When selling a business, the buyer’s perception becomes the seller’s reality.  Buyers likely will pay more if they perceive your business to be an orderly, coherent, well-run enterprise.

Facilities

Improve your business’s curb appeal. Spruced-up buildings, grounds, parking areas, signage, and equipment convey prosperity, productivity, and strong management. All should be in top-notch condition and show well. Display awards, affiliations, and citations prominently. Your physical plant and your offices should be organized and clean. These observable aspects speak as proxy for the thousand unseen things that are in the organization’s DNA.

Online Presence

Just as you improve your physical business’s curb appeal, so should you improve your online appeal. Ensure that you are using up-to-date, not necessarily state-of-the-art, web design and technology, that your online and off-line branding are the same and contemporary, and any posted materials—press releases, case studies, blogs, and  testimonies —are relevant, recent, and brand compliant.

Conduct a web search on yourself and your company. Do you like what you see? Understand that potential buyers will go to your Web site and do an Internet search. You can put together a plan to project the image you want. This is an excellent opportunity for a smaller firm to create a professional appearance equal to or surpassing their larger company brethren.

Inventory

Often, owners keep inventory low prior to sale. Make sure your inventory is organized and presentable. Prepare records that verify cost and consistency of valuation. Items on consignment or sold but not shipped should be recorded as such.

Assets and Machinery

Draw up a detailed asset list and review the condition of machinery. Replace equipment that’s obsolete or ending its useful life, or, if return on investment warrants, repair it. You may be tempted to reduce expenditures for repair and maintenance prior to sale. Savvy buyers, however, will realize that and reduce their offer price, knowing they must replace or refurbish equipment.

Customer Experience, Loyalty, and Service

In preparing your business for sale, you should work to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. If you don’t already do so, invest in building a better understanding of your client base: geographic, demographic, behavioral, buying, and profitability characteristics. Using it to improve the customer experience, loyalty and service can translate  to higher and more profitable sales.  This is an area where bringing in experts to build a plan of action and execute on it with your team could be very beneficial.

Technology

Update technologically deficient departments or invest in advanced production technology if return on investment warrants. Pay special attention to accounting or inventory management systems and upgrade them if necessary. A small firm can really shine here.

You can improve business processes and potential selling price by installing software that captures best practices. Choosing an industry standard over a solution that’s technically stronger but less popular is recommended; the industry standard is more likely to be a potential acquirer’s system, and thus easier to integrate if your firm is acquired.

We have worked with companies that had a targeted buyer already in mind before they began the selling process. When it came time to upgrade their IT systems, they found out what sales software their ideal buyer had and installed it.

Installing a new enterprise-level system or targeted smaller application can enhance your selling price because it potentially enhances operations and enables management.

Your Tangible Assets:  Showcase Your Value

It also contributes to the perception that your practices are up-to-date and your leadership is competent and forward thinking.  When selling a company, perception does become reality.

I invite you to use these ideas as you start the journey to sell a business.

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