Category: Working With Sellers

Working With Sellers

3 "Myth-takes" FSBOs make!

What is a FSBO? A business for sale by owner.

Why is it a mistake for an owner to try and sell their own business?

1. Don’t know value

What the owner paid for it, what other businesses are advertised for, and what outdated rules-of-thumb (ROT!) are supposed to apply may have no relationship to today’s value. Price it too high and...

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Questions Business Owners Ask Me and the Answers I Give Them

Throughout my years of successfully assisting business owners in selling their companies, I've been asked the same questions by many potential sellers. In this article I have compiled a list of common questions about selling a business along with my answers that you may find helpful.

1. How much is my business worth?

The correct answer is the price a Buyer offers you that you are willing to accept. It makes no difference...

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Transitioning from Entrepreneur to Employee

The New York Times recently published an article by Bryan Borzykowski describing the challenges of a seller staying on with the business for a period of time following the sale. 

 "While the transition from entrepreneur to employee will always be tricky, owners who have had the experience say it is important to negotiate well — and be prepared for the worst." 

Business intermediaries are in a unique position to help owners negotiate well and be prepared for the challenges unique to transitioning from captain to crew member. We think you will find the New York Times article interesting and the real-life examples of how sellers dealt with this transition helpful.

Asking Price versus Selling Price

In preparing for a talk in Florida next month, I found a very interesting statistic. I have kept some data from my days at United Business Investments (UBI). As a few of you know, UBI was the first business brokerage firm to have some 50 company-owned offices in eight states. I had someone who kept pretty accurate statistics of the offices’ performance: number of listings, number of deals, sales, etc.

One of the more interesting statistics was the actual selling price versus the seller’s asking price. In 1978, it was...

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4th Quarter Market Snapshot

Almost half of people trying to sell their business have had a much worse response from potential buyers than expected, according to the latestBusinessesForSale.com survey.

Seller trends

Respondents were selling their businesses in geographical locations worldwide including Sweden, Indonesia, Pakistan and Jordan, among others. Seventeen percent of sellers were hoping to sell hotels or guesthouses, the most common type of business for sale, followed by real estate property (13%), manufacturing (13%), retail (11%) and cafes and restaurants (11%).

Of sellers whose businesses have been on the market for some time, 47% said...

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Specialization is Here

We recently received a full-color attractive 3 by 5 inch postcard from a Century 21 Realtor. Under his name was the tag line "Active Adult Community Specialist." The card was of interest for two reasons: One, we happen to live in an active adult community but, more importantly, we were intrigued that a Realtor claimed to specialize in a particular real estate segment.

As many of you know, we edit and publish the annual Business Reference Guide. In order to get a lot of our information, we solicit business intermediaries who specialize in various different types of businesses or have experience with them. There are more industry specialists every year.

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Working with the Seller (Part 2 of 2 -- Educating the Seller)

The following is a continuation from yesterday's posting of an article written by the “Old Pro” 30 + years ago. Russ Wright was my mentor and subsequently my father-in-law. These are the rules I learned from him many, many years ago. How things have changed!

Tom West


Educating Your Seller

To guarantee your seller’s complete cooperation in the sale of any listed business, it is always wise to “alert” him to the possible annoyances he may be subjected to before a sale had been consummated. A few “do’s” and “don’ts” at this point should eliminate most of these problems. Before doing this, however, your listing should be completed and signed.

 

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Working with the Seller (Part 1 of 2 -- The Listing & Down Payment)

The following article was written by the “Old Pro” 30 + years ago. Russ Wright was my mentor and subsequently my father-in-law. These are the rules I learned from him many, many years ago. How things have changed!

Tom West


The Listing

Make it Saleable!

It is extremely important that you know why you are taking a listing and how to make your listing saleable. Don’t forget, before your listing can be sold to the public, you must...

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Working with the Seller (Part 1 of 2 -- The Listing & Down Payment)

The following article was written by the “Old Pro” 30 + years ago. Russ Wright was my mentor and subsequently my father-in-law. These are the rules I learned from him many, many years ago. How things have changed!

Tom West


The Listing

Make it Saleable!

It is extremely important that you know why you are taking a listing and how to make your listing saleable. Don’t forget, before your listing can be sold to the public, you must...

