Knowing that you want to sell is easy. You decide that. Knowing when to sell, well now that’s a bit tougher. Will the market go up, or down? Is your business packaged properly for sale? Can you demonstrate real value and cash flow?
This all brings us back to the core question, is now the time to sell?

What You Need To Know Before You Sell Your Business

Today’s business buyers are much more sophisticated. There is a lot of information out there (internet, books, magazines) that can be good or bad advice on how to buy a business. What is important to understand is that buyers are looking for stable, quality businesses that can demonstrate the success of the business will continue. Buyers put the most weight on “cash flow.” This is also known as Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) or adjusted net income. It is crucial that cash flow is calculated correctly and that the process of how cash flow was determined can be supported by documentation. Most sellers focus on the multiple, which is important. However, I pose the question, “A multiple of what?” If the historical cash flow is not calculated correctly, then the value may be under estimated. Buyers need to feel 100% comfortable with the historical cash flow figures or trends since this is what will determine what is available to cover debt service, salary and expansion or growth.

The multiple of cash flow used is a function of many things. There are more than 15 characteristics that affect the multiple. Some of these increase the multiple and some of them can decrease the multiple. It is the multiple that takes the good, the bad and the ugly into consideration. Some of the factors that affect the multiple are consistent historical cash flow, type of industry, years in business, the condition of the facility and the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), key employees in place, terms of the lease, the type of financing available plus many other factors. An experienced Certified Business Broker can discuss this further and assist in establishing the correct cash flow and multiple for your business.

Pricing Your Business For Activity

Pricing a business is part science and part art. It is no secret that sellers aim high and typically overprice their business. What sellers underestimate is when a buyer is looking at multiple businesses for sale and he or she sees that the multiple is out of the normal range, the buyer will then assume the seller is unrealistic and will most likely pass. This means you may have lost an excellent, qualified buyer that would have been interested if the business was priced correctly. Pricing your business should be taken seriously and be treated in a professional manner that can be supported, otherwise everyone’s time is wasted.

It pays to be realistic. Many sellers assume that the amount of money they need to retire or need for their next venture is somehow related to what their business is worth. That is wishful thinking and obviously not how the value of a business is determined. Studies show that there is usually a 10–15% difference between what a seller wants and what the market will bear. A Certified Business Broker has considerably expertise when it comes time to calculate a reasonable asking price for a business. They know that it is essential that they come up with a price that is fair. As a result, a Certified Business Broker will take many diverse issues into consideration.

Being Prepared Pays Dividends Down The Road

The time spent at the beginning of the process of selling a business can pay big dividends down the road. It is important to prepare your business for sale. What does that mean? Don’t be reactive—get your house in order before you put the business up for sale! Spend time to review your overall business. Review your processes, your policies and procedures, company financial statements/tax returns, inventory, accounts receivables and payables, review the condition of your equipment, the condition of your facility, review your lease agreement, your employee records and compensation, etc. Think of what you would want to see if you were purchasing a business and act accordingly. The more you can address upfront the better position you will be in when a buyer is at the table. One common statement I hear from business sellers is how they underestimated the time needed and overall what was involved with the sale of their business. On average, it can take 6–12 months to sell a business. Selling a business is a group effort that will involve you, key executives, and your financial and legal advisors all working in a coordinated manner with your Business Broker. Beginning with the gathering of information, through the transaction closing, you need input about all aspects of the sale. Being prepared up front will help this process go smother and more efficient for everyone involved.

