When you’re ready to sell your business, you want it to go as smoothly and quickly as possible. One way to ensure that is by hiring a trusted broker who understands your industry and has decades of expertise and experience.
Choosing the right broker to sell your business can make all the difference in a successful sale. With brokers on your side, you’ll have peace of mind knowing they’re working hard to bring you the best possible outcome.
How Brokers Can Help Facilitate a Fast and Stress-Free Sale
Here are a few key reasons why brokers can help you close a great deal on your business faster:
Their Current Knowledge of the Market Helps Them Position You Perfectly
Brokers maintain a constant and accurate idea of the mergers and acquisitions space. To run their own firms well, they have to understand the current economic climate and how it impacts the business sectors they serve. Because they spend so much time negotiating with today’s buyers, they know what types of businesses and assets are in demand.
To sell your business, a broker will assess it with the market in mind. He will call attention to the strong areas of your operations that will spark buyer interest. He can help identify any weak points that are red flags to buyers and advise you on how to minimize or fix them. He will then put together a snapshot of your company to pitch to buyers that fit the profile they want. This encourages offers to start coming in quickly!
A broker’s market knowledge also helps him set your expectations before negotiations begin. Your own valuation of your business could be over or under what is realistic. This can significantly slow down the selling process, as you could be holding out for an amount that will never be offered. With a broker’s help, you can begin the process of selling your business with a strong sense of what makes your company valuable in today’s market. You can then pair that with the broker’s knowledge of the deals that are common now and enter the process armed with that information.
Their Industry Connections Keep Them Directly In Touch with Interested Buyers
Beyond the general market, some brokers know the ins and outs of selling businesses in your particular field. If you choose to work with an industry-specific broker, he will be able to use his network of contacts to find buyers for you more quickly.
Many brokers who specialize in helping owners in the same field have ongoing relationships with the major buyers in the same space. They know what the buyers are looking for, and the buyers know the businesses represented by these brokers are worth considering. So, rather than being thrown in a pile with other, unknown inquiries, your business goes to the top of the pile to be assessed first. Your broker can make direct calls to decision-makers and guarantee that your business is known by serious players in your industry’s acquisition market.
This open line of communication between your broker and buyers cuts the time it takes to start receiving offers down considerably. This is reflected in the experiences fire and security owners have with our own managing founder, Rory Russell, through Acquisition and Funding Services (AFS). As an experienced fire and security integration broker, Rory is able to connect some sellers to interested buyers in the life safety space the same day they reach out to him. You can learn more about what sets Rory and AFS apart from other brokers in the industry here.
They Understand What You’re Going Through and Know How to Fight for Your Priorities
A final way that a trusted broker can help you sell your business quickly has more to do with you than the market. The process of selling your business can be a complicated and emotional one. Every business owner has different reasons for selling and a list of things he wants from offers. Some owners just want the biggest figure offer they can get, while others want to make sure the sale is best for the team they’re leaving behind after they exit. Some are ready for a full exit, while others want to stay involved in a smaller capacity.
A broker with decades of experience understands this. After guiding many owners through satisfactory sales, he knows that the selling experience is different for every owner. He will have brokered many sales of different kinds and will know how to sift through the buyers to find one that is willing to work with your highest priorities. He can help guide you through the process from start to finish and act as an invaluable advocate for you during negotiations.
A lack of respect for your priorities can be a major factor that stalls the sale of your business. Some buyers will have the purchase process down to a science and have no patience for unique requests. Others will not want to take the time to formulate a mutually pleasing sale, they’ll just make an offer and move on if you don’t take it. This is where a broker can help you reach the conclusions you want. A broker knows how to speak both your language and theirs. He can act as a bridge and interpreter between you and the interested investors, keeping the process moving quickly while looking out for you.
AFS Knows How to Sell a Business Quickly. Let Us Do the Work for You!
Understanding how to sell a business quickly is a little more complicated than other sales negotiations. There are many factors to consider, a busy market to navigate, and a big stack of paper and administrative work to keep up with throughout the process to document every step. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or make costly mistakes if you try to navigate this on your own or hire the wrong person to guide you.
Working with a trusted broker is a great way to protect yourself, let someone else handle the legal side of things, and still walk away with the offer you want. If you are the owner of a fire protection or security integration business and ready to sell, reach out to Rory Russell today! He will do the footwork for you while you focus on the important and personal things that are also part of the process, like your employees, your family, and your future plans.
Contact Rory directly at 800-354-3863 or fill out this confidential form. We look forward to connecting you with buyers soon!