Read the rest of entry »

2012: So, What's Changed?

The more I look at recent surveys asking who the business buyers are and why they are looking to buy (see some of those results here), the more I want to say, “So, what’s changed?”

When comparing some of these results to those found in surveys conducted 20 years ago, except for the increased use of computers and the reliance on listing sites, such as www.bizbuysell.com, not much has changed. Sure, the economy has impacted the business,

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Cut the Time Between Listing and Closing

We recently reviewed a survey we had done for the International Business Broker’s Association by Babson College 20 years ago. One of the questions asked for the average number of days from listing to sale. We compared the results of the 1992 survey to our most recent survey results from 2011.

Survey Year Average time from listing to sale
1992 4.8 months
2011 10 months

The big question is, obviously, "Why do deals now take more than twice as long from listing to closing?"

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Tom's Rules for Success

I recently saw a query from a business broker on one of the various web sites asking what his office could do to create income on a regular basis until the deals started flowing. I assumed form the question that it was not a start-up office, but one where the deal flow was more than slow.

I don’t have the answer to this query, but I always get concerned when business brokers stray from what they do best – listing and selling businesses.

Valuation Reports?

I have no issue with brokers providing valuation reports for business owners. However, I would be concerned if the opinion of value (a better term for what most business brokers supply) is created for legal or IRS situations. The brokers are then entering dangerous ground. In those situations, a broker is better off recommending one of the various third party valuation services available.

FF&E Valuations?

I’m also comfortable with business brokers providing opinions of value for business fixtures and equipment. These opinions of value services go hand-in-hand with listing and selling businesses. I am concerned, however, when... 

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Saying "NO"……

 We say "no" to many potential listings. This month starts my 50th year selling businesses. We have sold around 7,000 businesses in that time, earned "enough" money, and, more importantly, made a lot of friends and built strong relationships with many professional advisors.

Fundamental to our growth has been our commitment to truth and honesty in all our dealings with clients and customers and our belief in the "golden rule" – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

One aspect of this is providing...

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First Impressions (Part 2 of 2)

 This article is a continuation from yesterday's posting about a potential buyer's first impressions with various brokers and franchise representatives.

OK, so what did work?

Two main things impressed me. One was one gentleman in particular who we are now working with. The other was an email that included an attachment “Questions to help you evaluate a business.” That particular broker sent it with the explanation that the questions would be helpful for us to have whether or not we chose to work with him. That got my attention. If we had not already been working with the first company, we may have pursued working with him, just because he included something in his email that demonstrated his desire to help us.

It’s hard to put into words what we liked about the one we are now working with, but I can tell you when I listened to three voicemails in one day, I literally wrote...

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First Impressions (Part 1 of 2)

Although we've been interested in owning our own business for many years, recent circumstances plunged us into a more intensive search just recently. The variety of first impression experiences has been interesting and, I believe, informative for brokers.

We inquired about a few businesses on a national business listing site, and inquired about new franchises as well. Here are some of the responses to our inquiries.

#1: Zero Response
We have heard absolutely nothing from a few of our inquiries. Obviously this did not leave a good first impression. We had noticed that some of the listings on the national listing site were not on the representing broker’s own web site and wondered if that meant they had already been sold or withdrawn but not removed from the listing site. Whatever the situation, the broker lost the opportunity to find out our readiness, our available cash to invest in a business, and what we are looking for in a business.

#2: Vague or Incomprehensible Response
While the email responses generally referred back to the specific listing we inquired about, the phone responses didn’t always do the same. In one particular voicemail, the broker

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Total Seller Consideration

*CORRECTION*

This article was originally posted with the numbers in the chart lined up incorrectly.  Thankfully, Len notified us that we had not displayed his information accurately.  Please note the corrected chart and we apologize for this error.  


Some of you may already be doing this, but I have started adding a standard extra page to the “Seller Carry” version of a valuation. This is only for the purpose of “selling” the idea of Seller Carry to my Client Prospect. 

Below you will find an example for a large company I am about to list (I hope). 

There are two objectives:

1. To show them how much more they will receive from the sale if they carry a note. Notice that these sellers would earn another $59,188 in interest
2. To get them used to the idea that our commission is coming out of the cash at closing. Note that, after interest, they would receive 96.3% of the purchase price.

