Advice on Niche Market Exit Planning
Selling a Tapping Service
You've invested time, effort, and creativity into building your tapping service. Now it's time to put that same kind of focus into selling it.
You've invested too much in your tapping service to let it be sold for less than its worth. But unless you adequately prepare for the sale, some lucky buyer may walk away with a huge discount.
The business-for-sale market is extremely dynamic. So if you're waiting for the perfect market conditions to sell your tapping service, you could be waiting a while. If your business is ready to be sold, the time to sell is now. To improve sale outcomes, you will simply need to tailor your tapping service to today's buyers.
Broker vs. No Broker
When selling a tapping service, you have two choices: Hire a broker to facilitate the sale or perform the sale unassisted. 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 tapping service much less painful. You can also expect to receive a higher sales price for your business in a broker-assisted deal.
Average Preparation Time
There are no effective shortcuts for selling a tapping service. 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 tapping service can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.
Why Confidentiality Matters
Confidentiality determines risk in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you are rigorous about maintaining a confidential sale, there is little risk in putting your tapping service on the market. When and if your sale becomes public knowledge, competitors can use that information to weaken your position in the marketplace. Although it can be difficult, it's important to strike a balance between confidentiality and sale promotion. Brokers and consultants can mitigate the risk by implementing confidential sale techniques.
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