Maximize Your Profits: Proven Tips for Selling Your Business
When you decide to sell your business, your obvious priority is getting the best price. But that value isn’t just the worth of your assets, inventory, and property. Setting a sale price is much more strategic than just picking a number.
You can take several measures to maximize profits and increase your business’s true value. By paying attention to intrinsic details, avoiding common errors, and negotiating with confidence, you can sell your business and potentially receive a higher return than you originally expected.
Increasing Business Valuation: What Buyers Look For
Potential business buyers consider more than the tangible value of your business. They want to be assured that they can not only take over business operations but also be positioned to reap sustainable future profits from it. This involves making your company look solid both on paper and in practice.
Some of the business traits buyers are usually attracted to include:
- Neat, well-annotated financials that show patterns of sustained growth
- Long-term contracts or recurring revenue streams that limit risk
- Strong, efficient manufacturing or operational systems and procedures
- Reliable employees who function without being micromanaged
- Scalability solutions, including new markets, products, and cost-saving opportunities
When you’ve decided to sell your business, Sunbelt’s business valuation calculator can give you a reasonable estimate of its worth with just a little input from you. Just navigate to the page, answer a few questions, and we’ll email the approximate value within minutes.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls: Mistakes That Reduce Sale Value
Even the best-run, most profitable companies can lessen their sale value through management miscues and mistakes. A few of the most common errors include:
- Letting numbers decline after listing the business for sale
- Keeping messy, hard-to-interpret financials
- Mixing up personal and business expenses
- Overlooking tax liabilities and legal issues that can scare buyers off
- Staying too involved in operations, increasing their dependence on you
- Delaying preparations, limiting the scope of improvements you may need
It can take months — even years — to build an exit strategy when you sell your business. It really is never too early to start.
Negotiating Like a Pro: Securing the Best Deal
Successful negotiating when you sell your business involves precise knowledge and a little bending room. You know your essentials — price and timing — but you must also be willing to consider potential buyers’ needs.
Buyers have different motivations. Some, especially institutional investors, may look for strong operations and scalability. Others may focus more on cash flow. Individual buyers may want partial financing from the seller.
As with most business activities, it’s important to remove as much emotionality as possible before negotiating. A broker like Sunbelt can be especially helpful in that regard. Let data like performance metrics and projections lead the way. Try to be as flexible as possible, but be certain of the point when it’s time to walk away from the deal.
Profit From Preparation
Earning profits when you sell your business isn’t a matter of fate or luck — it’s the product of thoughtful strategy. With solid financials, careful planning, and adept negotiations, you can increase your business’s intrinsic and tangible value and draw higher offers. The key is to plan now.
Sunbelt: Partners for Selling Your Business
Sunbelt Business Brokers has prepared dozens of Florida business owners to successfully sell their companies. We help maximize operations and set accurate values, pool potential buyers, and support owners through the negotiation process. Our primary goal is getting the best deal for you, but we also seek win-win results for all parties.
To set up an initial consultation, contact a Sunbelt broker today.