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Maximize Value When Selling Your Business - Get Rid of Excess Inventory

When selling a business, maximizing value is of primary importance to the business owner. One element that can drag down business value is poor inventory management in the form of excess inventory. Maintaining proper inventory levels is essential to maximizing value.

When running a business, the goal should be to tie up as little cash as possible in inventory, while having enough inventory to meet ordinary business needs. After all, a prospective buyer looking at your business as a possible acquisition would rather have fully flexible cash not less flexible inventory weighing profits down. Any additional dollar that can be found to help bottom line earnings when selling a business will be rewarded by a higher price when the business is sold.

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Top 10 Exit Planning Mistakes

1. Bad timing – judging the best time to sell is important to maximise the price received, e.g. when the business is doing well or when there is strong demand as there is at present.

2. Being reactive – waiting for the perfect deal is like waiting to win Lotto – it is highly unlikely. Better to be pro-active when the time comes and have the business marketed professionally.

3. Not considering all your options – a sale to staff? A sale to a competitor who has synergies? Bring in a junior partner so you ease out?

4. Being distracted – do what you do best – run the company. Let the professionals market your business and negotiate the best deal.

5. Not knowing your value – what is your business worth now? Have you realistic expectations and will that provide enough for your next project?

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CONTRIBUTORS

Tom West
BBP Co-Founder  ~  Massachusetts

Tom is a founder and past president of several large business brokerage firms and is also a founder, past president, and former Executive Director of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA).  He has authored and co-authored several books, is editor of all 21 editions of The Business Reference Guide, and is often quoted in a variety of national newspapers and periodicals.

Email 


Loren Marc Schmerler
Bottom Line Management, Inc.  ~  Georgia

Loren CPC, APC is President and Founder of Bottom Line Management, Inc. He has been a business broker since 1986 and a business consultant since 1970. Loren represents sellers and buyers and has qualified for the 2012 Georgia Association of Business Broker’s Million Dollar Club.

Email  |  Web



Robert Flynn
Managing Partner of United Brokers Group, LLC ~ Rhode Island
Robert has been a business brokerage firm owner for nine years. Prior to that period he was a Senior Executive in two public and privately held technology and manufacturing businesses for twenty-eight years. From 1982 to 1996 Robert was a Senior Executive at the publicly traded +$3 billion (USD) London-based Cookson Group. He managed technology and manufacturing companies in England and the United States with a particular emphasis on startup and turnaround situations. Robert is also a licensed Rhode Island real estate salesperson and has owned five businesses.

 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2 


Bob Sweeney
President of Innovative Travel Acquisitions, Inc. (ITA) ~ Georgia
Bob founded the Atlanta-based travel and tour business brokerage firm in 1991 after a successful 9-year career on Wall Street. Known as the "Matchmakers for the Travel and Tour Industries", ITA is a member in good standing with the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), the National Tour Association (NTA) and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). ITA operates a confidential platform LINKING buyers and sellers of travel and tour related companies throughout North America.

Email  |  Website  


Darrell Arne
Founder of Arne & Co.  ~  New Mexico
Darrell began his professional career in public accounting in 1970. In 1983, Darrell formed his own CPA practice, with emphasis on business valuation; by 1992, he had earned the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation in business valuation. He then earned the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation in 1995, and Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA) designation in 2008. He discontinued practicing in public accounting in 1994 when he formed Arne & Co., specializing in exit strategy planning for business owners, business valuations, business acquisitions & sales, business dispute mediation, part-time CFO services, and developer of business training seminars. 

Email  |  Website  


Jean D. Sifleet, Esq.
Business Attorney and Creator of Smart Fast®  ~  Massachusetts
Jean began her career with big law and accounting firms. She did a stint in state government, and then moved to the computer and communications industry. Frustrated with bureaucracy, Jean co-founded and sold two successful companies.  Today, Jean practices business law. She enjoys working with people who are starting a company, or who want to grow their company and stay out of trouble. Her advice is grounded in her first-hand experience as an entrepreneur as well as her knowledge of law, finance and management.  Calling herself a nontraditional lawyer, Jean uses Smart Fast®, a practical and systematic approach to evaluating options and making informed decisions. 

