No one wants to be in a position where they have to sell their business quickly, but sometimes it happens. Maybe your spouse gets sick, and you need a large sum of money, or you’re too old to run the business anymore, or you just want out immediately. What do you do? You don’t just close up shop and forget about everything. You worked too hard building up this business to just let it go to waste. What you do is you plan on selling it as fast as possible so you can get on with the next chapter of your life.
Know how much your business is worth
You won’t be able to quickly sell your business if you don’t know what it’s worth. Typically, business owners overvalue how much their business is worth, and if you don’t do a proper assessment, you’ll end up asking way more than it’s worth. The sale of your business is important, and if you jack up the price way too high, no one is going to buy it fast.
Set a price that you know is going to get some attention
For this example, let’s say that you own a small flower shop, and you think your business is worth $150,000. You might make your starting offer right at what it’s worth or go just a hair under. You have to keep in mind that even though you are pricing the business at a lower price, people are still going to try to get you to go lower. If you settle for $100,000, don’t put that at your price, or people will try to get you down to $50,000.
The only time you start at a super low price is if you’re looking to sell immediately. So, in the case we mentioned above, you might put a $100,000 price tag on your business and say that you won’t negotiate any on the price. If you’re firm when trying to sell your business, it might work but still expect people to try to bring you down even more.
Go to your competition and ask if they’d like to buy you out
Sometimes when you sell a small business, you have to do things that you’d otherwise never do. Not every small business looks at their competition as their enemies and you might have a good rapport with your competition. If you do, just come right out and ask if they’d like to buy your business.
Going to your competition first when trying to sell your business is a good idea if you know they want to expand. You may need to bury the hatchet and find a way to come together, but usually, if the competition knows your serious and the price is right, they might be willing to consider buying your business.
Those of you who live in a major city that has several competitors are in a better situation than people who live in a small town because you’ll be able to pitch your business to more people. Selling your business to a competitor isn’t as strange as it sounds, and more than likely, they are the ones who know the value of your business more than anyone else.
Advertise the sale of your business like there’s no tomorrow
Plaster signs all over the inside and outside of your business. Buy full-page ads in your local newspaper, and try to get on every local broadcast that you can. Make sure that everyone who can see or hear knows that your business is for sale.
Hype the sale of your business to anyone and everyone who is willing to listen. If you want to make some fast cash, there’s only one way to get the word out there. Some of you may think that this is being overly pushy, but the truth is, you’ll need to get the word out there. If no one knows that your business is for sale, no one will buy it.
Ask neighboring businesses if you can put a sign on their property telling people that your business is for sale. Hopefully, your business will sell fast enough that you can take down the signs right away. No one will want you to put a sign on their property for years, but for a few weeks, they should be okay with it.
Use a business broker if all else fails
A business broker will be able to put your business on the market and sell it fast. You’ll have to pay them a fee, and it might be high, but they’ll help you sell your business as quickly as possible. The right broker will know all the right people with deep enough pockets to make the sale go through in the time frame you need it to.