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Architecture Guide
Cost vs. Value Report
Good Neighbor Awards
Handouts for Customers
Top 100 Companies
Take a Quiz
30 under 30
Young Professionals
REALTOR® Emeritus |  | PREPARING YOUR COMPANY FOR SALE | | ||
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|  Are You Ready to Retire? Retirement Budgeting Sources of Retirement Income Tax-Deferred Savings Vehicles Estate Planning Selling Your Business Getting Your Business Ready for Sale Working With a Business Broker Closing-Your-Business Sale More Resources: Retirement Planning | Just as you would have a seller make necessary repairs to a home and stage the property before an open house, you need to do everything you can to make your business more attractive to buyers. 11 Things That Will Make Your Company Irresistible 1. Great name recognition and reputation 2. A premium location 3. Favorable lease terms 4. A protected franchise area 5. A strong cash flow 6. Well-trained, productive support personnel 7. A consistent level of business activity, documented with accounting records 8. A computerized database of past clients and customers 9. A strategic fit to their long-range business plan 10. The demonstrated loyalty of past clients 11. Experienced and productive salespeople —Joe Klock, Real Estate Professional, September/October 1997 10 Things Buyers Don't Want in Your Company 1. Current or threatened litigation 2. Expensive perks, liberal spending habits, and other burdensome personnel policies 3. Onerous leases 4. Entangling franchise agreements 5. Long-term service commitments with vendors 6. Dependence on one or two major sources of business 7. A personality cult, in which the goodwill of clients and staff depends on the presence of a powerful, charismatic leader 8. Over-improvements and debts 9. A damaged reputation 10. An incompatible management style —Courtesy of Joe Klock, Real Estate Professional, September/October 1997 TIP: If your company has an unknown liability, such as a pending fair housing lawsuit, you may make the sale more attractive to a buyer by offering to put a portion of purchase price in a third-party escrow account until the dispute is settled. Or include an indemnification clause in the purchase contract offering to pay the buyer’s cost of defending suit and any damages awarded. —Commerce Clearing House Business Owner’s Toolkit What Does a Salesperson Have to Sell? > | |