How to Sell a Niche Market Business
Selling an Estate Planning and Administration Attorneys Business
Is the economy still a little shaky for a business sale? Sure it is. Yet estate planning and administration attorneys businesses continue to sell at a brisk pace, regardless of the economy.
The estate planning and administration attorneys business-for-sale marketplace is a nuanced environment, full of pitfalls for sellers who aren't prepared for its demands.
If your exit strategy involves selling an estate planning and administration attorneys business in this environment, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.
Understanding Market Timing
Now may be the best time to sell an estate planning and administration attorneys business. A depressed economy means lower interest rates; lower interest rates increase the number of investors willing to take a chance on estate planning and administration attorneys businesses. Sooner or later, rates will rise, increasing the risk for prospective buyers of estate planning and administration attorneys businesses. 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.
Legal Concerns
We run into a lot of estate planning and administration attorneys business sellers who intend to wait until the final contract to negotiate details. Big mistake. With few exceptions, sale structure is hammered out early, in the Letter of Intent . If you are seeking buyer concessions, the time to address them is before the Letter of Intent is drafted. For sellers, that makes a close review of the Letter of Intent more than a formality - it's a critical juncture on the path to closing.
Preparing Your Employees
As a business owner, you want to keep you employees informed about your plans; as a seller it's in your best interest to keep your employees in the dark for as long as possible. On the one hand, confidentiality is critical for a successful estate planning and administration attorneys business sale. But sooner or later, employees will begin to suspect that something is up, especially when you start parading prospective buyers through the business. So at some point you will have to resign yourself to the idea of telling some or all of your employees that you have listed the estate planning and administration attorneys business on the market. Maintain a positive tone in your conversations and answer your employees questions as completely as you can without jeopardizing the sale.
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