Selling a Business Advice
Selling an Insurance Agents and Brokers Business
No one said selling your business in a depressed economy would be easy. Although it's going to take some work, there is a good chance you can still sell your company at or even above fair market value.
You've invested too much in your insurance agents and brokers business to let it be sold for less than its worth. But unless you adequately prepare for the sale, some lucky buyer may walk away with a huge discount.
Many business owners don't know that insurance agents and brokers businesses are still a hot commodity, to the extent that sellers have properly prepared them for the marketplace.
Sale Preparation Timeframes
Preparing an insurance agents and brokers business sale takes time. 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. You'll also need to create financial reports, operations manuals, and other documents to create the perception of a turnkey insurance agents and brokers business operation. At a minimum, plan on spending six months preparing your insurance agents and brokers business for the marketplace. However, to command the highest price, you'll probably need to spend one to two years preparing and positioning your business for buyers.
Leveraging Industry Connections
These days, insurance agents and brokers 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. When leveraging industry relationships for sales prospects, you'll need to be cognizant of the potential for competitors to use knowledge of your sale against you in the marketplace. Use good sense in restricting the flow of information within the industry and focusing your efforts toward trusted industry allies.
Seller Concessions
It's becoming more difficult to sell an insurance agents and brokers business without considering seller concessions. By far, seller financing is the most sought-after concession, especially in the current economic environment. Capital is scarce, causing new entrepreneurs to rely on sellers to finance at least part of the purchase price. If you are unwilling or unable to offer financing, be prepared to offer other types of concessions to close the deal.
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