“I Don't Need A Business Broker To Help Me Sell My Tempe Business."
If you think you may be able to sell your company on your own, because you have previously negotiated the sale of a car or something else that was expensive, you may want to think again. Selling your business is a far cry from selling a car, a boat, or even your house. Let’s explore why…Running a business is very complicated and it takes a lot of time, experience and expertise. Selling a business is even more complicated. There is so much to know, such as what type of purchase contract to use, whether you are really talking to a sincere and able buyer, how to keep the sale confidential, which records to share and when, etc, etc. etc. It can easily become overwhelming. Nevertheless, I encounter Arizona business owners on a regular basis who are convinced they don’t need help when selling their business. The reasons for this are numerous: They feel that running a business has made them experienced in all matters pertaining to business dealings, so selling their business on their own is really just another step. Sometimes they think because they are emotionally involved and vested in their business, they should be the only ones facilitating the sale of their business. Or they think they can save a bunch of money by not paying someone to help. But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the personal and emotional involvement is one of the main reasons I discourage people from selling their business on their own. The emotional attachment can have many drawbacks, such as being upset over low ball offers or feeling the potential buyer is being too snoopy.
Another “problem” that is very common is believing their business is worth an unrealistic price because of all the years and blood, sweat, and tears they have put into the business. Sentimental value also gets in the way. Buyers will not pay for sentimental value or for all of your blood, sweat, and tears. Their main concern is how much profit the business is currently making. Plus there is a fine art to establishing a price that the market will bare. Price it too high and you’ll get no takers. Price it too low and you can cause suspicion and leave money on the table. This is why working with a Tempe business broker is a must when trying to sell your business successfully. The following is an example of a business owner who said, “I don’t need a business broker to help me sell my business”.
Unfortunately for him, he was wrong. It ended up costing him a lot of money. How? He found a buyer he thought was perfect and decided to carry a note for half of the selling price. He did this because most business sales transactions are done in this manner. The problem was, he didn’t pre-qualify the buyer. He didn’t request a credit report or a personal financial statement to see what the buyer’s financial situation was. He also didn’t have the buyer sign the appropriate legal papers and didn’t file the proper forms to protect himself. Shortly after the sale, the buyer stopped making payments to the seller. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really anything the seller could do to collect his money and he ended up getting stiffed for the balance that was owed to him. He could have avoided this situation if he would have hired a professional Arizona Business Broker. When it comes time to sell your Arizona business, don’t take any chances, hire a competent Phoenix business broker to make sure the transaction is handled properly. You’ll be glad you did. If you would like to explore the possibility of selling your Arizona business, contact me at 480-707-7721 or at [email protected].