Exit Planning Advice By Market
Selling an Asbestos Inspection and Consulting Business
A good business is about more than dollars and sense. To make your asbestos inspection and consulting business what it is today, you've had to fully invest yourself in its success. But the hard work isn't done yet. Before you can make a graceful exit, you will have to invest yourself in your business sale.
You won't find any magic formulas for selling an asbestos inspection and consulting business, especially while the market is struggling to overcome the perceptions created by a down economy.
In our opinion, that kind of thinking doesn't make sense. In fact, this might be the perfect time to sell an asbestos inspection and consulting business. With the right information and strategy, you could be well on your way to a successful sale
Average Timeframes
It's rarely possible to sell an asbestos inspection and consulting business in a month or two. Although asking price and other factors contribute to sale time, it's difficult to predict how long your business will be on the market before you locate the right buyer. Before you can list your asbestos inspection and consulting business, you'll need to invest as much as a year in preparing it for prospective buyers. Even though it's conceivable that an attractive opportunity could sell in weeks, an immediate flood of offers could indicate that the business is underpriced.
Identifying Serious Buyers
Unfortunately, many of the prospects you will encounter aren't serious buyers. Selling a business is hard enough. You can't afford to waste time on prospects that have no chance of turning their interest into an actual purchase. Your business broker can offer insights about how to quickly spot tire kickers. As a rule, they limit the amount of information that is provided in the initial stages of an engagement, waiting to reveal the juiciest details of the business until the prospect has been thoroughly vetted. Smart sellers may require prospects to provide background and financial information fairly early in the process as a way of verifying the financial capacity to close the deal.
Professional Appraisals
There is no substitute for a qualified appraisal in the sale of your asbestos inspection and consulting business. Armed with a professional appraisal, both you and your broker can enter the negotiation stage with confidence. If you're disappointed with the appraiser's estimate of your company's worth, you have the option of seeking a second opinion. However, it's more often the case that you will need to adjust your expectations of your business's value to buyers.
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