How to Prepare Businesses for Sale - “Partner" On-Call Network LLC

Prepare for Sale—and Sell—Small & Midsize Companies

How Buyers Think–And How Owners Use the Buyer View to Prepare & Sell Their Small or Midsize Company

Answers to 20 questions (see the list below), from one of our most popular seminars. This is definitely not for the faint of heart. No sugar coating, kumbaya language. It’s what you need to know before entering the dealmaking field. If you want to avoid unnecessary trouble and costs.

Most small and midsize companies for sale don’t sell.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

I’m not referring to the losers that shouldn’t sell. Those owners were hoping to sell to a Greater Fool.

“What Business Owners Need to Know and Can Do Now for When It’s Time to Sell Their Company”

Owners selling their business either exit their way or the way their buyer prefers. Exit Planner Jane Johnson and Ted Leverette, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®, talk about how SMB owners can sell more profitably and quickly with less risk.

Will you be able to sell your business? Why would anyone want to buy it?

Get a free reality check, from Ted Leverette . . .

before exposing yourself to the marketplace.

Let’s focus on the unsold companies that would have been a profitable investment for buyers. In those cases, sooner or later the company goes out of business; the owner is lucky to cash out with pennies on the dollar.

Worthwhile companies that should have sold would have sold had the owners done what you can learn by accessing the information we presented during our Podcast.

The typical selling experience is not a pretty picture. Too many sellers risk losing everything they have worked so long to build. If you try to sell your company like you would sell your home, you could find yourself with no place to live. Much of the time and money a seller wastes is the result of the seller committing errors in seven areas, all of which sellers can control.

What can Ted J. Leverette, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ® tell sellers and brokers about selling businesses? Plenty. Ted Leverette’s perspective can help them minimize marketing time and maximize seller benefits. Plus enable the buyers of well-prepared companies to enjoy a more profitable investment.

Below are some of the comments we received:

Wow, you gave away the farm! Great info I can use!
— David McLeroy (Company Owner)

What an excellent Q&A program! Thanks for everything!
— Stewart Stenner (Business Consultant)

Blown away with the valuable information you presented. Do your downloadable books contain all of this information? (Ted Leverette answers: Yes.)
— Robert Fremder (Marketer of Accounting and Tax Practices)

Great call today, Ted! Lots of good info.
— Chad Fondriest (Commercial Lender)

Everything you do is so professional and relevant.
— Eric Arroyo (Business Broker)

What I gathered is to start having formal valuations done on our larger deals; and, we need to rethink and redo our front end “sizzle” package.
— David Sweeten Jr. (Business Broker)

Preview:

8 self-defeating things sellers do
8 things buyers really want, which they might not reveal to sellers and their advisors
62 advantages sellers can have over buyers
2 kinds of advisors, one worthwhile, the other not
25 seller weaknesses buyers look for and exploit
18 actions of savvy sellers to gain more advantages

You will get street-smart insight into these questions:

Why (exactly) should brokers and sellers want to know what advisors to BUYERS think about preparing businesses for sale?
From the potential buyer’s perspective, what repels buyers from businesses for sale?
What do buyers really want?
Are brokers a help or hindrance? (Please comment from the buyer’s view.)
How can I create buyer competition to more quickly sell and sell on better terms?
What can I do to increase the chances that buyers will consider my asking price to be fair?
How important to buyers are the sellers’ offering prospectus or company profile?
What about a nonbinding letter of intent to precede a purchase and sale agreement?
What can sellers do right now to quickly increase the price for their company?
What problems or weaknesses do buyers look for and exploit?
What mistakes cause businesses for sale not sell?
How to begin preparing the owner and the company for sale?
What is the “best” sequence to follow when preparing for sale?
How can sellers attract and establish worthwhile relationships with qualified buyers?
When and how can I find out if the “buyer” is financially qualified to buy my business?
How can sellers avoid mishaps during due diligence and negotiations?
What red flags concern buyers?
What should owners know, before selling, about post-acquisition transition?
What alternatives are there instead of selling my company?
Can you give me dealmaking tips that achieve done deals?

Buyers and advisors: Use this insight to level your dealmaking playing field.

Webinars and Podcasts

Ted Leverette, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®, hosts our continuing education events. He answers questions sent to him from people who want to buy, sell, improve or finance small or midsize businesses, plus questions from professional advisors and dealmakers who want to improve or diversify their practice.

Our Business Buyer Advocates have helped clients evaluate and close buy/sell transactions with prices up to $20 million. Our sweet spot are deals ranging from one to five million dollars in sale/purchase price. (Probably because the quantity deals in that range is many times more than bigger transactions.)

Here are two of my resources that 600+ business brokers use to refine their knowledge of the other side of their dealmaking tables, so they can deliver even more astute service on the buy/sell playing field.

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Email Ted J. Leverette, The Original Business Buyer Advocate ®.
“Partner” On-Call Network, LLC