How to Sell a Niche Market Business
Selling an Expert Testimony Services Business
Despite the pessimistic mood of many sellers, your expert testimony services business can be a high value acquisition target for ambitious entrepreneurs -- even in today's tough economy.
With planning and patience, most expert testimony services businesses can be sold for a fair price in the current business-for-sale marketplace.
If your exit strategy involves selling an expert testimony services business now, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.
Closing Strategies
Today's expert testimony services business buyers expect sellers to offer concessions to persuade them to close the deal. Concessions can consist of non-cash as well as cash incentives. When you've reached your limit on price, consider offering non-cash concessions to encourage a commitment from the buyer. A limited amount of training and mentoring may seem inconsequential to you, but to a young expert testimony services business owner, they can be critical launching points for their ownership journey.
When the Sale Goes Off-Course
The expert testimony services business-for-sale marketplace is a mixed bag of brokered sales and solo efforts. Although there are exceptions, solo sales typically take longer and are less productive than brokered sales. As a rule, no business should sit on the market for more than six months without attracting the interest of at least a handful of qualified buyers. When buyers fail to exhibit substantive interest, it could indicate unrealistic pricing or an inferior selling strategy. If that occurs, it's time to bring in the professionals to get your sale back on track.
Average Preparation Time
It's critical to properly plan for the sale ofan expert testimony services business. 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 expert testimony services business 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.
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