Niche Exit Planning Tactics

Selling a Wedding Facilities Business

Many business leaders say that now isn't the time to try to sell a wedding facilities business. At Gaebler, we think it's a great time to sell a wedding facilities business. Here's why . . ..

You need to get a good price for your wedding facilities business. To get there, you'll need to set realistic expectations and follow a deliberate selling strategy.

Although it takes hard work and dedication, if it's time to exit your wedding facilities business there is a good chance you can sell it for a good price -- even in today's market.

Sale Costs

In a wedding facilities business sale, pricing is based on a number of factors, including the costs incurred during the sale. Although they can significantly increase the final sale price, brokers typically receive a 10% commission. Attorneys, accountants and appraisers work for a flat fee that can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. If you need to compensate employees to assist with the sale, their services should also be considered.

Average Preparation Time

There are no effective shortcuts for selling a wedding facilities business. Buyers want to see growth trends, healthy profits and other variables that increase the likelihood of long-term success. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. Since all of this takes time and effort, a wedding facilities business can rarely be ready for the marketplace in less than six months. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.

Negotiation Exit Strategy

Negotiations have a way of dragging on forever. There are countless details that need to be hammered out before a Letter of Intent can be prepared and the process can move on to the due diligence stage. As the seller, you'll be on the front lines of negotiation and will need to know when it's time to bring negotiations to an end. In a wedding facilities business sale, a stalled negotiation can be an indication that the deal is dead. At this point in the process, an awareness of negotiation parameters really pays off. If the buyer is unwilling to accept your minimum demands, it's time to end negotiations and move on to the next prospect.

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