The process of selling a business is filled great complexity due to numerous factors. Due to this complexity, here are a few reasons to consider using a properly licensed intermediary, a business broker to assist you with the sale of your business.
Confidentiality
Concerned about competitors discovering that your business is for sale, and the harmful repercussions that it can entail? Using a business broker to interface with prospective buyers adds an important buffer to maintaining the confidentiality of the intentions of the business owner.
This is key to preventing damage from competitors who can pounce on the news of a pending sale to lure customers away and/or poach key employees from the business. Using a business broker minimises the opportunities for damage to the reputation of a business to occur.
Creating a larger buyer pool
A dedicated business brokerage and business broker are in a position to create a larger pool of prospective buyers due to their business network and marketing expertise. Simple supply & demand principles apply with a larger buyer pool, which accomplishes two key things, #1 generating a quicker sale and #2 supporting a higher price.
Fetching a higher sales price for the business is an obvious tangible benefit while concluding the sale transaction sooner than later is hard to measure, but very important intangible benefit from using a business broker to sell a business.
Coordinating all of the parties to the transaction
In the course of completing a transaction, there can be numerous parties involved. In addition to the buyer and seller, who are principals to the sale of a business, other parties with a stake in the transaction can include the landlord, the property manager, bankers and lenders for both parties, escrow agency, accounting professionals for each principal, legal counsel for each party et cetera.
When there are many parties in a transaction, a lot of information can get lost in transit or translation, which risks derailing a transaction due to error or by the excessive passage of time. This is where a quality business broker acts as a single unifying force to keeps tabs on each party and makes sure that the parties are disseminating information and documents in a timely and productive manner.
Facilitating due diligence
The buyer and the buyer's professional advisers are will come up with their own unique list of company materials to review, and how they want to tour and view the operation during due diligence. Also, there will be sensitive and confidential items that will need to be reviewed and verified during due diligence for the sale of a business.
A qualified business broker can help both parties navigate the sensitive and highly confidential items to the satisfaction of each party, all while helping maintain the confidentiality of the sale of the business from the public, competitors and the employees.
While a business broker is not licensed to offer legal advice, they can often offer practical suggestions to questions and issues that arise during the Sale of a Business transaction.
Access to other key professionals
An established business broker will have access to other key professionals who are familiar with the specific issues and challenges facing the buyer and seller of a business. For example, either principal might need referrals to experienced transactional attorneys.
Also, the buyer might need a referral to a competent receivables factoring company, to a competent bookkeeping service, to inventory management/counting service, et cetera. A seller may need a referral to a retirement planning professional who specialises in clients who have sold businesses.
A business broker can be a vital resource for the buyer and/or seller of a business to find qualified professionals uniquely suited for business people.
Need some help in selling your business? Contact Finn Business Sales Sydney today for a reliable business selling services you need!