{"id":167057,"date":"2021-11-29T11:54:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T11:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/?p=167057"},"modified":"2024-12-16T11:28:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T11:28:52","slug":"6-tips-selling-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/6-tips-selling-business","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for Selling your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'><\/div><p><strong>If you\u2019re planning to sell your business, for whatever reason, it is absolutely crucial to ensure that you start planning early. To attract the highest possible interest, it makes sense to put in the hard work as soon as possible to make your business appealing to prospective buyers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sad fact is that many business owners make the decision to sell far too late, which negatively impacts preparation. It\u2019s never too early to start the process, so here are six areas you should focus on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Be clear what you want to achieve<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many reasons to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hiltonsmythe.com\/selling-a-business\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sell a business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A good way of staying focused is to make a list of those reasons, and perhaps incorporate them into a progression plan. These could include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Retirement: Whatever the reason for retiring, whether you have reached the right age, want to take it easier a bit earlier than planned, pass the business on, etc. it\u2019s vital to understand a figure that will allow you to achieve your aim.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monetary gain: If you want to make a healthy profit by selling, it\u2019s important that you continue to add value to the business whilst you\u2019re the owner. Ways of doing this include keeping detailed records, constantly improving your offer, investing in your staff and giving them independence, and don\u2019t be afraid to diversify.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trying something new: some business owners fancy taking the plunge into other sectors, and it\u2019s important to know you will have the capital to do so.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Make sure you understand your accounts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prospective buyers usually request to see records of three years\u2019 worth of trading, so even if it\u2019s a while off selling, make sure your accountant can advise on how best to present statements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Items of interest would be an increase in profits, a consistent but varied client base, and regular revenue growth. Know your accounts in detail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s also important to explain how you have dealt with financial hurdles during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Get your paperwork in order<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good idea is to gather all your important paperwork in one place; having one key file containing all the information a buyer needs could save a lot of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A file should contain:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any licences you hold<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insurance policy documents<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Details of VAT and tax returns<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A full list of all your assets, including non-physical assets<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building lease details<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supplier information<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An anonymised, but detailed, staff list<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you own a limited company, check the details registered with companies house are up to date<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We recommend saving these as both a digital file and physical documents as a backup.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Maximise your profits<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s vital to ensure your business remains profitable in the years running up to a sale, as this makes it more attractive to a potential buyer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ways to add value include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manage the multiple a buyer uses against your profit figure<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t think short term and cut costs and increase prices. Repeat customers are important.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you monitor the profiles of both your suppliers and customers to ensure you are not relying on just one large area, which could massively impact you if it disappeared. Many buyers will not be willing to take that risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Market yourself<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are enormous benefits to marketing the business effectively online. Obviously, it should positively impact your sales and profit, but it will also give prospective buyers a good idea of the position of your online presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make the most of online marketing by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understand your USP (unique selling point) and use it consistently in all marketing material to make your business stand out<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create and promote testimonials, they are a trusted way of marketing your business\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review your SEO strategy &#8211; it\u2019s important to be as up-to-date as possible, and if you need support, consider using a specialist digital marketing agency<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up your Google My Business, which is a good way of bringing in local customers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a strong, regularly updated social media presence with your authentic voice<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Review and detail your processes<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a detailed document outlining all your processes can make any handover run much more smoothly once the sale has been completed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The aim of having such a document is to ensure that the operational side of the business can run without you not necessarily being present.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may also highlight software, systems and procedures that are out of date.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure that the processes are easy to access by the people you need to see them, for example if a password is required, make sure that the relevant people know where to find it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a detailed contact list of everyone involved in the processes, and if necessary, set up a screenshot guide to explain complicated processes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may be useful to include links to documents that explain specific processes in greater detail if required.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we have stressed throughout, all this should be done well in advance of any sale to ensure that processes are reviewed and as up to date as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re planning to sell your business, for whatever reason, it is absolutely crucial to ensure that you start planning early. To attract the highest possible interest, it makes sense to put in the hard work as soon as possible to make your business appealing to prospective buyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":167058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11041],"tags":[11931,11967,2692],"class_list":["post-167057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice","tag-rb-2021","tag-rb-nov","tag-selling-a-business"],"views":3900,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}