Rogerson Kenny Business Accountants Melbourne

Finding Potential Buyers

When selling your business, you need to find potential buyers. Simply put, there are different ways you can find these people. The more ways or avenues you explore to sell your business, the greater the chance you sell your business for what it is worth and the buyer is the right one.

You can find potential buyers through:

• Existing networks
• Business marketplace
• Creating awareness
• Develop a sales kit

Existing Networks

Look close to home here. You may find your buyer within your family, friends and staff. Before going to the world with your business being for sale, give family first right of refusal and move through friends and staff. This type of sale will be far easier than selling to an unknown buyer.

Business Marketplace
Potential purchasers may also come from:-

• Competitors - looking to expand / reduce the number of players in their industry
• Suppliers / Contractors wishing to expend their range of products and services
• Individuals looking to buy a job
• Individuals looking for a lifestyle change
• Individuals coming to Australia under a business migration program

Creating Awareness
This is all about standing on top of the largest building and letting as many people know about your business being for sale as possible.

• Business Brokers - A business broker is like a real estate agent. They will work with you by finding buyer's and assisting with the preliminary negotiation involved in selling a business. The business broker will draft press ads, contact likely buyers, screen potential buyers and bring both parties to the negotiation table. If you appoint a business broker, look for one who is a specialist within your industry and make sure they are fully briefed on your business. A broker with specialist industry knowledge will likely find the most serious buyers for you and give you a good indication on the value of your business.

• Word of Mouth - Spread the word and someone may come knocking on your door. Look at your marketplace and spread the word to the various parties - competitors, suppliers etc. Think your strategy carefully though, as a drawn out sale of a business could harm it's image. Think long and hard before telling the marketplace about your plans to sell (competitors, suppliers, customers)

• Advertising - Typically this involves a discreet ad in a newspaper, giving limited details and trying to direct interested parties to call and make initial enquiries. A good process to reach a mass market, but it will be time costly on you with all of the tyre kickers you will receive.

• Trade Sources - This is aimed at targeting people who run a similar type of business. It could be talking with key people in the industry, who may know someone looking. It would also involve advertising in a more targeted way with trade association journals or newsletters.

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