businesses heavily dependent on their owners often face challenges when it’s time to sell. On the flip side, those businesses with strong teams, especially those with a reliable second-in-command, are the golden geese. They attract a broad spectrum of buyers, and the larger the pool of buyers, the higher the potential sale price and the quality of the buyer you can expect.
To give you a practical perspective, when I assess a business for sale, one of the first things I begin thinking about is the potential buyer and the size of the buyer pool. Geography plays a crucial role here. If your business is in a remote town with a limited population, it automatically shrinks the pool of buyers because only a few may be willing to relocate to a distant location, especially if it’s only to operate a business. Consequently, businesses in such areas often struggle to fetch a price on par with the industry average—simply because there aren’t as many buyers vying for them.
Imagine you have a business that multiple parties are interested in; the dynamic changes entirely. Instead of hoping to attract a buyer, multiple buyers are competing for your business. It’s like an auction where everyone’s trying to outbid each other. Suddenly, the conversation shifts. Potential buyers no longer think, “How can I snag this business at the lowest price?” Instead, they wonder, “What do I have to offer to ensure this business becomes mine?”
The Advantage of a Vast Buyer Pool
Reflecting on a past client and one of my first as a business broker, I vividly recall a successful but small tree surgery business I had the opportunity to represent. This wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill tree service; they specialized in intricate tree takedowns and complete tree care. The owner had carved out a comfortable living for himself, with the business generating between $150,000 and $200,000 in annual SDE. However, the largest challenge was that he was the only one in the entire operation who knew how to perform a technical tree takedown, let alone climb 100-foot-tall trees. And at 62, he was eager to pass on the reins. In addition, he did not retain his team year-to-year which meant that he had to rebuild a portion of the team every year. This is an example of both an owner dependent business and one which lacked a tenured complete team.
This was not going to be an easy sale as he lacked the organizational structure which buyers seek. The potential buyer needed both the finances, a very specific skill set, and to be prepared and willing to build out a team from day one. How many individuals possess the financial capability and the technical prowess for such a niche role? The buyer pool was extremely limited. Over a year, despite our concerted efforts, finding a suitable buyer became a task like finding a needle in a haystack, and no buyer was found. This early learning experience cost me a lot of my time, but for that business owner, it cost him the funds he was depending on for his retirement.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the smoothest and most successful exits I’ve handled had a common theme – the business had a sizable pool of potential buyers. In these, the new owner doesn’t necessarily need to replicate the technical expertise intrinsic to the business. Instead, they should be adept at leadership, process, sound business management, and managing the team that delivers the service.
A former diesel auto repair client had it all – from meticulously crafted procedures to a structured hierarchy complete with a general manager and a shop foreman. The new owner didn’t require prior knowledge about diesel auto repairs. Their role was to chart strategy, marketing, finances, and, most importantly, to ensure that the business continued to produce sustainable cash flow. They would be working on the business rather than getting their hands dirty working in the business. If they decided to take a little time off, the establishment wouldn’t miss a beat—the foreman would guide the technicians, and the general manager would oversee the day-to-day.
An analogy: The CEO of a mega-corporation like Procter & Gamble could seamlessly transition to lead a completely different enterprise like American Express. It’s not necessarily about industry familiarity but rather management and leadership experience. Many individuals exiting the corporate world will buy a business outside of their prior industry because they have the skillset for managing and growing an organization. These individuals also tend to be the ones to grow their new business to the next level.
Remember that a wide buyer pool is versatile, allowing for various potential successors, each bringing your business a unique flair and vision. The broader the buyer base, the more likely you are to fetch a higher sale price and a successful sale.
Creating the Perfect Business Description and Target Audience
Your business needs a compelling description to captivate the right audience. When you decide to let go of something you’ve painstakingly built, you must ensure it resonates with potential buyers. Take, for instance, selling the diesel auto repair business. An interested buyer isn’t just browsing for fun. They’re trying to gauge if they have what it takes. A well-crafted description of the business customized to the most probable buyer set is imperative. Once you have a strong value proposition and the target audience identified you can move forward in executing the marketing plan. We cast a wide net, using not only multiple “business for sale” platforms to create wide visibility but we also make it a point to laser-target potential buyers. Think competitors, strategic or synergistic partners, investors, as well as financial buyers. Remember the tree surgery business I mentioned earlier? While we listed it across various sale platforms and contacted buyers from our proprietary buyer database, we also focused on competitors in the region. Unfortunately the other elements of the business were not compelling enough for a sale to a competitor. As always, a successful sale is based on the combination of all aspects of the business, not even profits alone.
