Tips to Improve Exit Planning
Selling a Job Fair
You've invested time, effort, and creativity into building your job fair. But the hard work isn't done yet. Before you can make a graceful exit, you will have to invest yourself in your business sale.
The business-for-sale market is just as frustrating for buyers as it is for sellers these days. There are lots of buyers who want to own a job fair, but have limited capital to get their foot in the door.
If your exit strategy involves selling a job fair in this environment, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.
Finding Prospects
Many sellers don't realize how many prospective buyers there are for their businesses. We frequently see qualified buyers emerge from the seller's network of business and personal acquaintances. In other cases, sellers take a proactive approach to finding likely buyers and contacting them directly. Competitors may seem like natural prospects and they are. The downside is that they won't pay top dollar and will probably absorb your company into their own.
Negotiation Teams
Business sellers are sometimes surprised to find themselves in the position of negotiator-in-chief. When you sell your job fair, your business brokers may or may not be willing to conduct negotiations for you. Negotiation is a chess game, best played with the resources and backend support of a negotiation team. A negotiation team comprised of trusted advisors and senior business leaders is essential in helping you devise a winning negotiation strategy. More importantly, a negotiation team can serve as a sounding board -- an objective presence that prohibits your personal emotions from clouding your judgment or sabotaging your efforts to negotiate a successful deal.
After the Sale
As your job fairsale nears completion, there is a lot of work remaining to be done. There are several details that still need to be addressed. What will the ownership transition look like? Are you prepared to deal with the tax consequences of receiving a significant sum of money in exchange for your business? How will you prepare your employees for your inevitable exit from the business? If there are pending details that still need to ironed out, address them ASAP to ensure a smooth closing and transition.
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