We believe the single most important factor in the proposed sale of your business is a Detailed Business Assessment and Analysis of Saleability. This will determine if in fact you have a saleable business and what the current market value for your business is. If you fail to do this, how could you possibly know the market value or if your business is saleable. Why even list a business for sale if it is not saleable? As a “Certified Business Valuer” I strictly deal with the facts, figures and the market, giving you an honest unbiased opinion based on our knowledge, experience and expertise in this industry. It is our top priority to explain how we arrived at our decisions and discuss it with you in detail. You will not be told an unrealistic sale price or that we can sell your business if we do not believe that to be true. At “Business Buy or Sell” businesses are listed to Sell not for the sake of getting a listing!
Ultimately, Publius Syrus had it right 2,000 years ago when he said ‘everything is worthwhile the purchaser will pay for it’. The essence of any sale ‘price’ is judging ‘what a purchaser will pay for it’ and that is not an easy undertaking when analysing a business.
What a business is worth to a buyer is essentially based on what are its future earnings and the risks associated with those earnings not being achieved. A buyer will want to recover an investment in a business in a timely manner, and certainly before the risks to earnings are likely to see them incur losses.
Three things are key:
Experience has demonstrated that if these three things are well assessed, the judgement of ‘what price’ will be reflect ‘what a purchaser is willing to pay’.
Often, the first impressions that is prospective buyer has of a business is based on the quality and content of the documentation provided in the first instance. The purpose of the presentation to a buyer is essentially to create continued interest after responding to the marketing campaign.
Prospective buyers need facts to make decisions. The documentation and the presentation will influence those decisions either positively or negatively.
Neat, clean, tidy premises layed out well to support the operations of a business obviously leave a good impression.
The purpose of the campaign is to organise and adopt a strategy to reach the right prospective buyers effectively and to maximise the return from funds invested in the campaign. All businesses are different. None have exactly the same location or premises, plant and equipment, history and development, future outlook, business day to day operations, their interface with customers and suppliers and the business’ relationship with them and their management practices along with the overall business culture. All vary in some way, sometimes markedly so. Applying a ‘standardised’ campaign strategy simply does not recognise those differences. A marketing campaign needs to promote features and benefits of the business concerned.
Advertisements must ‘talk to’ prospective buyers, remembering, prospective business buyers are interested in facts, not puffery. For a prospective business buyer, an advertisement, in my view, must:
Writing advertising copy is demanding in thought, time and construction. In my experience, time and effort in content construction to obtaining responses from the right business buyers.
“After spending many months, time and money trying to sell my business it was a welcome relief when I discovered Graham Long.
The support and advice which was available was instrumental to the sale of my business. Graham Long was, in a word, unbelievable. He demonstrated his experience and knowledge of everything from valuations to marketing and ongoing advice. The manner in which he conducted business was efficient and professional at all times. In contrast to other business brokers, the cost was fair and reasonable and the service was second to none, he went above and beyond what was expected.
I would more than recommend using Graham and his business to anyone looking to sell their business!” Peter B