The key here is balance. While your description needs to paint an attractive picture, it should also be honest, clear, and pragmatic. The aim is to attract qualified buyers, not every potential buyer.
So, do brokers sometimes throw the net too far and wide? Absolutely. This is a pitfall I’ve seen way too often in the industry. Some brokers create broad and generalized descriptions that fail to allow potential buyers to assess their personal fit with the business. Painting a picture that allows buyers to screen themselves out is as important as enabling them to picture themselves as the owner.
The last thing you want is to engage with a buyer who realizes midway through the sale process that they’re not cut out for operating the business. Not only is this an exercise in futility for the broker and buyer, but it also distracts you—the seller—from your primary role of running the business during the critical selling process.
Elements of a Quality Presentation
Your business broker should include the following to make the presentation of your business stand out from the crowd:
- History and Structure: Provide a detailed background of the business, outlining the history and organizational hierarchy.
- Clear Financials: Understandable and accurate financial statements are paramount. They help paint a realistic picture of where your business has been, where it now stands, and the prospects of where it may go.
- Comprehensive Description: Touch upon all aspects – employees, suppliers, market opportunities, and potential growth areas.
- Competitive Landscape: A brief overview of your competitors and an honest but objective discussion of how you fare against them.
- Opportunities for Growth: A realistic picture of growth opportunities showing the buyer that they can take the business to the next level is imperative to crafting a compelling story.
The quality of your presentation is a reflection of your business’s professionalism. A shabby presentation can indirectly label your business as disorganized, hinting at deeper operational issues, not to mention the perceived quality of the broker representing you.
Showcase the business’s features, but always highlight its benefits, including financial gains, a desirable lifestyle, or, ideally, both. While incorporating photographs to liven up the presentation is great, remember to avoid misleading depictions. You don’t want to glamorize your business so much that it appears too good to be true, drawing in unqualified buyers. Instead, create a document that resonates with the buyer you want to attract. It’s a delicate balance of revealing the strengths, addressing the weaknesses, and painting a realistic yet compelling picture of what one can expect. Puffery or outright false depictions will result in agony in the sales process: buyers do not like to be misled.
Transparency
While highlighting your business’s strengths, never dismiss its challenges or weaknesses. Your prospective buyer should see the business without any sugarcoating. Surprises during the due diligence process can be deal-breakers. Presenting a business that doesn’t truly reflect its reality is not just a waste of everyone’s time but also detrimental to the entire sale process. I’ve witnessed deals falling apart at the last minute because the buyer got spooked by undisclosed challenges or inconsistencies in the business’s portrayal. Be sure to disclose to your broker areas of your business which may be of concern to a buyer. The broker should be able to determine the magnitude of the issue and how to best present it, if at all.
And on a candid note, I have a particular approach when it comes to client engagements. I only work with businesses that meet a very high-quality standard. Many business brokers might be less stringent, but remember, just because a business is on the market doesn’t mean it’s good. This is why less than 20% of businesses listed for sale actually get sold.
All businesses come with risks, and no business is perfect. A potential buyer is interested in your business because of its proven success. However, there’s always room for improvement, and the right buyer might have the skill set to turn your business’s weak points into strengths.
Communicating Effectively with Potential Buyers
My advice on communicating with buyers is straightforward: with utmost honesty and a sense of urgency. Remember, the aim is to transition your business into hands that genuinely value it and can sustain its legacy.
It baffles me when I hear about brokers getting back to prospective buyers after their third or fourth call. It’s not just about professionalism but about ethics and best practices in our industry. Every call, every inquiry, represents a potential sale of your business. As you begin to screen brokers, make note of how quickly they respond to your call or email. If your broker is not attentive to you, you can be assured that they will neglect potential buyers.
