Introduction
Selling a business can be a daunting process! We understand that, so we’ve broken the process down into 7 steps so you know what to expect when selling your business.
Selling A Business
#1: Business Valuation
Proper valuation of a business is one of the most important part of selling a business. If you overprice your business, you risk turning away interested parties. Conversely, if you underprice your business, you might not be maximizing your sale potential. Evaluating a business a business is an art as well as a science. It is a combination of many factors such as market conditions, location, and industry. At 604 Business Brokers, our focus and expertise is working with business owners around Greater Vancouver to sell their business, so we have extensive experience coming up with an optimal go-to-market asking price. Let us take the guesswork out of evaluating your business, contact us for a free consultation.
#2: Documents Preparation
Before reaching out to buyers about the sale of your business, it is recommended to prepare all the required documents for due diligence. This includes asset list, financial statements, and lease agreements. Being prepared instills confidence in buyers that you are an organized and competent business operator. Furthermore, it will make the sales process a lot more efficient.
#3: Engage Buyers
One of our main responsibilities as business brokers is to find qualified buyers for our clients. Using our extensive network, we will market your business for sale to suitable buyers. Once we have interested parties, we will facilitate meetings between you and the buyers so they can learn more about you and your business.
#4: Offer Review
Congratulations! We have received an offer. We work with clients to review the offer holistically to ensure it is a favourable offer for you. Typically the offer includes negotiations with potential buyers before reaching an accepted offer. We use our experience to negotiate the best offer for you.
#5: Subject Removal
Once we have an accepted offer, the buyers will begin due diligence in order to move forward with the sale. Buyers (and sellers) may also have conditions or subjects as part of their offer, so we will work towards addressing all the subjects in order to have a binding contract to sell the business. Common conditions include financing and lease assignment.
#6: Conveyancing
Once all conditions and subjects are removed, the buyers and sellers will work together to complete the deal. Typically this step involves lawyers and accountants for asset conveyancing and tax adjustments.
#7: Transition
Most buyers will negotiate a transition or training period from sellers as part of the offer. This is to ensure business performance is minimally impacted as a result of new ownership. Typically this includes introducing new buyers to vendors and teaching them day-to-day operations.
Author Branden Moo
