WHY SELLERS USE A BROKER


Any business owner who has sold a business on his of her own will tell you it's a long, tedious and stressful process. It consumes time and distracts you from the day to day operation of the business. When your focus should be on maintaining or increasing the value of your business, all of your time and energy is directed to the sale process.

That's where an experienced business broker can pay huge dividends. There are many areas where the business broker expertise pays off:

  1. Time. Selling a business is time-consuming for an owner who already is probably wearing many hats for the company. By taking on the additional load of selling the business, essential functions will get less attention and possibly damage to the business. The owner can maintain a focus on running the business when a broker is working on the sale.
  2. Confidentiality. If you as an owner attempting to sell your own business, that process alone reveals that the business is up for sale. An owner selling on their own has great difficulty keeping the selling process secret. Employees, customers, suppliers and bankers all get nervous and competitors look to make a kill. If any of these people learn the owner wants to sell, the business can be damaged. A business broker will protect the identity of the company and contact only owner approved buyers through a blind profile; a document describing the company without revealing its identity.
  3. Pre-Qualifying. Owners ask us to introduce only qualified buyers to their businesses. Based on our knowledge of buyers' and sellers' needs, we can match the right buyer with the right business.
  4. Experience. Through experience with thousands of business sales, we know how to bring buyer and seller closer together. Inexperienced brokers or advisers can drive the price in a negotiation further apart.
  5. Documentation. We obtain information from the seller that you need to purchase the business.
  6. Methods. Our sellers know that we will not knowingly misrepresent their business to a buyer. They also know that we won't mislead them - when a fair offer comes in we will advise them to take it.
  7. Reaching potential buyers.Business brokers have the tools and resources to reach the largest possible base of buyers. They then screen these potential buyers for revenue that would support the potential acquisition.
  8. Marketing. A business broker can help present your company in the best light to maximize the sale price. He or she has an understanding of the key values that buyers are looking for and can assist in identifying changes that can lead to a better selling price.
  9. Valuing your Business. Putting a value on a business is far more difficult and complex than valuing a house. Every business is different, with hundreds of variables that have an impact on the value. Business brokers have access to business transaction databases that can be used as guidelines or reference points. But the best way for a business owner to truly feel comfortable that he got the best deal is to have several financially viable parties bidding for his business, which is much more likely using the resources of a professional business broker.
  10. Balance of Experience. Most corporate buyers have acquired multiple businesses while sellers usually have only one sale. An experience business broker can level the playing field for a business owner making his one and only business sale.
  11. Closing a Deal.Since the business broker's sole function is to sell the business, there's a much better chance that a deal will be closed in less time. The faster the sale, the lower the risk of employee problems, customer defection and predatory competition.

Utilizing the services of an experienced, professional business broker allows the owner to focus on running the business reducing the risk of business erosion during the sale process. A sale facilitated by a business broker helps maximize sales proceeds by involving a large universe of buyers in a confidential, competitive bidding process.

Why Use An Intermediary?

60% of sellers report using a business broker; they got an Increased price for their business
                       10% Say they got 90% more

                       20% Say they got 60% more

                       30% Say they got 40% more

90% of sellers report using a business broker; More confidential sales process

90% of sellers report using a business broker; Significantly reduced stress

86% of sellers report using a business broker; was a Better business plan

Results of a survey conducted by Smith Bucklin and associates; commissioned by the M&A Source

back