Going deeper into the buyer-seller interaction, it becomes apparent that knowing the business isn’t enough. The real art lies in understanding the buyer’s alignment with the business. A worthy buyer must bring more to the table than deep pockets, management experience, or industry credentials:
- A Transferable Skill Set: Their past experiences and skills should be applicable and required to operate the business.
- Cultural & Team Alignment: Their personality should resonate with your business’s existing culture which will help enable them to lead and guide the team.
- Financial Preparedness: Even the most passionate and financially qualified buyers can falter without the financial means to weather the unexpected.
- Commitment: Finally, they should display an unwavering seriousness and dedication to the business acquisition process.
There are countless individuals out there who like the idea of owning a business but lack genuine intent. As brokers, we often sift through numerous inquiries to zero in on the real contenders. Many are just dreamers who will never complete the transaction.
To truly embark on the business ownership journey, three elements are essential: a pertinent skill set, sound financial strength, and, perhaps most importantly, courage. Surprisingly, it’s often the latter that’s missing. Owning a business is no small feat; it requires betting on oneself, taking risks, and leading with conviction. Every business owner, including you, is a testament to the courage common to business ownership.
Tips For Buyer/Seller Meetings
Negotiation often evokes thoughts of clever tactics and power plays in the context of selling a business. But in my experience, the real foundation of effective negotiation is transparency and clarity. An early word of advice: come to the negotiating table understanding that compromise will be needed and knowing your “absolutes.” If you cannot budge on one item, conceding on another may serve you well.
When you’re communicating with potential buyers, be clear and direct. Your goal should be to give them a transparent view of what the business is, what it offers, and whether they can truly thrive in its environment. Buyers seek both a financial and personal investment in this new chapter in their lives.
Understanding the buyer’s motivation, goals, and skill set early in the screening process can mean the difference between a successful sale and a missed opportunity. You’ll need to have tough but necessary conversations in some instances. If you feel a potential buyer may not succeed in your business due to specific constraints or challenges, it’s better to communicate those concerns openly and allow them to counter your concerns.
For every hesitant buyer, there’s one who only needs a little encouragement. Recall your beginnings when you were unfamiliar with every nuance of your industry. By sharing your journey and emphasizing the strength and structure of your business, you can instill confidence in a buyer, ensuring them that they, too, can achieve success.
Each interaction with a potential buyer is a step closer to finalizing the sale. However, for the unprepared, buyer-seller meetings can be minefields, and I’ve seen many promising deals collapse due to easily avoidable pitfalls within buyer-seller conversations.
Be careful not to unnecessarily amplify inherent and normal business risks or create undue concerns. Don’t create smoke where there isn’t a fire. To illustrate, consider the common question about the challenges of running a business. Many owners point to employee retention and recruitment when asked about their biggest challenges. But isn’t this a universal concern in the grand scheme of business? Instead of presenting it as a significant hurdle, reframe it as a shared challenge that all businesses face. For instance, rather than complaining about the difficulties of finding good help, emphasize the proactive measures your business takes to seek, nurture, and retain talent continually.
Deciphering Buyer’s Intentions
When I work with sellers, one of the earliest discussions we have is to understand the requisite qualifications and the intentions of a potential buyer. More succinctly, what skills and experiences will be required of the buyer to operate the business, and what are their expectations for the near and long term? So, what questions should you, the business owner, be asking?
Start with the basics: Why do they want to buy your business? Are they looking for a passive investment, or do they plan to manage and expand the enterprise actively? What is their vision for the business’s future, and how do they plan to finance the purchase? These questions help in gauging the buyer’s strategic fit and financial readiness. Your broker will have covered many of these in the vetting process, but hearing the answers directly from the buyer will be beneficial.
Remember, the cultural fit matters. Your business isn’t just a set of financial statements; it’s a living entity with a team, a culture, and a legacy. If a potential buyer’s objectives clash with your business’s ethos, they might not be the right fit, regardless of the price they offer.
Price is, of course, a significant part of the deal. But beyond the numbers, think about the team you’ve nurtured over the years and their future well-being. You’d want the incoming owner’s personality and style to resonate with them. This is why personalities play a significant role. A confrontational or caustic buyer could destabilize the very foundations of your business, especially if there’s a seller financing component in the transaction, which may put your future sale proceeds at risk.
