These articles are for general information purposes only
and do not constitute legal, accounting or other
professional advice. Important financial and legal
decisions should be made only after seeking appropriate
professional advice based on your specific situation.
Selling your Business during a Crisis
by Mike Merritt Business Sell Canada
How to sell your business during a Crisis ...
1. Be Enthusiastic
As always, "Be Enthusiastic"; be honest about the current situation
but be enthusiastic too. Whatever the crisis is, it won't last
forever. At some point in time it will be over and all things will
return to normal.
If your business was operating successfully before the crisis; then, in most
cases, it can be successful again; albeit with some re-structuring and perhaps
modifications to its operating procedures. These facts are what you will
have to get across to the Buyer (the new owner) in your Business-For-Sale
listing. Enterprising people are still looking to change their
lifestyles during this period of waiting and reflection. They want to
start their own "new operation" in a different direction with a
different business for them to operate and to grow.
They are still interested in exploring new opportunities.
What you, the Seller, need to do in your Business-For-Sale listing is to be
enthusiastic and to emphasize the good and successful and profitable parts of
your business as it ran before the crisis, and to describe how well it will
operate once again.
The descriptions that you use in your ad should "sell" your
business. Attractive businesses say things like:
"This established business has been running for
5 years and will continue to increase in its income/profit once this crisis
has passed."
Think of the Buyer when you write your listing. What would he/she want to
know? What would motivate a Buyer to contact you and to want to
investigate your business further? Write your ad from the Buyer's
standpoint! She's not buying just a list of your "used" equipment
- she's buying an opportunity to make a lot of money for herself, and to
feel good about the services/products that she's providing to the community,
and to be proud of what she's doing.
You want to fulfill those desires with your ad descriptions !!!
2. What's it Worth ?
The biggest problem that Sellers have in preparing to sell their business, is trying
to determine their asking price. This is doubly difficult during a crisis
because the business might be closed or operating under reduced capacity or
only partially functioning (like: take-out only, no seated dining or reduced
seating capacity).
In this case, the Seller has to refer to their previous (pre-crisis)
sales/income/profit figures. Present those to the potential Buyer and
describe how the business will flourish again. Of course,
you don't need to actually state financial figures in the Listing
- you can use a more generalized statement, like: "This business has supported
my spouse and 3 children over the previous 6 years of its
operation."
When setting your Asking Price, you should consider your ongoing operating
costs and losses; and that the Buyer will be taking over these costs from you
for an undetermined length of time before she even starts to make a profit.
3. Why Should Someone Buy THIS Business ?
Ask yourself the question: "Why would I want to buy this particular
business?"; then put your answers into the listing descriptions.
There are lists and descriptive paragraphs for: "Included",
"Excluded" and "Optional/Extra". There are
paragraphs for "Features", "Financial""
and "Market/Competition". A good and effective
Listing says something appropriate in each of these text entry locations.
........ All the best with the sale of your business ........
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a licensed business broker so I cannot legally give you
advice on your sale. What's written above is based on my personal
experiences ... which you're welcome to consider in preparing for the sale
of your business - but you should not take it as professional or legal advice.
DISCLAIMER BusinessSellCanada is not responsible for the accuracy of the information
shown in any of the "Business For Sale" listings. The Buyer should
contact the Seller/Agent directly and verify the accuracy of
all information to his/her own satisfaction.