Identify Your Obstacles

To experience a successful closing be prepared to mitigate the buyers concerns by understanding that they are going to be naturally skeptical and perhaps even coming across as suspicious. They are trying to mitigate risk! Hopefully your advisor has done their job and identified some of the obstacles and assisted in developing a plan to mitigate them. Some obstacles will require more time to eliminate or mitigate and you may have to make changes to the business.

Understand the Businesses Value

Start by selecting an advisor that has a strong understanding of valuation. Throwing an industry rule of thumb on a sheet of paper is not the correct path and will be indefensible. Frankly some advisors are capable with this important component of a successful sale and others are not so good. If he is in a hurry and is giving you the feeling that he driven by the “sale”, continue your search.

Qualified M & A Intermediaries are a Great Resource

Here’s how you can kill two birds with one stone.  Develop a relationship with a qualified M&A Intermediary who can help you: 1) understand the current value of your business (and importantly, how and why it is valued that way); 2) identify obstacles to a potential sale of your business; and 3) identify opportunities for improvement to increase the value of your business.  Arizona Business Sales will provide a no cost no hassle initial consultation and valuation to discuss your business obstacles and opportunities to increase value.

The Opinion of Value

In performing an evaluation, M & A Intermediaries will provide an opinion of value.  That is a necessary aspect of business exit planning.  You need to know where you are at to plan where you are going.  Having a realistic estimate of your business’ value will help you understand the disparity between your longer-term personal financial goals and your current personal financial situation.  It’s always important to be realistic and sometimes it is necessary to adjust your longer-term personal financial goals to more achievable ambitions.  Or, since you recognize there is a gap to be filled, sometimes business improvement changes can resolve the disparity over time.

So, how can you start overcoming obstacles?  Interview qualified M & A Intermediaries and let them know you are interested in a long-term relationship.  At little or no cost, they can provide a qualified opinion of value as well as help identify the obstacles you face in successfully selling your business.