Before you try to sell your business, make sure you know what buyers want. When finding a "GOOD DEAL," buyers identify a business that is important to them. A business may be seen as worthless by one buyer, yet be worth millions to another. The difference is the fit and opportunities recognized by the buyer. The person who perceives the value of the opportunity pays the best price.

If you decide that selling your business is the right strategy for you, be sure that you cover all your bases. In order to sell your business officially, you will need to prepare a sales agreement. This is the key document in buying the business assets or stock of a company. It is important to make sure the agreement is accurate and contains all the terms of the purchase. It is in this agreement that you should define everything that you intend to purchase of the business, including assets, customer lists, intellectual property and goodwill.

Some points to consider: Confidentiality - how do you minimize the possibility of employees, vendors, and competitors, finding out that your business is for sale? An experienced and competent broker operates on a "need to know" basis by first evaluating prospective buyers and only then having them sign a confidentiality agreement.

Prepare Your Business for Sale: during this stage of the sale process, we will take a close look at your business operations, the appearance of your business, and the condition of your financial books to determine what changes are important to make before the business is listed for sale. For example, if you own a wholesale business, we may recommend that you establish clear procedures and train key employees on those procedures before you list the business for sale. Likewise, if you own a retail store, we may suggest a fresh coat of paint, new signs or other cosmetic changes to increase the value of your business. Regardless of the type of business you operate, we will help make sure that your books are well organized and complete so that potential buyers will be confident in their purchase.

Because buyers these days tend to be better educated, it is essential that even if the business facility is not as clean and tidy as it should be, an owner who wishes to sell their business should pay extra special attention to presenting the financial picture of the business. Accuracy and transparency is essential if the owner wishes to avoid any possible suspicion on the part of the buyer, since poorly presented financials will be red flags every time. In fact, not only financials should be well documented, but also, every aspect of the business should be committed to paper to tangibilize or describe the intangibles of the business. This is especially true for a service business that has little in the way of assets, as in reality all that is being sold is the goodwill and customer list.