Sell a Business Tips
Selling a Sewer and Water Utilities Contractors Business
Looking for shortcuts? You won't find them when you sell a sewer and water utilities contractors business. In this industry, a business sale takes time, effort and dedication. But with a few tips, you can keep your shirt and your sanity in the sale of your business.
Selling a sewer and water utilities contractors business isn't as simple as listing a power tool on eBay. These days, the business-for-sale market is a hostile place for inexperienced and uninformed sellers.
More than a few sewer and water utilities contractors business owners cave under the pressure and settle for a lower sales price than they should. With the right strategy, your sale doesn't have to end that way.
Signs You're in Over Your Head
The sewer and water utilities contractors business-for-sale marketplace is a mixed bag of brokered sales and solo efforts. Although there are exceptions, solo sales typically take longer and are less productive than brokered sales. As a rule, no business should sit on the market for more than six months without attracting the interest of at least a handful of qualified buyers. When buyers fail to exhibit substantive interest, it could indicate unrealistic pricing or an inferior selling strategy. The remedy is professional brokerage or a consultation with more experienced sellers.
Timing the Market
Worried about timing? Believe it or not, this could be an advantageous time to put a sewer and water utilities contractors business up for sale. With interest rates at all-time lows, it's easy to see why sewer and water utilities contractors businesses are an appealing investment opportunity for savvy investors. As the interest rates rise, it will be more difficult for buyers to make the numbers work in their favor. So we see market timing as a concern that can be easily mitigated by applying fundamental sales strategies and adequately preparing your company for buyers.
Negotiation Exit Strategy
The negotiation stage of a sewer and water utilities contractors business can seem never-ending. There are countless details that need to be hammered out before a Letter of Intent can be prepared and the process can move on to the due diligence stage. As the seller, you'll be on the front lines of negotiation and will need to know when it's time to bring negotiations to an end. In a sewer and water utilities contractors business sale, a stalled negotiation can be an indication that the deal is dead. Since it can be difficult to tell whether the buyer is serious or playing games, it's important to know the lower boundaries of your negotiation strategy and be willing to walk away from the negotiation table, if necessary.
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs