Business Exits By Industry
Selling a Contractors' Materials Handling Equipment Business
Few entrepreneurs relish the idea of selling a business in a struggling economy. Yet contractors' materials handling equipment businesses continue to be sold at a brisk pace, outperforming the sales of many other types of businesses.
In a down economy, many contractors' materials handling equipment business sellers wait to list their businesses until they see signs that the economy has rebounded, making it difficult to accurately evaluate the number of contractors' materials handling equipment businesses that are actually for sale.
There is no simple way to sell a business. But the most prepared contractors' materials handling equipment business sellers are achieving fair market value and more for their companies through persistence and the application of sound selling techniques.
Pros & Cons of a Sale to an Employee
Employee sales have pros and cons. A faithful employee may have the motivation and ability to continue to operate the business. The time and expense of locating the right buyer will be nonexistent and you won't have to spend weeks showing the buyer every square inch of the company. Yet most employees lack the means to buy their employer's business at or near the asking price. Seller financing is one way to get around the capital deficit of an employee-based contractors' materials handling equipment business sale, as long as you are willing to vet the employee's credit worthiness the same as any other buyer.
Finding Prospects
Many sellers don't realize how many prospective buyers there are for their businesses. We frequently see qualified buyers emerge from the seller's network of business and personal acquaintances. In other cases, sellers take a proactive approach to finding likely buyers and contacting them directly. If possible, steer clear of selling to a competitor if for no other reason than the fact that competitors pay less for contractors' materials handling equipment businesses than other buyers.
How to Increase Sale Price
If you haven't sold a business before, may be surprised by the time investment that is required to sell a contractors' materials handling equipment business. A business broker handles much of the legwork involved in the sale. Solo sellers usually find that it's simply too much to sell their business and lead it at the same time. Subsequently, they settle for less than the business's potential sale price. So what's the lesson? In most cases, hiring a business broker is one of the best things you can do to maximize sales price.
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