Showing Process |
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Showing a Business to Buyers
An effective marketing and advertising program should make the telephone ring. If the Seller has chosen to handle the inquiries himself, then maintaining confidentiality and smooth business operations will be a constant challenge. Hopefully, the Seller has hired a business advisor to handle buyers and the sale process. Buyers must be led politely yet firmly through a deliberate education and screening process. This process will save time and effort for everyone involved. All buyers need some education. Of course, novice buyers will need more. But even “experienced” buyers must understand the process ahead for this particular business. Once educated, buyers must be screened, to ensure that they have the motivation, skills and resources to buy and run the business. What motivates each Buyer? Is he out of work, and need a business to “buy a job?” More commonly, he may just be a “Lookee-Loo” or competitor who enjoys cruising business brokerage websites on Sundays and trying to ply confidential information from business brokers. The best way to test a buyer’s motivation is to make him come into the office for an interview before receiving more information. The interview should probe the Buyer’s personal financial information and background, to ensure that he has the cash, credit and skills to buy and run the business. A face to face meeting also allows the Business Advisor to develop rapport with the Buyer that will often pay dividends later. Unfortunately, many Business Brokers today try to handle this stage via email, fax and the telephone—missing a unique screening and rapport-building opportunity. Once the Buyer is deemed qualified, he can be allowed to sign a Confidentiality Agreement, or “Non-Disclosure Agreement” (NDA). The Buyer agrees to keep any information that he receives about this particular business confidential, and share it only with his advisors. The Buyer also promises not to contact the employees, customers, suppliers, and landlord of the business without the Seller’s permission. If a Broker is involved, then the Buyer acknowledges that the Broker introduced him to the business, and agrees to work only through the Broker. The Buyer can review the Confidential Business Profile once he has signed the confidentiality agreement. Other information—such as photos, videos, recasted financials and other summaries—may also be shared at this stage. However, it is important that the Buyer also understands that more detailed and private information, such as tax returns or even a face-to-face meeting with the Seller, will not be provided until Due Diligence. The Buyer should be shown enough information to enable an informed offer, but not so much as to unduly risk confidentiality or waste time. To get to Due Diligence and see more information, the Buyer must make an offer, accompanied by a deposit check, that is accepted by the Seller. The sale should be made contingent upon the Buyer’s approval of the books and records, as well as the Seller’s approval of the Buyer, within a reasonable time, say 1-2 weeks.
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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 |
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