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How to Sell Your Business
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What Exactly, you should Know about Selling a Business!
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Selling your business is a major decision! You have devoted your time, money
and energy to building, running and operating your business. It may well
represent your life's work. You have decided that now is the right time to
sell, and you want the very best professional guidance you can get. This is
when working in tandem with a professional business broker can make the
difference between just getting rid of the business and selling it for the very
best price and terms.
Following are some of the most common questions asked by sellers. The responses
are based on both experience and knowledge. If you have any questions that we
have not covered please don't hesitate to contact us.
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| What Can Business Brokers Do And, What Can't They Do? |
Business brokers are the professionals who will facilitate the successful sale
of your business. It is important that you understand just what a professional
business broker can do - as well as what they can't. As your business broker we
can help you decide how to price your business and how to structure the sale so
it makes sense for everyone - you and the buyer. We can find the right buyer
for your business, work with you and the buyer in negotiating, and coordinating
every step of the way until the transaction is successfully closed. We will
also help the buyer in all the details of the business buying process.
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| What Happens When There Is A Buyer For My Business? |
When a buyer is sufficiently interested in your business, we will help in the
preparation of an offer or proposal. This offer or proposal may have one or
more contingencies. Usually, they concern a detailed review of your financial
records and may also include a review of your lease arrangements, franchise
agreement (if there is one) or other pertinent details of the business. The
buyer's proposal will be presented to you for your consideration. You may
accept the terms of the offer or you may make a counterproposal. You should
understand, however, that if you do not accept the buyer's proposal, the buyer
can withdraw it at any time.
We will submit all offers to you for your consideration. When you and the buyer
are in agreement, we will work with both of you to satisfy and remove the
contingencies in the offer. It is important that you cooperate fully in this
process. You don't want the buyer to think that you are hiding anything. The
buyer may, at this point, bring in outside advisors to help them review the
information. When all the conditions have been met, final papers will be drawn
and signed. Once the closing has been completed, money will be distributed and
the new owner will take possession of the business. As your business broker
professional, we will work with you as your representative throughout the
entire sales process and will work to get you the best price and terms
possible.
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What Can I Do To Help Sell My Business?
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You can cooperate fully with us and any other professionals that you are using.
If you use accountants, you can work with them on making current information
available. When you are using an attorney, make sure they are familiar with the
business closing process and the laws of your particular state. You might also
ask if their schedule will allow them to participate in the closing on very
short notice. Dulles Commercial can recommend several lawyers that are quick
and efficient that we have used to handle the settlements. They make sure the
entire process is legal and fair to all parties involved. Time is of the
essence in any business sale transaction. The failure to close on schedule
permits the buyer to reconsider or make changes in the original proposal.
And, finally, your team of advisors must all be working towards the common goal
of selling your business for the best price and terms available in the
marketplace, and closing the sale as quickly as possible! Remember that, as
your licensed professional business broker we are on your side. Only by being
as cooperative as possible with us can we best handle your business interests.
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| Why Is It Important to Sign A Listing Agreement? |
Some sellers are hesitant to sign an Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement.
They ask a business broker to simply bring their buyers to the business and
will promise to pay a fee if one of those buyers ends up purchasing the
business. In short, a refusal to sign a Listing Agreement is perhaps the worst
decision an owner could make for the successful sale of a business.
The average Business Brokerage office spends approximately $1,965 a month on
advertising. Additionally, besides education and experience, selling a business
takes a great deal of time and work. A good business broker will not commit any
amount of money and/or effort for a business owner that does not hire him with
a Listing Agreement. Without a business broker working hard for you and
spending money to market the sale and network with other brokers in the area,
it is very likely your business will not sell at all.
By signing an Exclusive Right To Sell Listing Agreement, a business owner
obligates Dulles Commercial to an agency relationship. This means we will work
hard to sell your business for the very best price and terms and we have a
fiduciary responsibility to you- our client. Without an agreement, we can't
ethically or legally show your business to potential buyers. We can't inform or
tell the other brokers in the Mid Atlantic Business Brokers Association you are
for sale, and we can't put your business on the Multiple Listing Web site or
even into the MRIS common data base
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| Why Should I Hire an Experienced, Licensed Broker? |
Why Should I Hire an Experienced, Licensed Broker? As stated before, selling a
business can be very difficult and will require an ample amount of work and
attention. Furthermore, Business Brokerage is a very specialized field - an
offshoot of Commercial Real Estate. It takes a good deal of training and
experience to become a producing, successful business broker. All business
brokers should be licensed in the state they practice and adhere to the a
standardized code of ethics. If you were to hire a Business Broker that does
not meet certain standards, you can take a risk. A business broker should be
willing to CO-broke or cooperate with other business brokers from different
companies and be willing to share their commissions when they do this. Ideally,
like in housing real estate, the broker (from a reputable qualified company)
who finds a buyer for a business receives a portion of the commission. However,
there are Business Brokerage firms in existence that work without cooperating
with other companies to avoid sharing the commission. As a result, many buyers
that would have been brought to your business will never know it is for sale.
As a result, it is likely your business will not sell. Furthermore, this is
simply not ethical. As your representative, Dulles Commercial will put your
interests before our own. In short, it is a safe bet to work with a REALTORŪ.
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| What else Does Dulles Commercial Do? |
Dulles Commercial will do a valuation of your business, giving you an educated
opinion of an expected selling price, and use our capital and associations to
market your business through a variety of media, including Internet, paper
publications, trade magazines, co-broking business brokerage groups, and very
importantly, the Multiple Listing Service. We will do all of this while paying
close attention to Confidentiality -making our best efforts to not let your
employees or customers know you are for sale. Selling a business is not like
selling a house. As you can imagine, we can't put a "For Sale" sign in front of
the door! Please take a look at our statement for Services.
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| Statement For Services Rendered |
This invoice is submitted for services rendered to, ________ the seller, for
the sale of the business know as _________.
- Consultation with seller and review of seller's documentation
- Review of seller's financial statements and doing a market analysis and
business evaluation
- Preparation of listing agreement, seller's disclosure and seller file
- Development of marketing plan and marketing package
- Preparation and submission of advertising
- Initial buyer response, interview and screening
- Business showings and buyer follow up
- Additional consultation with buyer and seller
- Preparation of offer to purchase and presentation to seller
- Offer follow up with buyer and seller
- Meetings with buyer and seller to coordinate buyer due diligence
- Consultations with buyer/seller and outside advisors
- Coordination of closing and other documentation
- Consultation with parties regarding transfer of licenses, utilities etc.
- Attending the closing and subsequent transfer of business
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Dulles Commercial will earn you more money than we cost you
by helping the recently closed transaction receive the highest selling price.
You only sell your business once. It is a lot of work, and there are many
things that could go wrong. Make sure you chose a successful, well-established
fully licensed brokerage firm with 30 years of excellence. We have plenty of
references from satisfied business owners available upon request. Additionally,
it is important you are absolutely comfortable with your decision to hire us.
If you have any questions, please let us know immediately. |
| So what can we do for you? |
Call, Email, or fax Thomas Hunt
- A Top-Producing REALTORŪ who specializes in business brokerage, it is his job, professionally and ethically, to make a business transaction as easy and comfortable as possible.
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Dulles Commercial Real Estate
Business Brokerage
45571 Shepard Drive
Sterling, VA 20164
TEL: (703) 450-9394 FAX: (703) 450-9354
thunt@dullescommercial.com
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Informative Links:
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45571 Shepard Drive Sterling, VA 20164 :: Phone. 1 866.450.9394 :: fax. 703.450.9354
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