How to Sell Your Business Successfuly

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How to Successfully Sell Your Business

1. PRICE IT RIGHT

Some Merger & Acquisition Advisors just can’t bring themselves to tell you that your price is too high. Don’t shoot your Merger & Acquisition Advisor for valuing your business so that it is priced realistically and don’t choose a Merger & Acquisition Advisor on the basis of which one values your business at the highest price so they can get a listing.

The price of your business needs to be realistic. The best way to accomplish this is to have your business valued by a third party valuator that is knowledgeable in both the science of valuations as well as the art (market forces) that shape the valuation. Businesses that use a third party business valuation have an 80% chance of selling at a much higher price. Those who do not use a professional business broker and a third party evaluation only have a 10% chance of selling.

Your tendency will be to overprice your business. When you do, the time it takes to sell just stretches out to the point where it is mighty shopworn merchandise by the time it finally sells . . . if it sells at all. Nothing raises the doubts of a prospective buyer more than to find out you’ve been trying to sell for a long time. A full-fledged business valuation costs upward of $3,000, so don’t expect a good written appraisal for less. For a larger company, one can easily cost $10,000 or more.

This Article is a re-print written by Brian Mazar, Feb 4, 2014

About blwyatt@daileyresources.com

Bob has been active in the divestiture and acquisition of businesses since 1982. He has owned and operated two personal businesses throughout his career as well as served 30 years with IBM as an operational executive. During his career with IBM, Bob was involved in several large M&A projects for IBM whereby he assisted in either divested or acquired assets/companies for their portfolio of businesses. He is a graduate of Pace University, Syracuse University, and numerous educational and business programs sponsored by IBM. He has been awarded the first "Lifetime" Mergers & Acquisition Master Intermediary (M&AMI) through the M&A Source. He was awarded this prestigious professional accreditation, which is a honored Certification earned by only a few. Bob is also a "Lifetime" CBI, and a “Fellow of the IBBA” which is a Certification awarded to those members of the IBBA for their long service in the profession and the organization.