Not every business that's placed on the market for sale will ultimately be sold. There is not an endless market for businesses, and this makes it very important to craft solid business sale plans and processes – something a business broker is here to help with.

At Utah Business Consultants, our business brokers are happy to provide numerous services to our clients looking to sell their business, including many that will increase the likelihood of your business eventually being sold rather than languishing on the market. What are some of the key areas and methods we advise our clients on in this area, and how can you be sure you're putting your best foot forward and maximizing your chances at a beneficial sale? This two-part blog series will go over several variables.

Legal Areas

First and foremost, there will almost certainly be a few legal areas that you will be thinking about during the business sale process. Any business sale is, itself, a legal agreement, one that will almost always involve legal representation from a lawyer on both sides of the table.

Beyond the broad agreement, there are numerous legal areas that may come up in a sale. There could be environmental concerns at play, or others that need to be litigated during this process. It's important to have strong legal representation, plus to have business brokers who understand where this sort of representation is needed.

Valuation Methods

Another task that will be vital for your chances of competing a sale is properly valuing the business in a way that's both beneficial to you and attractive to buyers. There are two primary methods for valuing a business:

• Certified appraisals: Specific appraisals prepared by a business appraiser, these are not required for all company sales, but are required in areas like estate planning and others and may be used for business sales.
• Value range: A less specific valuation done by a CPA or a business broker like ours, this is the more common valuation method for business sales. It will be done along with the creation of a business owner's exit plan.

Prioritizing Buyer Desires

On top of having a proper business value as your asking price, you should do everything you can to prioritize the kinds of desires you know buyers will have. These include obvious areas like increasing revenue and long-term growth potential, but also others like clarity in financial documents, a solid management team already in place, a good marketing team on-hand and several others. In addition, consider any industry-specific perks or additions you can make to the business offering that will make it more attractive to those in your field.

For more on how to increase the likelihood of your business selling, or to learn about any of our busines valuation or business sale services, speak to the staff at Utah Business Consultants today.