In conclusion, selling a business is a time consuming and complex process. It involves knowledge and expertise in a wide range of fields and topics. It is important to understand the dynamics and the many factors that are involved in the sale or purchase of a business. No two businesses or deals are alike. Working with an experienced Certified Business Broker will help in dramatically increasing the probability of selling your business. An experienced Certified Business Broker will assist the business owner in the proper “confidential” way to prepare the business for sale. In addition, a Certified Business Broker will prepare a financial analysis and opinion of value, professionally package the business, put a professional confidential marketing plan in place to reach a wide audience, negotiate and structure a fair deal for all involved, prepare and manage the due diligence process, prepare certain contracts, handle the transfer or creation of a new lease, assist in financing the transaction and manage the entire process from beginning to end to assure confidentiality and so that the seller can focus on successfully running their business. •

CASE IN POINT:

The Importance Of A Lease Agreement And Timing

A husband and wife owned and operated a highly successful 27-year-old garment manufacturing and wholesale distribution business. The couple discussed several times the possibility of retiring and selling the business since the business was doing well. As the saying goes, time is your enemy. Unfortunately, the couple had personal problems and eventually filed for divorce. In addition, shortly after filing for divorce, the wife was diagnosed with cancer. The business owners were fortunate that they had strong, long terms employees who stepped up and ran the business effectively. The husband checked out and left the wife and employees to run the company. The wife was now dealing with running the business, going through a divorce and cancer treatment. The company was stable for the next couple of years. The ex-husband became difficult and uncooperative with the divorce. The ex-wife wanted to sell the business and went to court to receive a court order for the sale of the business. The courts agreed that this was in the best interest of both parties and ordered the business be sold through my firm.

After several meetings, we moved forward to represent the parties in the sale of the business. As we normally do in the course of our work, we analyzed the lease agreement that was in place. I mentioned to the owners that the lease agreement is going to be an important factor in this transaction. Since this was a divorce situation, the owners would not agree to seller finance. I informed the sellers that since the company tax returns were strong, I felt comfortable that the business would qualify for SBA finance once we had a strong buyer in place. I pointed out that since a SBA loan is typically done on a ten year term and that their facility was crucial to the success of the business, the SBA lender would require the total term, including options for the lease agreement be no less than ten years. The sellers were adamant that I not speak with the landlord until we had a buyer and that there should be no issues with the lease. I explained to them that this was risky and that we should contact the landlord to make sure we would not have any issues. They were insistent and we moved forward.

We spent the next month preparing the business and our package. We then put our marketing plan in place and started speaking with prospective buyers. We had numerous meetings over the next several months until we met with a charming husband and wife team that expressed enough interest for us to move forward. The husband and wife team were both looking to leave corporate America to purchase their own business. They were sophisticated and knowledgeable about the process of buying a business. We had several in person meetings and early on they asked about the lease for the facility. The owner commented that they were currently on a month to month lease and they did not want to contact the landlord until we were in escrow. The buyer expressed concerned since this was an important factor in being able to determine a price and obtain SBA finance. I told the seller that my SBA lender will need to make sure we would not have any issues with the lease and that I should contact him sooner rather than later. If the lease is going to be an issue, then the buyer will need to factor in the cost to relocate the business into the offer and the SBA lender will also need to factor this in.

Once again, the seller was insistent that we should wait until we were in escrow. The conversation continued and eventually the buyer submitted an offer that was accepted.

The buyer started their due diligence and worked with the SBA lender on providing what they needed. The question on the lease came up several times and we had no choice but to respected the owners request to wait until we open escrow. The buyer approved the books and records, we moved to an asset purchase agreement and opened escrow almost a month later. The seller then gave me the thumbs up to contact the landlord. I contacted the landlord and to my surprise, the landlord said that he was doing the owners a favor by not increasing the rent and pushing them to sign a new lease. He informed me that this would not apply to a buyer or new owner. The landlord was clear that he would want to bring the monthly rent up to market rent and that he would only consider a five year term. I explained to the landlord and the owners that this would be an issue. The buyer will now be faced with higher rent (an increase of $1,000/month) and this would decrease the cash flow and therefore decrease the value of the business. Furthermore, the SBA lender would not consider financing unless the terms of the lease (including the options) were the same as the term of the loan, 10 years.

To add insult to injury, the landlord said he was going out of the country, on a 14-day cruise and unreachable. We were now about 8 weeks into this transaction from the first time we met with this buyer. It took another 3 weeks to wait for the landlord to return, work out a 10 year lease (5 + 5 year option) and we unfortunately had to renegotiate the purchase price due to the increase in monthly rent. The buyers were extremely frustrated but in the end, we received a new lease, obtain the SBA financing and closed the transaction. The landlord asked why we did not contact him sooner and I replied the sellers were insistent that I not reach out to you until a buyer was in place because they were fearful of what you would say. His response was, “This could have gone a lot smoother if they would have just contacted me upfront.”

Of course I agreed!—M.C.

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Family Members

First In A Series

Members of the seller’s own family form a traditional category of business buyer: tried but not always “true.” The notion of a family member taking over is amenable to many of the parties involved because they envision continuity, seeing that as a prime advantage. And it can be, given that the family member treats the role as something akin to a hierarchical responsibility. This can mean years of planning and diligent preparation, involving all or many members of the family in deciding who will be the “heir to the throne.” If this has been done, the family member may be the best type of buyer.

Too often, however, the difficulty with the family buyer category lies in the conflicts that may develop. For example, does the family member have sufficient cash to purchase the business? Can the selling family member really leave the business? In too many cases, these and other conflicts result in serious disruption to the business or to the sales transaction. The result, too often, is an “I-told-you-so” situation, where there are too many opinions, but no one is really ever the wiser. An outside buyer eliminates these often insoluble problems.

The key to deciding on a family member as a buyer is threefold: ability, family agreement, and financial worthiness. •

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Buying a business is a huge commitment, and before the ink dries on the contract, it’s easy to focus on the upside—the promise and possibility of a strong return on your investment as well as the retention of the existing customer base. That’s why getting off on the right foot with the existing clients or customers is job #12.

The biggest sales job you will face is in reassuring them that things will be smoother (tricky, especially when they thought it already was); that nothing will change (they wonder how that can be since a new owner always means change); or that there will be improvements (they wonder what kind—and do you really know what needs fixing?)

Customer relationship management. This is your challenge. The challenge is communication and nuance. What should you say? When and how much sharing is really needed? The way in which you handle this determines if you will have to scramble, or if you can really enjoy what was promised—a healthy stream of customers.

There are four things to be aware of that may sound simple at the offset, but pulling them off gracefully is a challenge. Doing it well will make the difference between retention or total reinvention and restart.

Communicate or die. Dramatic indeed but you were educated to be a doctor, lawyer, and accountant or fill in the blank and name yours. And you are knowledgeable, maybe even brilliant, on your subject. Once you purchase a business you need to add the title of seller, soother, educator and grand communicator, too. Your clarity, authenticity and warmth will make up for any perceived missteps in your customers eyes. There will be times when you will have to eat humble pie or crow. Plan on it. Accept it.

Customers hate change. They will compare you to your predecessor right away and might even look for ways to leave. Any mishandling will be grounds for replacing you because their allegiance was with the last owner. Let’s face it, you are auditioning. There will even be some cases where the client wasn’t happy in the first place and didn’t have the nerve to leave the previous owner, so you can be a welcome change.

It’s cheaper to keep them. It’s pricier to replace customers than it is to keep them. Wooing works as long as you don’t use vacant words and can back up what you day with something delightfully unexpected.

Transition is everything. The support staff is an extension of you—their proficiency in wooing, wowing, calming, and smoothing should not be underestimated. They can help or harm your transition process. It is a smart move to keep one or some of the key staffers to make the change less jarring. Frank conversations with them will lay the foundation of how cooperative they will be with you. You can help plant your story with them so instead of idle gossip and hearsay they will be your best brand messengers.

