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Marketing Brings the Buyers |
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Market for Small Businesses
Advertising and marketing are critical to selling a business for the best price and terms within a reasonable period of time. The business must be attractively packaged and exposed to a broad range of potential buyers, while keeping the sale confidential.
Confidentiality Preserves Value Confidentiality is one of the main differences between selling businesses versus real estate or other property. Owners often want to keep the sale a secret for as long as possible. They fear losing customers or employees, or being taken advantage of by competitors, if word gets out too early. Such a breach of confidentiality could reduce the sales and profitability of the business, and result in a lower selling price. Smart business owners hire business advisors to sell the business, while the owner continues to run it will and preserve its value. Buyers should not learn the identity of the business until they have been screened and signed “Confidentiality Agreements,” also known as “Non-Disclosure Agreements” (NDAs).
Buyers respond to attractive packaging, whether it is in the marketing of a business or any other product. Better financials and other business information will lead to better packaging. Conversely, “garbage in equals garbage out.” The key package is the “Confidential Business Profile,” which summarizes the key selling points, the “story” of the business, the reason for selling, the asking price and terms, lease terms, financials and other key aspects of the business. Its length runs from 1-2 pages for a small simple business to 50+ pages for a large complex business. The profile may be accompanied by photographs, video, and other documents. It provides content for advertisements and other marketing materials.
The Seller and Business Advisor should consider, “who are the most likely buyers, where can they be found, and how can we reach them?” Will they be “Financial Buyers”--such as corporate refugees who want to buy themselves a job or Private Equity Groups (PEGs)—who are focused on financial performance? On the other hand, they may be “Strategic Buyers” —competitors, customers, or suppliers already in the business—looking for synergies and often willing to pay more than Financial Buyers. Make sure that the Business Advisor will “Cooperate,” or share his fee, with another broker who finds someone a buyer. This will further expand the pool of buyers.
The last, but certainly not the least, marketing step is actually reaching out to buyers. Confidentiality precludes common real estate methods like exterior signs and multiple listing services. Sellers and Business Brokers commonly use, and perhaps rely too much on, internet websites to inexpensively promote their business sales. Smart Sellers and Business Advisors will also use buyer databases, trade publications, regional newspapers, letters, postcards and flyers as appropriate. Remember that better exposure brings more buyers and a higher selling price. You get what you pay for!
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CLIENT TESTIMONIALS “I was happy with my experience with [BestSoCal]. Very professional and willing to help when the time came. Very responsive and hands on, not like my other experiences with agents and brokers. Very appreciated.” Todd Uyesugi, Seller “[BestSoCal] has handled the sale in the most professional and complete manner possible. I am very pleased with the experience.” Matt Ouwerkerk, Buyer “(The landlord) was difficult, but with Alan’s patience it all worked out for the best! Lino did an excellent job with customer service, always polite! Thanks!!” Rich & Trish Lindsay, Sellers “Alan was very helpful. Always returned our phone calls (not everyone does). He made us feel at ease, and found us the perfect business! We were looking for about a year. He made this a great experience. A million thank yous!” Debbie Rosetti-Colacion, Buyer “I am writing this note to express my extreme satisfaction with the way the sale of my restaurant was handled by Elizabeth Rebufat of [BestSoCal]. It was an amazing accomplishment considering the time of year and the type of business it is. Being the middle of November, I didn’t expect it to be listed and sold within 3 weeks, truly a tribute to the diligence of the agent and the great marketing skills of the brokerage. Excellent negotiating skills kept this in escrow, and kept the buyers motivated to purchase this business. It made the whole transaction less stressful for me. I am so glad I listed with Elizabeth, as I have found a new friend, and would absolutely do business with her and her broker again.” Jason Reavis, Seller “You guys made everything very simple, and I never once felt that Elizabeth was biased toward the seller. I like how you did comparisons for us. You went out of your way to find industry information for us. Surprisingly, I bought a business I never would’ve considered because Elizabeth was able to assess our needs.” Omar Toma, Buyer “Absolutely superb! Highest recommendations! Extremely