Email  |  Website


Ron Johnson
Chairman, ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions  ~  California
Ron is Chairman of ABI Business Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, which was established in San Ramon, CA, in 1984. Ron has been the intermediary in over one hundred transactions since entering the profession in 1991, and has managed, for his associates, many hundreds of additional transactions. Ron is well recognized nation-wide in his profession, having served 10 years on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Business Brokers (CABB), including two terms as President of the CABB.

Email  |  Website


Ralana Shelley
Certified Business Intermediary, Sunbelt  ~  Indiana
Ralana comes to the table with over eight years of experience in the Business Brokerage industry. Prior to making the transition to Business Broker, Ralana specialized in Marketing small to mid-sized businesses in the Indiana marketplace in her role as Marketing Manager for Sunbelt. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter


Rose Stabler
Certified Business Brokers (CBB), Managing Partner ~  Texas
Rose has 25 years of business experience from serving in management and consulting positions in the Oil & Gas, Biotechnology, and Manufacturing industries to working for private equity giant Forstmann Little & Company to starting, building and selling an online promotional product firm that featured her own line of items. Rose serves as business advisor on the Houston Business Show on CNN650 and appears regularly on the Movers and Shakers panel discussion segment of Houston Manufacturers Show. Rose has published many articles about the process of buying and selling businesses and has contributed to Inc. Magazine. 

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Website 3  |  Blog


Wayne Quilitz
Murphy Valuations, President ~  Florida
Wayne's experience includes 28 years in electrical engineering and marketing in the electronics industry.  He served in the U.S. Navy, worked for Boeing Aerospace and Texas Instruments, and owned/operated a retail store for five years before joining Murphy Business and Financial Corporation.

Email  |  Website 


Richard L. Kolman
Franchise Note Buyers, LLC, President & Principal Owner ~  San Diego, CA

Richard has long served as trusted in-house legal counsel for some of the nation’s leading franchising companies. Rich began his franchise legal career in 1988 as a Corporate Attorney in the Legal Department of McDonald’s Corporation. He recently retired from the UPS Legal Department, following eleven years as Senior Franchise Counsel for The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. (4,400+ franchises).  Despite the current adverse national economy, Franchise Note Buyers and its strategic underwriters bring unparalleled access to large sums of liquid capital needed to quickly fund numerous Franchise Notes at top-dollar prices.

Email  |  Website  |  Blog 


Bill Martin
ABMI, USBIZCORP and USFRANBIZ Founder  ~  Missouri

Since starting as an agent in 1982, Bill's career has included the building of business brokerages from scratch in over 20 cities coast to coast.  He is the founder of United States Business Brokers, Inc (USBIZCORP) and USFRANBIZ, Inc.  Bill has been involved in the sale of almost 4,000 different business acquisition transactions. He has also had articles and opinion memo’s published in trade publications, and is a nationally recognized trainer and mentor in the business brokerage industry.

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Russell Robb
Managing Director, Tully & Holland, Incorporated ~ Massachusetts

Russell Robb is a 20-year veteran in the mergers and acquisitions business, providing investment banking and corporate finance advisory services to a wide range of middle market companies. His transaction experience includes numerous companies in the consumer products industry, as well as a broad array of other manufacturing and distribution companies in various industry sectors. Russ is the past president and owner of two sporting goods manufacturing/retail companies. He is a published author of Selling Middle Market Businesses and the former editor of a highly regarded monthly M&A industry newsletter. 

Email


Len Krick
Sunbelt Owner, CBI, M&AMI ~  Las Vegas, NV
Len, owner of the Sunbelt Las Vegas office, is a Certified Business Intermediary ("CBI"), a Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary ("M&AMI"), and holds a Nevada Real Estate Broker License. He has over twenty years of business and business consulting experience and is an active member, moderator and speaker for the International Business Brokers Association ("IBBA"), the Las Vegas Business Forum, and the Las Vegas CFO Group.

Email  |  Website


Ted J. Leverette
"Partner" On-Call Network, President 
Ted, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®, has consulted with thousands of business buyers and owners on buy/sell, valuation and business improvement since 1974. Since 1993 he has taught affiliates in the USA and Canada, who independently own and operate their consulting practices, The Street-Smart Way to Become a Business Consultant™. He has been a lecturer for trade associations and author of texts, articles and the book, How to Get ALL the Money You Want For Your Business Without Stealing It™.

