How to Sell a Niche Market Business
Selling an Engineering School
Selling an engineering school doesn't happen overnight. It takes a deliberate process to get top dollar for your company.
Business sellers are notorious for second-guessing themselves about the right time to put their companies up for sale.
To achieve your goals, you'll need to know the market as well as key business selling techniques. As a business seller, you need to go into the process with the mental goal of presenting your business in the best possible light.
Finding Engineering School Buyers
It's difficult to predict where the buyer of your engineering school will come from. So you'll need to take a diverse approach to identifying prospective buyers. Although it's helpful to target promotional tactics to likely buyers, allow for some exposure to the broader market. Sellers should also recognize the value of promoting their sale in trusted business networks, carefully balancing the need for confidentiality with the promotional potential of their contact base.
Broker vs. No Broker
Anyone who has ever sold an engineering school 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 engineering school much less painful. A highly skilled broker can compensate for his commission by selling your business for a significantly higher price than you could achieve on your own. But whether you use a broker or not, you may want to list your engineering school on BizBuySell.com and other popular online business-for-sale listing sites.
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. A business broker can be a valuable resource in right-sizing your expectations and preparing you for market realities.
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