professional!” Marty Johnson, Seller “Elizabeth kept in contact throughout the entire process and always answered any questions I had. She made me feel very comfortable during the whole experience. Great service!” James Taylor, Buyer “Everyone, from Lino to Sylvia to Alan was very helpful and professional!” Jeff Linder, Seller “Good, professional, efficient service.” Jeff Bower, Buyer “I want to thank [BestSoCal] for your professional services provided in selling my business. Special thanks to Randy Neyland and Jaime Gomez. You guys are special. I couldn’t do it without you. Again, I commend your services and thank you very much.” Sal Garcia, Seller “…[BestSoCal] have been helpful and professional. We are satisfied with their performance. We would also like to continue to do business with them in the future. Randy Neyland was nice and great. We are happy and are ready to open. Keep up the good work.” Omar Romero & Enrique Velazquez, Buyers “Excellent Rep. Always returns call very promptly. Never left me waiting. Always seems to keep client’s best interest first. A true pleasure to work with.” Jerry Thibodeau, Seller “Outstanding customer service. Easy, smooth transaction. Clear explanations; good understanding. Excellent marketing presentation.” Joseph Zeeb, Buyer “Incredible service from Alan. This was a tough sell and I’ll be grateful to [BestSoCal] forever!” Tran Tracy, Seller “Customer service from Alan Lippincott went above and beyond the call of duty. Alan was consistently supportive; professionally business focused during a very difficult settlement; and with a cheerful spirit. I highly recommend Alan as a business broker and would definitely use his services again.” Carol Hartman, Buyer “Outstanding organization, great teamwork. This was money well spent, and I frankly couldn’t have asked for anyone better than Elizabeth, and there was nothing I would have changed about the way she handled everything – exceptional!” Stefano Riznyk, Seller “I was satisfied with doing business with Lucky Team Escrow, and would recommend [BestSoCal] to anyone.” Henry Coronado, Seller “We appreciate everything you have done for us. We are really happy about it! Jaime, Alan, and Randy, we appreciate all of you. We appreciate…Carol at Lucky Team Escrow who helped us a lot. Thank you all!” Juan Ambriz & Laura Padilla, Buyers “Our experience working with you has been extremely good. You made the whole transaction completely painless. You guys showed a very high level of professionalism and were very patient when things did not go completely according to plan. You actually helped us bring everything back on track to close the transaction in a timely manner.” Jatinder Singh, Buyer “Elizabeth is a “breath of fresh air,” and it made my job so easy!” Carol Jones, Certified Senior Escrow Officer “[BestSoCal] did an exceptional, professional performance of all duties as commercial real estate representatives. I would highly recommend their service to colleagues without hesitation.” Olva Jang, Seller “This transaction went quite smoothly. Alan stayed on top of the process and made sure everything went as planned.” Raili Classen, Seller “It was a great experience! Thank you Alan for helping us with this. I’m very happy and we are thankful for all your hard work. You ROCK!” Karen Abdul, Buyer “ [BestSoCal], made the whole process of selling my business as easy as possible. I feel confident that all the legal steps have been taken and I can sit back and enjoy retirement. I would recommend this service to my friends.” Mick Ofield, Seller “Thank you for all your efforts! As a point of memorialization, without your help, I would have overpaid the purchase price by approximately $1,000,000!! You have been very professional with much patience! Thank you! ” Steve Berggren, Seller “I was very happy with Alan’s work, and when we met him he was on top calling, informing us in everything. All I can say is that we were happy with his service.” Raul Rizo, Buyer “Excellent service. Prompt response on each and every issue.” Alex Friedland, Seller “I would recommend Joleen to anyone who lists with [BestSoCal].” Alice Billman, Seller “Joleen made it happen! Kind & considerate, helpful! Alan gets things handled! Thanks very much!” Debbie Drew, Buyer “Alan was wonderful to work with, he made the process very easy for us. We would definitely work with your company and Alan again. Thank you for a well handled, smooth experience! Spienello Deli Inc., Seller “The service from Alan was the best!” Santiago Escobar & Jose Vidal Escobar, Buyers “Thank you for everything. I really appreciate your great endeavor to help me.” Tristan Parque, Seller “It took longer than expected, but Elizabeth was very patient and made everything finish smoothly…” Young Choi, Buyer “Alan showed the upmost in professionalism while carrying my sale from marketing to close. I would not only recommend him, but I would use him again.” Xtreme Autosports, LLC, Seller “Alan was very helpful with every step of the purchasing process. He was always available and answered all questions and concerns promptly.” John Solitare, Buyer |
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