Profitable Niche Market Exit Plans
Selling an Office Services Business
We hear it all the time: 'This economy is a hostile environment for a business sale.' However, office services businesses haven't heard the news and are reporting steady action on the business-for-sale market.
When the economy recovers, we expect to see a sudden influx of office services businesses in the business-for-sale marketplace. Although these companies have been for sale, their owners have resisted listing them until a better economy materializes.
Most office services businesses are good business opportunities, a fact that is not going unnoticed by today's discerning buyers.
Identifying Serious Buyers
Many prospective buyers will have a strong desire to acquire your office services business. The bad news is that they will lack the financial capacity to close the deal. As a seller, it's important to separate the tire kickers from the serious buyers as soon as possible. Each tire kicker is an investment of time and energy that could be poured into finding a more qualified prospect. If you aren't sure what to look for in a serious buyer, ask your broker for advice. It's likely that non-serious buyers will want to know everything about your office services business during their initial inquires. Avoid releasing details about your office services business until you have established that they have the financial capacity to make a legitimate offer.
Finding Prospects
Whether you know it or not, prospective buyers for your office services business are all around you. In fact, there is a good chance you already know several individuals or companies that might be interested in buying your business for a decent price. We frequently see qualified buyers emerge from the seller's network of business and personal acquaintances. In other cases, sellers take a proactive approach to finding likely buyers and contacting them directly. Competitors may seem like natural prospects and they are. The downside is that they won't pay top dollar and will probably absorb your company into their own.
Leveraging Industry Connections
Today's office services business buyers can be found in a variety of locations. 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.
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