Fostering Trust
If I were to offer just one piece of advice, it would be to foster unwavering honesty in all conversations. Both sides must be forthright, open, and genuine in their interactions.
The best transactions I’ve managed involved buyers and sellers who mutually committed to success, fairness, and a willingness to compromise. Compromise is key. Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Negotiations should always involve ironing out the finer details, and both parties should be prepared to consider both large and small concessions to reach the finish line.
But here’s a cautionary tale. Trust is fragile. I witnessed a nearly flawless transaction take a lousy turn not long ago. The seller was happy to provide the buyer with an extended training and transition period. The buyer, after months of smooth interactions, abruptly questioned the integrity of the seller just before closing. They brought in a second accountant to review the financials two weeks before closing and told the seller directly that it was to make sure that what they had been told (and already confirmed) was ‘true and correct’. While this should have been a minor, last-minute confirmatory review, the language of their email suggested that they were now doubting the seller’s word, honesty, and integrity. Had they posed their request for ‘another look’ in a phone conversation with me, rather than an email to the seller, it would likely have been received far differently. This drastically shifted the dynamics. Post-sale, the once-eager seller became distant and strictly adhered only to what was contractually obligated, depriving the buyer of invaluable insights and support during the transition. Trust, once broken, is challenging to mend.
The Buyer-Seller Mindset
In another past sale the buyer was the epitome of a professional. Experienced and astute, they approached the business with a balanced perspective, recognizing that no venture is without its imperfections. Rather than being daunted by the business’s weaknesses, they saw them as challenges to be overcome and opportunities to improve financial performance. They’d say things like, “I can address that,” or “I have the resources to improve this.” Their proactive and positive attitude was a refreshing change.
What made this buyer truly stand out was their realistic yet optimistic approach. They understood that every business, no matter how well-oiled, may have faltered occasionally. Instead of sweating the small stuff, they focused on the larger picture. Their commitment to sealing the deal without letting trivialities sidetrack them was refreshing. Trust was fostered early and throughout the sale process. I hope that prospective buyers reading this will approach their negotiations similarly.
The most commendable shared trait was both parties’ mutual emphasis on a win-win transaction. They genuinely believed in ensuring that both parties left the negotiation table satisfied. They practiced honesty, showcased patience, and emphasized fairness throughout the process.
Contrasting this experience with other, more tumultuous sales has reinforced a lesson for me. The buyer and seller’s attitude and approach are pivotal in the transaction’s outcome. As you and your broker consider potential buyers for your business, look beyond the surface. Seek buyers committed to mutual success for both themselves and you, the seller. In our practice, we have a simple maxim: both parties win.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Identifying likely buyer prospects is crucial for a successful business sale; having a broad pool of potential buyers can lead to higher sale prices and better outcomes.
- A well-crafted business description is essential to attract the right audience and should balance attractiveness with honesty and clarity.
- Transparency about your business’s strengths and weaknesses is vital to avoid deal-breaking surprises during due diligence.
- Effective communication with potential buyers should be honest, timely, and aligned with their intentions, skills, and commitment.
- Building trust between buyers and sellers is key to a smooth transition, and both parties should prioritize fairness, compromise, and a win-win mindset throughout the transaction.
CHAPTER SIX
The Importance of Your Business Story
Sad to say, but businesses do not sell themselves. The value and attractiveness of a business lie not only in the financial performance but also in the whole ‘story’. This includes the history, the market, milestones, competition, opportunities for growth, and the benefits of ownership. While presenting the facts is imperative, it is the sizzle that sells. This is not to say that embellishing is acceptable, but presenting the business in its most favorable but true light is critical. For example, let’s say that you have a Janitorial Supply business that you are ready to sell. To you it may be a rather staid and boring business. You have to identify and present to the buyer what makes it an attractive business. If you cannot get excited about your business it will be very difficult to get a buyer excited. Your broker should help you to tell a story that will resonate with the market. However, remember that false claims can create expensive consequences, especially if adverse material facts are undisclosed. Objectively stating the facts, including strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities, will describe the business accurately and build trust with prospective buyers.
