Exit Planning Techniques By Market
Selling a Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Shippers, and Packers Business
You've learned a lot during your tenure as a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business owner. Before you walk away, you have one more challenge to overcome: A successful and profitable business sale.
Business sellers are notorious for second-guessing themselves about the right time to put their companies up for sale.
You'll always have an excuse for not putting your business on the market. Selling a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business isn't easy, but we believe sellers can achieve their goals in any economic environment.
Broker vs. No Broker
Anyone who has ever sold a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business has eventually needed to decide whether to use a business broker or go it alone. Is there a cost associated with hiring a broker? Sure - about 10% of the final sale prices. But a good broker will make selling your fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business much less painful. You can also expect to receive a higher sales price for your business in a broker-assisted deal.
When to End Negotiations
Negotiations have a way of dragging on forever. But sooner or later, someone needs to bring negotiations to a close. Unfortunately, that responsibility often falls on the seller. In a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business sale, a stalled negotiation can be an indication that the deal is dead. If you are adequately prepared, you'll know what your bottom line is -- and if the buyer is unwilling to meet your bottom line requirements or if negotiations are stalled, it's time to step back from the negotiating table and re-evaluate your options.
Average Preparation Time
There are no effective shortcuts for selling a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business. Since buyers prefer to see evidence of future cash flow, you'll want to to strategically lock in cash flows and increase profits before you list the business. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. Since all of this takes time and effort, a fruit and vegetable growers, shippers, and packers business can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. However, to command the highest price, you'll probably need to spend one to two years preparing and positioning your business for buyers.
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