Sell a Business Tips
Selling a Scaffolding Rental and Leasing Business
Your scaffolding rental and leasing business has been good to you. The next step is to position your business for the demands of the business-for-sale marketplace.
You won't find any magic formulas for selling a scaffolding rental and leasing business, especially while the market is struggling to overcome the perceptions created by a down economy.
The economy hasn't squashed the market for scaffolding rental and leasing businesses. Like always, unprofitable and poorly positioned businesses struggle to find buyers while sellers who have invested time and effort to prepare their sale are being rewarded in the marketplace.
Sale Preparations for Your Scaffolding Rental & Leasing Business
Like it or not, a good business sale takes time. Profitable scaffolding rental and leasing business sales begin with a comprehensive strategy that incorporates planning, preparation and market positioning. Even though it may take years to adequately position your scaffolding rental and leasing business, the amount of preparation you perform will have direct correlation on asking and sale prices. But your efforts to improve your company's position and profitability will only be effective if you invest similar effort into the preparation of accurate financial statements for buyers.
Dealing with Tire Kickers
Unfortunately, many of the prospects you will encounter aren't serious buyers. As a seller, it's important to separate the tire kickers from the serious buyers as soon as possible. Each tire kicker is an investment of time and energy that could be poured into finding a more qualified prospect. Your business broker can offer insights about how to quickly spot tire kickers. As a rule, they limit the amount of information that is provided in the initial stages of an engagement, waiting to reveal the juiciest details of the business until the prospect has been thoroughly vetted. Smart sellers may require prospects to provide background and financial information fairly early in the process as a way of verifying the financial capacity to close the deal.
Working with Appraisers
An experienced appraiser is part and parcel of a successful scaffolding rental and leasing business sale. Leading industry appraisers equip sellers with a value gauge that can be accessed during negotiations. Even though you may disagree with the appraiser's value estimates, it's important to give your appraiser the information and independence he needs to present an objective opinion. To ensure accuracy, ask your broker to provide references for appraisers with industry experience.
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