If I'm thinking about selling my business, what marketing strategy should I consider? The goal of selling your business is to achieve the most attractive price and terms; creating competition for the purchase of your company will achieve that outcome. Competition drives prices higher; consider the experience of people competing for bids at an auction for antiques or property. The more people bidding, the higher the price paid. The same is true for selling a business. If your company is effectively marketed to many potential buyers, an auction-like process can be achieved.

Marketing your business professionally, confidentially, thoroughly and diligently should result in multiple offers for the seller to choose from and negotiate an attractive final sale. When multiple offers are coming to the table within similar timeframes, an auction-like process will ensue. That time frame for the a business that is well-prepared for a sale is typically a few months, but could be longer depending on the attractiveness of the business and the financial climate.

A focused marketing approach for the sale of your business is imperative to reaching multiple qualified buyers and obtaining a few attractive offers in a specific time frame. It is vital that the sale of your business be done confidentially and with discretion. You do not want your customers, suppliers, competitors and/or employees to know that you are considering selling the business. The best approach to marketing your business confidentially and thoroughly is to employee the services of a Merger and Acquisition advisor, or business broker for small companies. When an M&A advisor is the front person marketing your business, key information will be provided about your company to gain interest from buyers, without specifying your company name.

There are a few types of buyers that may be interested in your company and an experienced advisor can guide the marketing to the correct groups. The advisor will also have an established database of qualified buyers. There are three groups of buyers to pursue: 1) individuals looking for an investment opportunity, 2) private equity (PE) firms that look to acquire business with specific attributes, and 3) established businesses looking for expansion opportunities.

A marketing book will need to be professionally prepared which contains specifics about your company such as: financial data summary, company capabilities, history, types of customers. The marketing books will be provided to buyers only when they have been screened as qualified and have signed a confidentiality agreement. A well prepared marketing book will be comprehensive enough to answer potential buyers’ questions and succinct enough to make it easy for buyers to decide to pursue the purchase further and ultimately submit an attractive offer.