You may have heard the time old expression “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression”. It’s a true statement in regards to many areas in life… dating, interviews, meeting your future in-laws (talk about making a first impression count), and most especially in business. But what many business owners fail to see is that first impressions are also a major area of marketing when it comes to selling their business.
When it comes to business sales, the psychology behind selling a car or a home is very similar. Buyers are strongly attracted to businesses that look good. If it shows well, it will sell and sell at a higher price. A buyers is not going to pay top dollar for a business that appears dirty, cluttered, disorganized, and has either no books and records, or records that make no sense. Contrary to what most business owners believe, most businesses are not show ready right from the start. This is where consulting with a business broker to work with you in preparing your business for sale will greatly benefit you. Listed are two important areas that a broker can assist you getting your business prepared for making a great first impression.
Visually Attract Buyers- your business must look exceptionally clean, bright and well organized. Having looked at your business every day, you may not see the areas where improvement can be made. However, these areas will stand out like a sore thumb to a potential buyer. A business broker can give you an honest and independent evaluation of the visual appearance of your business. The goal is to greatly improve the success of a sale, and a good broker will provide you with a list of the things that you should be doing to maximize your chances of success. Things like preparing recent tax returns, customer and vendor lists, and important improvements to the physical elements of the business (cleaning, painting, repairing equipment and replacing worn items) that will help attract qualified buyers.
Mentally Attract Buyers- you want everything in your business to look successful and you want to remove any potential hurdles that may diminish this image of success. Every potential buyer will picture himself in your business, being the next you. If it fits the image they have for themselves, they will proceed toward buying the business. If the image does not fit, they will walk away even from an excellent business. Of course this is partly a facade, but it works and most buyers will judge a business to be very successful, when in fact it may not be substantially better than the next, simply because it fits their ideal future image. A business broker can walk you through a systematic preparation process aimed to diminish any hurtles that would devalue your business, even if it means delaying the listing to improve your look of success.
Bottom line, you do not want to rush your business through the preparation process, and you should never settle for a business broker who isn’t concerned about preparing your business for the very best first impression possible. Your business’ first impression is what will attract your buyers and increase your chances of getting top dollar for your sale. A business broker can not only help you make a good first impression, they can help you make a lasting impression. For more information on how a business broker can help you, contact one of the professional business brokers by calling 1-800-BIZ-BROKER or by visiting www.1800bizbroker.com
0 Comments