Seller’s 2nd most frequently asked questions

Making the decision to sell their business can be one of the biggest decisions an owner can make in their career.  Whether your motivations are retirement, relocating or other business ventures most business owners (and prospective buyers) do not have a strong sense of how the process works.  Typically, once a seller is comfortable with their business’ value and terms to market for sale (the #1 question by the way), the next 2 questions follow:

1) HOW WILL MY CONFIDENTIALITY BE MAINTAINED?

This may be one of the most important concerns for a seller. For example, imagine the impact the news of a pending sale would have on your business when your competition, customers, employees and suppliers find out.

We go to great lengths to ensure that only motivated, qualified buyers find out that your business is for sale.

Our procedures include, but are not limited to, interviewing all prospective buyers in person to understand their life experiences and business interests. Understanding how much capital the buyer is working with is another critical step.

When applicable, if it makes good business sense to contact a competitor of yours, we have a proven method to engage their acquisition interests without them knowing why we're asking. If your competitor expresses an interest in an acquisition, we will share this information with you before we talk to them about your business.

In all cases, before the name of your business is disclosed, all prospective buyers must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement binding them to complete confidentiality.

2) WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BUYER IS INTERESTED IN MY BUSINESS?

When a buyer becomes interested in your business, it will be after we have already qualified them, had them sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and they have been given an overview of your business.

At this point in time, we will arrange a meeting with you, the buyer and us. As a seller, you will be asked a variety of questions, both operational and historical. The most important thing you can do is to answer them honestly, accurately and completely.

Just as a buyer has a choice of which business they buy, you have a choice of who you sell it to. This meeting will also give you a chance to find out more about the buyer.

After this meeting, we will work closely with the buyer and encourage them to write a binding Offer to Purchase.

When an Offer is made, we will present and explain its contents to you. Upon acceptance, we will work diligently through closing and make sure that all the conditions of the contract are met.

Do you have small business questions you would like answered about this article or others?  Please visit www.VRWindsor.com or call 519-903-7807. 

William Sivell is a sales representative of VR Windsor Inc., Business Brokerage; his blog appears every Tuesday.