Email  |  Website


Ed Teixeira
FranchiseKnowHow, LLC ~  New York
Ed is the founder and President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC a franchise-consulting firm. Ed has worked in the franchise industry for thirty years and has served as a corporate executive for firms in the retail, manufacturing, healthcare and technology industries. He has been involved with over 1,000 franchise locations and has transacted international licensing in Europe, Asia and South America. Ed is the author of Franchising From The Inside Out.

Email  |  Website


Jeff Fabian
Fabian, LLC ~  Baltimore, MD
Jeff is founder of Fabian, LLC, a boutique law firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland that provides trademark and copyright protection and contract drafting and negotiation services for businesses, artists, entertainers and athletes. He has published scholarly articles on trademark use in the Internet context and state franchise relationship laws, and has co-authored numerous articles appearing in various legal, business and industry publications.

Email  |  Website 1  |  Website 2  |  Twitter 


George D. Abraham
Business Evaluation Systems, CEO 
George has been involved in the transfer of over 450 businesses and performed over 12,000 appraisals in the past 32 years. Two of the appraisals Mr. Abraham was involved in passed the scrutiny of the World Bank. His company was the first in the nation to develop and gain national attention for its unique and highly accurate business evaluation software programs.  George is a licensed Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Appraiser, Business Appraiser, Machinery and Equipment Appraiser, Board Certified Business Broker, Certified Environmental Inspector, Certified Business Intermediary, Licensed State Property Tax Consultant, Accredited Review Appraiser, and Certified Business Counselor.

Website


Clyth MacLeod
Clyth MacLeod, Ltd. Managing Director ~ New Zealand
Clyth has over 40 year's experience in business broking and business valuation. yth is also a director of Business Appraisals Ltd (business valuers), BizStats Ltd (a national database of business sales information) and Australasian Business Valuations Ltd (consultancy).As well as authoring many articles and texts Clyth has lectured nationwide and overseas on business sales and valuation for many organisations including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand and the International Business Brokers Association in the USA. The only business broker to be awarded a Life Membership by the Real Estate Institute of NZ and a Fellowship by the International Business Brokers Association he remains active in the industry and committed to leading a professional team.

Website


Jack R. Sanders
Spectrum Corporate Resources, LLC Managing Director
Jack has been an active full-time business intermediary since 1985. He has personally handled over 130 business transfers and has appraised over 1,450 businesses. He is also the author of the “BIZCOMPS®” studies, a leading authority on the market value of small and medium business in the United States and Canada. The studies contain actual transaction information on over 12,000 transactions and are marketed in both print and electronic form. Jack is also an instructor in educational courses leading to the Certified Business Intermediary designation.

Website


Christopher George
George & Company, President ~  Worcester, MA
Christopher is a Certified Business Opportunity Appraiser, Company President, and also a past president of the Association of New England Business Brokers. Chris has been engaged in the appraisal, sale and financing of small to mid-sized businesses since 1971. He has personally aided buyers & sellers in thousands of sales and appraisals.

Email  |  Website  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook

 


Roger Murphy
Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, President / CEO ~  FL
Roger is a Certified Business Intermediary and Master Certified Business Counselor with over 25 years experience in executive management and financial management. He is the President / CEO of Murphy Business & Financial Corporation, one of the largest and most successful business brokerage firms in North America with business brokers located throughout the United States and Canada. Murphy Business specializes in businesses for sale, franchises, business valuations, and commercial real estate.

Email  |  Website 


Amanda Puppo
MarketReach Inc., CEO & Founder  ~  Lawrenceville, NJ

During her dealings with various companies, Ms. Puppo became aware of an apparent general aversion towards the application of the cold-call, while at the same time, realizing its importance in business. In March, 2001 at the age of 26, Ms. Puppo created MarketReach Inc. MarketReach does cold-calling/lead generation and market surveys, so clients can spend their time building their business and servicing their customers. MarketReach was named a Finalist in the Most Innovative Company category in The 2004 Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneurs. 

Email  |  Website   |  Twitter

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