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Seller's Guide - How to sell a business
Treating You and Your business with respect and white gloves is our most important objective. First, your business is perhaps your most valuable asset, and you may have unique financial, timing and/or legacy objectives. For us, the selling process begins with Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors developing an understanding of your unique situation, then informing you on your options, the sequence of steps in the sales process and realities of today’s marketplace. Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors are always here to help you, the business owner. This allows you to replace any reservations, fears or uncertainties by engaging with a trusted advisor who has years of expertise and a nationwide network of buyers. We bring value by focusing on selling businesses professionally in a confidential manner. To preserve your confidentiality we vet buyers and do not list your business on our website, but on national networks. We keep you informed and provide you with full knowledge of where we are in the process and the schedule for subsequent steps.
Our Services Delivered to You, Our Trusted Client:
· We value your business and work with you to maximize its value.
· We market your business professionally only to Qualified buyers.
· We limit interruptions, set appointments after-hours, and maintain confidentiality.
· We qualify buyers through a detailed screening process to bringing you only those who are ready, willing and able.
· We work with lenders to qualify buyers ahead of time, to facilitate the closing of the sale.
· Bring you and the buyer together to get the deal done and to work pro-actively with both of you to ensure a successful negotiation.
The Steps to the Selling:
1. Initial Meeting: We begin by offering you a no-cost meeting scheduled at your convenience. We never take payment up-front. The meeting is to exchange general information so that our business broker and you can become acquainted with each other and your business, as well as your objectives and your story.
2. Valuation: The business broker will then perform a business valuation in order to inform you of a realistic price range that you can expect in the marketplace. You and Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors work together in establishing the asking price and terms for your company. The information required to analyze your company includes the following: Three to five years of detailed and up-to-date financial statements, including:
o Income Statements (Profit & Loss)
o Balance Sheets
o Business Tax Returns
o A list of furniture, fixtures, equipment, inventory, trade names, patents and other assets to be transferred with the company.
o Real property and equipment leases.
o Any contractual relationships of the business.
o Other information which influences company operations.
3. Listing Agreement: A contractual agreement is entered into between you and Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors, giving Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors the exclusive right to market the business for sale as your representative for a specified time period and under specified terms and conditions.
4. Preparation for Sale: Preparing your business for sale is a critically important process and can have a direct effect on both the price you receive and the time your business spends on the market. Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors will help you focus on the things you should and shouldn’t do.
5. Marketing: Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors, with your input and approval, creates a unique campaign to market your business opportunity to potential buyers. Our marketing objective is to reach the universe of qualified buyers who will derive the greatest value from an acquisition of your business. The cornerstone of this campaign is a detailed prospectus, which is a document that educates buyers about the operation, facility, marketing, financial status and future opportunities of the business. A national advertising campaign, using Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors extensive buyer database and search resources, is then implemented to confidentially target specific buyers, as well as approach the general public.
6. Buyer Screening: Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors works with each buyer by first having them sign a Confidentially Agreement, then determining if they are qualified financially and/or strategically to purchase your business for sale.
7. Business Operations: During the entire process you are responsible for maintaining or improving the value of your company by tending to daily operations. You are also responsible for providing current and/or additional information as requested by buyers.
8. Offers: Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors confidentially schedules all buyer/seller meetings at your convenience, prepares offers, and conducts negotiations on your behalf. Strong seller and buyer emotions are a reality of business sales and negotiations. Our job is to be a buffer between buyers and sellers to temper emotions, manage the negotiation process and secure the high ground in negotiations on your behalf. Working as a team with your professional advisors, we will work to maximize the after-tax proceeds from the transaction.
9. Due Diligence: Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors coordinates all aspects of the due diligence and contingency satisfaction process.
10. Closing: Rainmaker Business Alliance Advisors oversees the preparation of closing documents. Finally, a formal closing takes place where legal documents are signed, funds are received and ownership is transferred.