Stories Sell
Everyone likes a good story, and most Americans love a success story. If you have remained in business for more than a few years, there is good reason for a buyer to expect the business’s performance to continue under their ownership. However, this is not the place to allow them to connect the dots: you must specifically outline all aspects of the business so that little can be left to the imagination, with one exception. It is crucial to craft a solid Value Proposition for the business to enable a buyer to imagine themselves at the helm.
This is also where you can eliminate buyers who have no business in the ownership role. Key elements include what led the owner to establish the business, the history, customers or clientele, financial performance, the presence of processes and procedures, key milestones, supplier and vendor relationships, growth opportunities, and challenges. There are no perfect businesses, and yours is no exception. Be honest and accurate above all else. If you portray the business as all roses and no thorns, you will diminish or destroy your credibility, weakening your story.
Business owners would be wise to begin thinking of the positive elements of their business to enlighten the broker as they prepare to craft the business’s Value Proposition. As the owner, you are most familiar with your business and why someone should consider the acquisition. I recommend that you ask your customers or clients why they patronize your establishment and read any reviews that may have been posted to understand how your business is perceived. Beyond the accolades and critiques, you will likely discover the unique benefits of doing business with your company. Outside objectivity is especially valuable and will help construct the Value Proposition.
Surprisingly, I have found that many business owners find it challenging to articulate what makes their business stand out from the competition and attractive to a buyer. During our “courting” phase with a business owner, we always ask a simple question: “Why?” The more we know about a business, the better we can communicate its strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity. We review their publicly-facing marketing and advertising and the reviews left by those receiving their services. The court of public opinion provides keen insight from the customer’s point of view into what makes the company tick.
In chapter two I mentioned the importance of understanding your Intellectual Property. The unique approach to doing business may be such a matter of course to you that you fail to realize that it is your competitive advantage. It’s a story worth telling early and often.
It’s All in the Presentation
Experienced business brokers at the top of their game know that how the business is presented to the market is imperative to attract the best buyers and allow dreamers to leave the conversation. Business ownership is not easy, and presenting the business as such is misleading and unscrupulous. In addition to the key areas of focus outlined previously, the prior 3 to 5 years of financial statements should be presented in full with add-back adjustments clearly noted and described as articulately as possible. Some brokers derive the financials from the Profit and Loss statements, while others prefer the Federal tax returns. In the construction of our marketing document we use the tax returns for the 3 to 5 prior years and the Trailing 12 Month Profit and Loss for the current period. This provides greater insight into the most recent and current trajectory of financial performance.
Once we have engaged with a serious buyer, and only then, do we provide the detailed Profit and Loss and Balance Sheets. The reason? Our time, as well as our clients’ is especially valuable and we promise them to present only qualified, serious buyers. Many very successful brokers, including the one who brought me into the business, have their own way of presenting the financials. Get to know the broker and ask them how they do it. There is no right or wrong way because a serious and engaged buyer will dig into all the financial statements as they move through our process. As always, accuracy, clarity, and consistency must rule the day.
In my view, brokers who are willing to engage with numerous small and unlikely-to-sell businesses become accustomed to taking shortcuts in creating their marketing materials. This is not only detrimental to their clients but also to themselves and their commitment to honing their craft. Laziness and shortcuts become the norm, negatively impacting their clients’ business positioning for a successful outcome. If your broker does not have an innate commitment to quality in all that they do, you can be confident that they will bring that same mediocrity to the process of selling your business. For that reason, I highly recommend that you ask each prospective broker for samples of their marketing materials from an actual client’s listing. It only takes a few minutes to redact critical details, and if you have signed a mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement, the broker should not hesitate. If they do, move on.
Balancing Broad and Targeted Approaches to Finding Buyers
Experienced brokers identify the most probable buyer pool early in the engagement process. We begin to formulate our marketing plan outline after our first introductory meeting. We discuss and confirm our thoughts with our clients and probe them to uncover ones we may have overlooked. Once we know who our most probable buyer is likely to be, we determine how to best reach them with our marketing message. Casting a wide net, in addition to a highly targeted approach, helps to ensure that we leave no channel untapped.
Online marketing is a given in today’s environment, but reliance on this alone will likely prolong the sale process and not attract the best possible buyer. At the same time, depending on the business’s type, size, and quality, there are many occasions where a highly targeted approach is impossible or will not provide as many potential buyers as we would like.
