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Congratulations. You have sacrificed a lot financially, personally, and emotionally and established a strong business. Finally, the time has come to reap the rewards.
If you are wondering how to sell your business for a large profit and make a triumphant exit, read on. These exit planning strategies can help you lessen misunderstandings and disagreements and also eliminate financial disappointments when selling your business.
In the buyer's market, the prevailing situation favors buyers. These are times during inflation or economic crisis when businesses are battling hardships, and owners can take any lowball offer.
The seller's market is the owners of companies get the edge over potential buyers in the negotiation process. This is a time when businesses are thriving.
If you’re planning to sell your business, you want it to be at the peak of its performance. It sounds strange but selling at this time would help you get the highest price for your business.
If your business is doing well and you are earning great money, this could be the time to sell it, because there is no better time than this. Many business owners delay the process until their overall profits have started to dip. If you do this you significantly reduce the market value of your business and its salability as well.
Read also: How To Scale Your Business Without Losing Its Soul
Evaluating your business from the buyer's point of view is vital. This could be daunting but an exit planning consultant can help you accomplish this important step. Look for the risks and weaknesses that a buyer would identify. In the process, you may stumble upon opportunities for business improvement and value addition.
For instance, you might have an employee who has led your company to higher sales volume through effective marketing techniques. Nevertheless, this is a flaw, if the individual and not the process is the asset.
When the buyer finds out that your marketing success rests solely on this one person, they are likely to reduce the offer price. The best thing to do here is to make sure that the marketing process is documented so that it can run with or without your star employee. People will pay extra money for solutions and processes that can be quickly and fully replicated.
Educate yourself about the various types of buyers and their strengths and weaknesses. Some buyers, while they might pay a premium price, would make drastic changes to the business as soon as they acquire it. They may discontinue your products or upend your brand by selling your products under their new label.
Other buyers, though they present a small offer, may continue the legacy that you created while preserving the entrepreneurial spirit and serving people the way you wanted. They may retain your company culture, employees, customers, and reputation.
It is important for you to learn about the buyer types and choose which buyers match the overall exit strategy you have in mind. Rule out the buyers that do not match your current needs.
Read also: Cross-Cultural Etiquette For Doing Business Globally
If you are still uncertain of how to sell a business, please consult a professional who will help you to make the right exit strategy. The best exit strategists will give you their honest opinion, even if they think that you should wait a little or choose a seemingly lowball offer. They will provide you with all the necessary tools for a streamlined and profitable sale and exit.
