Exit Planning Advice By Market

Selling an Air Courier Business

When it's time to sell your air courier business, your future plans depend on your ability to get the highest possible sales price. Here's how to do it . . .

Business buyers are a timid lot, even more so now that they are facing an uncertain economic landscape.

Air Courier Business

Too often air courier business sellers cave under the pressure and settle for a lower sales price than they should. With the right strategy, your sale doesn't have to end that way.

Buyer Identification

Qualified air courier business buyers come from a range of sources and backgrounds. Avoid pigeon-holing your search to a single buyer category. Although it's helpful to target promotional tactics to likely buyers, allow for some exposure to the broader market. Sellers should also recognize the value of promoting their sale in trusted business networks, carefully balancing the need for confidentiality with the promotional potential of their contact base.

Post-Sale Details

As your air courier businesssale nears completion, there is a lot of work remaining to be done. The transition to the new owner, the distribution of sale proceeds and other issues can weigh heavily on sellers. If there are pending details that still need to ironed out, address them ASAP to ensure a smooth closing and transition.

Average Preparation Time

There are no effective shortcuts for selling an air courier business. Since buyers prefer to see evidence of future cash flow, you'll want to to strategically lock in cash flows and increase profits before you list the business. Next, the business will need to be documented in professional financial statements and manuals that facilitate the ownership transition. At a minimum, plan on spending six months preparing your air courier business for the marketplace. A more likely scenario is that it will take more than a year to create the conditions necessary to receive the maximum sale price.

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