In the best of cases, we attract multiple buyers who will compete for a business through a Controlled Auction Process. In today’s Main Street business sales arena, there is one dominant online business sale platform and many vertical industry platforms. For our larger engagements we use a number of subscription-based platforms to reach the Private Equity audience. Understanding the appropriate prospective buyer audience and using the correct tools to reach them tends to produce the best results.
Creativity Counts
There are a limited number of marketing options available to brokers, and where a buyer will come from is often surprising. The broker must discuss in depth with their client who the most probable buyer is and how best to reach them. Unique and highly specialized businesses may require a significant depth of expertise from the buyer to maintain and grow the business’s success. As Willie Sutton, the infamous bank robber, is purported to have said when asked why he robbed banks: “Because that’s where the money is,” getting to the correct buyer audience is critical to success. A creative broker will spend a considerable amount of time investigating where to find a unique and qualified buyer, and this is where they stand out from the crowd.
A few years ago, we had the opportunity to represent the manufacturer of highly specialized scientific measurement instruments. Due to the unique nature of the business and the very narrow market of readily identifiable potential suitors, our buyer was, by all counts, virtually invisible. Casting a wide net across the “usual” online business sale platforms was unlikely to produce a buyer. In fact, we were likely to be looking for a buyer who was not actively seeking a business. We had to create demand for this business and identify an individual or business that could become a buyer. This required a diligent, lengthy, and focused effort to find a buyer. Simply posting the business on a public or even subscription-based platform would likely not produce the result we were seeking. All businesses are not created equally. Seasoned brokers understand that without creativity and fortitude it is unlikely that they will find a suitable and willing buyer.
Pride Still Matters
When preparing your business for sale from a marketing standpoint, consider every publicly-facing aspect of your business, from how your employees dress to the condition and appearance of your building, public areas, and vehicles. Appearances count, and they can be your silent salesperson or an enemy of your own making.
I recall arriving at a client’s restaurant 30 minutes before a site visit by a very well-qualified buyer. My clients were experienced owners of a multi-location and highly profitable restaurant that had served the community for many years. The entrance and dining area were cluttered with the debris of the prior evening’s service. I made it my business to begin tidying up when they asked what I was doing. “I’m doing what should have been done last night or early this morning.” I did not say this disrespectfully, but they got the point.
Given the months of preparation and work we had invested for this final walkthrough, I was surprised, dismayed, and irritated. How could a professional and successful business owner have so little pride at such an important juncture of the sales process? I won’t go into detail about the kitchen but will simply state what the buyer said after the visit: “That was the most disgusting kitchen I have ever seen!”
When the seller asked how I thought the visit went, I pulled no punches and told them exactly what the buyer had said. Incredibly, they said, “You didn’t tell us that we should clean before the visit.” I was beyond shocked and asked, “If you were selling your home, would you leave your underwear on the living room floor?” They got the message, and thankfully, I convinced the buyer that this was due to the hours the owners had worked the previous evening and that it would be easily cleaned. It’s worth saying again: appearances count.
We were fortunate, and the deal closed. I am not convinced that my client really understood how close we had come to losing the buyer, but I learned a valuable lesson all those years ago: As a broker, leave nothing to chance. We leave nothing to chance, knowing that appearances always count. For the owner reading this book, I hope I have made my point: Appearances always count and leave nothing to chance. Months of time, effort, and expense can go to naught when laziness sneaks into the process. Pride still matters.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Successful business sales require effective marketing, emphasizing financial performance and the compelling story behind the business.
- Crafting a solid Value Proposition is essential, allowing potential buyers to envision themselves at the helm while ensuring unsuitable buyers are eliminated.
- Honesty and accuracy in presenting the business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges builds trust with prospective buyers.
- Detailed financial statements, presented clearly with add-back adjustments, save time during initial buyer screening.
- Balancing broad and targeted approaches to finding buyers and creativity in locating unique and qualified buyers leads to desirable sales outcomes.
- Make it your business to view your business as an outsider. Appearances count.
- No matter what business you are in, the pride in your business made it what it is today. Demonstrate that Pride Still Matters. It will resonate with a buyer.