Author: Sara

Often selling a business comes down to storytelling. The buyer and seller are the main characters of the story that is being told. The seller is the one relaying the story, and the ideal buyer is the one who truly sees the future opportunity. 

A Brokerage Professional Can Help Tell Your Story

The simple fact of the matter is that often even sellers don’t know what the true story of their business actually is. They tend to lack the proper perspective as they are too deeply involved. Sellers may be burnt out or have never really thought through the story of their business in the first place. 

Business brokers and M&A advisors serve a great function as a third party who can look at the story from a different perspective. These professionals are numbers people, but it goes beyond that, as they can clearly see your business as a story to be told. And they can help you control that storyline for optimal results. 

Embracing the Human Element

In order to tell the story of the business and why a buyer should want to buy it, it is necessary for your business broker or M&A advisor to truly understand your business. This is why good communication is so important. After the interview process, these professionals must precisely arrange all the relevant information in such a way that the buyer can digest it and see the potential within the business. Through that means, a prospective buyer can understand that value and envision him or herself as the hero.

It Goes Beyond the Financials

Business brokers and M&A advisors also help sellers determine the price and work as advisors on pricing. The story of the business does start with the financials and the facts. But this is only the beginning of the process. Brokerage professionals will want to interview you to learn how to weave together your story. 

In the end, every story has a moral. It is important to pull all of these elements together to make an engaging story that will ultimately inspire and motivate a buyer to buy the business.

Storytelling Leads to Successful Deals 

When buyers open their minds to the story being told, they are able to envision the future potential of the business and why it is going to be a valuable opportunity.  At the end of the day, selling a business isn’t strictly about numbers, figures, facts, profit and loss margins, and other financial variables. Instead, it is also about the people. 

Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.

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When it comes to getting a loan, you can be certain that a bank will want collateral. This is true for both personal and business loans. Simply stated, if you have collateral, your bank won’t be concerned about being left empty handed if you can’t repay the loan. Many budding business owners are, in fact, held back by the fact that they lack the collateral needed to buy a business. However, the good news is that there are ways that one can buy a business with no collateral or very little collateral. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the first stop for those wanting to start a business with a low level of collateral. The SBA’s 7 (a) program provides banks with incentives to make loans to buyers. It is through this program that the SBA will provide guarantees for a whopping 75% of the loan amount. The borrower still has to have the remaining 25% of the loan amount. This means that on a $1 million dollar business, the borrower just has to come up with $250,000 and not the full $1 million dollars. 

Through the SBA’s 7 (a) program it is possible for prospective business owners to consider businesses that would otherwise be completely out of their reach. Yet, there is a second excellent aspect to the program, namely that the cash that buyers use to meet the 25% requirement can come from an investor or a gift. Anyone looking to become a first time business owner will want to fully explore all that the SBA’s 7 (a) program has to offer.

A second route for those looking to buy their first business is seller financing. Seller financing is not rare, as many may suspect. This method of financing is actually quite common. If sellers are motivated, they are much more willing to consider seller financing. Keep in mind that there are many reasons why a seller may be motivated, such as retirement, unexpected personal problems, or just burnout. Seller financing and the SBA’s 7 (a) program could, in some situations, be used together. This combination could serve to greatly increase your chances of buying a business.

This is not to state that there are zero obstacles or limitations with the SBA’s 7 (a) program. For example, the program requires that sellers cannot receive any form of payment for a full two-year time period. There are ways to address this problem, but it is something that buyers and sellers alike should be ready to address.

A lack of collateral doesn’t have to mean the end of the dream of owning a business. If you are interested in owning your own business and lack collateral, meet with a consultant at S.C.O.R.E. and other experienced professionals, such as a business broker or M&A advisor. An experienced brokerage professional will have a wide-array of ideas for how to buy a business with little or limited collateral. 

Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.

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Many buyers view a publicly-held company as virtually being an open book with at least a modest level of transparency, whereas privately-held companies reveal much less about their inner workings, financial, and otherwise. Of course, this means that buyers of privately-held companies are left with no choice but to dig through whatever information is available in an effort to determine if a valuation or price indeed reflects reality.

Comparing Publicly and Privately Held Companies

Determining the price on a privately-held company is typically more time-consuming since privately-held companies don’t have to deal with audited financial statements. But why do most privately-held companies typically forgo the process? Audited financial statements are expensive, and it is this expense that often prevents companies from going public. A publicly-held company is expected to reveal significantly more information, including often sensitive financial information.

What Sellers Can Do

If you’re a seller, you can take steps to make the process a bit easier for buyers. One step is to work closely with your accountant in an effort to ensure that the numbers are not just accurate, but are also presented in a concise and easy to understand fashion. This move serves to boost trust between buyers and sellers and, in turn, can increase the chances of selling your business. 

Determining value is another area where sellers of privately-held companies can take steps to assist buyers in determining price or value. Sellers should consider opting for an outside appraiser or expert when it comes to determining the value of their business. The opinion of an outside expert clearly carries more weight, and using an outside expert is yet another step that sellers can take to boost overall trust with buyers. 

Establish Your Bottom Line

Another key step is for sellers to establish their wish price. The wish price can be thought of as what price the seller would ultimately like to receive. It is also helpful for sellers to know well in advance what their lowest possible price for their business would be. 

When establishing a price, there are several areas of the business where sellers can expect buyers to pay special attention. Here are a few areas that buyers are likely to explore: 

• Size and scope of customer base 
• Needs for capital expenditures 
• Overall stability of the market 
• Stability of earnings 
• The general landscape of competitors 
• Businesses relationships with suppliers 

As with all transactions, the marketplace will have the final word regarding the sale of any business. Sellers should expect to receive a price somewhere between their asking price and their lowest price. But taking the right steps throughout the process can definitely make the process go more smoothly and boost the chances of success.

Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.

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