Skilled Business Brokers Take the Time to Understand Your Business

As a business owner or founder, you might think no one knows your business as well as you do. However, when the time comes to sell your company, consider seeking out business brokers, such as Sunbelt Business Brokers.

Business brokers will take the time to get to know and understand you and your company, making them pivotal to maximizing the strategy and profitability of the sale.

Sunbelt Business Brokers has deep experience working with small and medium businesses, handling every detail of a sale from beginning to closing. That experience, combined with understanding your business, is key to getting you to close quickly and with the best possible sales price.

What Are Business Brokers?

Business brokers, often called intermediaries, are individuals or companies that can help you buy or sell a business. Selling a business can be a long and complex process and can take six months to a year.

Business brokers, such as Sunbelt Business Brokers, often know your industry and possess specialized skills to get you quickly from the thought of selling your business to being sold — and at a higher price than you may have expected.

How Understanding Your Business Helps

A key to a successful sale is bringing business brokers into your company long before you plan to sell. Skilled business brokers like Sunbelt Business Brokers use that time to listen, watch, learn, and provide objective guidance.

Here’s how that helps you optimize the sale of your business:

Valuation

While an online business valuation calculator can give you an estimate of what your business is worth, business brokers know an accurate business valuation takes skill. To get the most precise valuation, business brokers combine experience and specialized knowledge with a full understanding of your business and how it works.

Once you understand where your business’s value lies, you can work with your brokers to set a strategy for getting top dollar at closing.

Competitive Advantage

Skilled business brokers who take the time to understand your business know how the intangible assets can distinguish you from competitors, making your business more attractive to potential buyers. Consider these intangible assets:

• Intellectual property

• Brand recognition

• Customer loyalty

• Reputation

Knowledgeable business brokers know how to weave your intangible assets into a narrative that sets you apart in the marketplace and draws buyers to you.

Matching

Business brokers maintain a vast network and spend time with potential buyers. As a result, they have a deep understanding of the businesses those buyers are seeking. These business brokers can match you to buyers they are acquainted with in their network, giving you the possibility of reaching the negotiating table faster.

Selling a business you created and nurtured into a successful company can draw your emotions to the surface. Business brokers, who have handled many previous deals and now understand your business, can be an objective beacon to get you through to a better deal than you could have obtained on your own.

Understand What You Want From the Deal

When looking to maximize the profit from the sale of your business, reputable and skilled business brokers are willing to take the time to learn about you and your company to deliver that goal. So consider taking your time to know and understand the business brokers you plan to hire to sell your business.

4 Things New Owners Face After Buying an Operating Business

Purchasing an operating business has its advantages. You have an existing customer base, existing employees, and likely existing inventory as well. 

However, as experienced business brokers can tell you, purchasing an operating business comes with its challenges, too. Here’s a look at some of the difficulties you may face right after buying an established company.

1. Assessing Current Employees

Sometimes, purchasing a business with an existing team of employees can be advantageous. They already understand how the business works and can perform daily duties, which means you don’t have to invest time and money into recruitment and training.

However, it’s essential that you evaluate the current team to determine whether the existing employees are good for the business. If your team includes unmotivated employees or those who seem to go against the grain of the culture you’re trying to create, you may be better off dismissing them.

Evaluating the current team can also help you decide whether you need to hire more people to support growing operations. In some cases, you may also determine that you need to downsize.

2. Evaluating Efficiency

Even the most successful businesses can stand to become more efficient. One of the best things you can do right after buying an existing business is to conduct a thorough efficiency audit. The sooner you can start optimizing, the sooner you’re likely to see reduced expenditures and increased profits.

You also may want to track efficiency and growth moving forward. You can often accomplish this by looking at financial records or by periodically using a business valuation calculator to see whether your company’s total value has gone up.

3. Evaluating (and Maybe Overhauling) Technology

Some established businesses may not have updated the technology they’ve used in years. More often than not, updating technology can save you time and money. For example, a lot of newer tech allows you to automate payroll, customer notifications, and other functions. 

Of course, incorporating new technology might come with an upfront cost. You can end up paying more in terms of both the money it costs to purchase the tech and the time it takes to train your employees to use it.

4. Evaluating Business Relationships

In addition to other aspects of the existing business, you must also evaluate your relationships with vendors, suppliers, and other companies you may do business with. It’s particularly important to look at competitors to ensure you’re getting quality products for the best price. 

Keeping the same partnerships might seem easier. However, if you can find a better deal elsewhere, it’s worth the effort to make a transition.

Buying an Operating Business Can Be Challenging — but Worth It

When you buy an existing business, you have the opportunity to assess it and optimize it accordingly. However, implementing the necessary changes is often more complex than it sounds. The good news is that when you work with experienced business brokers, they can advise you on how to best move forward once the deal is finalized.

Business Brokers Let You Focus on Operations, Not Sales Negotiations

Whether you’re preparing to move on to your next business venture or getting ready to retire altogether, selling your business can be exciting. However, it takes more time, work, and business savvy to negotiate a sale than most people realize. 

Business brokers specialize in finding qualified buyers and making sure you get every penny your company is worth. But that’s far from the only benefit they can offer you. Here are several reasons why you can benefit from working with a business broker.

Negotiations Involve More Than You Think

Negotiating a sale price for a business isn’t like haggling over the price of a set of dishes at a yard sale. Typically, negotiations take time and involve several steps, including the following:

• Assembling financial information

• Having the business appraised

• Agreeing on contingencies (like buyer financing or transfer of office lease)

• Deciding whether the buyer wishes to keep the same staff on board

• Determining “covenants and promises” (like non-compete agreements)

• Planning transitions (like vendor contracts or ongoing projects)

If you have experience selling businesses, it may be possible to do so yourself. However, if you’re unfamiliar with the process, the buyer’s business broker may be able to take advantage of you. Business brokers handle sales on a daily basis, and they have the skills needed to build a deal that’s favorable to you.

Successful negotiations start before you even make contact with a buyer. Business brokers are uniquely equipped to appraise your business, assess the market, and decide on a reasonable asking price. 

A business valuation calculator can help you get a general idea of what your business is worth. However, for more precise valuations, you must rely on the expertise that brokers can offer.

When You Broker Handles Negotiations, You Have More Time for Your Business

Going through negotiations can be incredibly time-consuming. And if you’re involved in your company’s daily operations, that means you’ll have far less time to attend to your duties. When you’re trying to attract buyers, the last thing you need is a sudden dip in performance or revenue. 

Many buyers also ask business owners to make what’s called a “business as usual” promise while the sale is being finalized. That means the current owner must continue offering the same services, inventory, hours, etc. If you’re handling all negotiations, keeping the company functioning normally might be a real challenge.

If maintaining the business during negotiations proves to be difficult enough, the sale itself may be in jeopardy. If this buyer backs out, you’ll have to repeat the entire process again with a new one.

The Right Business Broker Makes All the Difference

A business broker can help you maximize your profits while still giving you enough time to focus on operations. Of course, you should carefully evaluate any business brokers you consider. 

It’s particularly important to make sure they have experience with companies in your industry. When you take the time to select the right broker, you’re making an investment in the success of your future sale.