Advice on Niche Market Exit Planning
Selling a Therapeutic Massage Business
There are no guarantees when you sell a therapeutic massage business. But our tips will equip you with the information you need to increase the likelihood of a successful sales outcome.
Business buyers are a timid lot, even more so now that they are facing an uncertain economic landscape.
The economy hasn't squashed the market for therapeutic massage businesses. Like always, unprofitable and poorly positioned businesses struggle to find buyers while sellers who have invested time and effort to prepare their sale are being rewarded in the marketplace.
Maintaining Objectivity
Objectivity is a rare commodity in a business sale. Your estimate of your company's worth is probably skewed by your emotions and your close, personal connection to the business. Although it may be a hard pill to swallow, you need to find a way to introduce objectivity into your sale. Many sellers create a negotiation team to minimize the effect of their personal emotions on negotiations. More importantly, this team can perform a reality check on your expectations for the sale.
When to End Negotiations
Negotiations have a way of dragging on forever. Yet eventually many negotiations reach a stage where further discussion is pointless. In a therapeutic massage business sale, a stalled negotiation can be an indication that the deal is dead. At this point in the process, an awareness of negotiation parameters really pays off. If the buyer is unwilling to accept your minimum demands, it's time to end negotiations and move on to the next prospect.
Leveraging Industry Connections
These days, therapeutic massage business buyers are an extremely diverse group with backgrounds in and outside of the industry. To advertise your sale to the widest possible audience, consider a listing on BizBuySell.com or other top online business-for-sale listing sites. For more targeted lead generation, consider tapping into your network of industry contacts. Time and time again, successful therapeutic massage business sales emerge from relationships within the industry. The challenge is to leverage industry connections while keeping knowledge of the sale hidden from your competitors. Your broker may be able to offer strategies for promoting your sale within your network while maintaining some remnant of a confidential sale.
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