Keeping customers happy doesn’t require elaborate schemes or for you to change your personality unless you want to. Customers want love, attention, respect and the S.H.E method: Share, Help and Educate. It will take you far. •

CASE IN POINT:
Doctor O and Doctor N

Dr. O was a seasoned Park Avenue dermatologist with alternative healthcare leanings. He was ahead of his time, humble and had graduated from an Ivy League school. He enjoyed his own blend of East/West healing modalities. Because of this, he received accolades from Prevention Magazine and had a brisk practice concentrating on acne treatments and hair loss. Alopecia was his specialty and most of his clientele were women. He earned most of his revenue from office visit charges and his custom injections. It was more than enough for him and his wife, who was his receptionist, and they owned the office space (a condo) in the building. As he was nearing the age of 80, he decided to retire and sell his practice to Dr. N.

Dr. N was young, handsome and ambitious. He was buying a tony location and hoped to piggyback on Dr. O’s international recognition. Dr. N wanted to expand on product offerings, remodel the office, hire beautiful front desk women, write a book and add an anti-aging twist to the business. With most of Dr. O’s patients coming in for hair loss and acne treatments, he estimated that he’d probably lose upward of 50 percent of the clients within the first year. He didn’t mind since he would still be able to cover his overhead. He become acquainted with clients and kept some of Dr. O’s potions, which included his unique hair retaining injections and more.

The initial month was spent with the two doctors seeing patients together. Dr. O introduced Dr. N to patients and openly offered his blessing while praising him.

After a three-month transition, Dr. O’s presence was tapering off. New patients had been directed to Dr. N and existing clients were making up their minds whether to try him out or to go. Dr. N recognized that he needed something to entice existing patients to stay, so he offered beauty packages for hair and skin restoration. The packages involved a flat monthly fee for three months. This enabled him to guarantee his own cash flow. If patients started to balk, he was comfortable reassuring them that “they were worth” the small investment. It was a risk and he enjoyed the reward—they said yes.

As the office brightened and he started to display private label products, he began gifting samples to the existing clients, and it worked some of the time. What Dr. N lacked in warmth and age, he made up for in hiring great staffers. They were the ones who knew how to sell, compliment and coddle. Dr. N went on to be written up in many fashion magazines in New York as a skin authority to supermodels and mom’s alike. •

CASE IN POINT:
Joan, Eric and Unified Tax

Unified Tax and Planning Company was founded, owned and operated by Joan for 15 years. Joan was a feisty personality whose experience came as a bookkeeper turned Certified Tax Preparer. Although she wasn’t a CPA, it didn’t matter to her clientele. They knew she could take on the IRS if any of her clients were called in for an audit. She made a respectable living, enjoyed teaching workshops and did a lot of public speaking at every Chamber and women’s group within 25 miles of the office. Her kids were grown and she wanted to relocate, so she sold the practice to Eric.

Eric had made wise real estate investments and had retired 10 years earlier. He had become itchy after playing lots of golf and babysitting the grandkids. He was smart, personable and genuinely excited about returning to a business. However, at his age, he had no designs on running around as much as Joan did. Instead, his plan was to audition and win clients over, keep the receptionist and office staff, keep the look of the office the same (down to the pictures on the wall) and offer more year-round services.

His transition execution was impeccable. He diligently went through all the steps mentioned previously. Joan, on the other hand, didn’t do as well. She sent out the cursory introductory letter and said nothing would change. Together, Joan and Eric isolated the 10 most valuable clients and jointly met with them. But during the meetings, it wasn’t a gracious hand off. It became clear that Joan was having a personal ego struggle.

Clients liked Eric and he was answering their questions deliberately, and educating them along the way. This was something Joan didn’t previously do. She would say, “Don’t you worry, I will take care of it. I know what I am doing, so you don’t have to.” In contrast with Eric, she seemed patronizing. Eric was the model of solid and dependable. He was comfortable talking to people and had a well-balanced, logical and intuitive sense.

Eric asked Joan to leave the firm earlier than expected. But the Unified Tax client retention was a success and still is to this day. Here’s how he easily sold his clients:

Some of the feedback his female clients gave were: He really cared; he didn’t really need the money so he wasn’t obnoxiously hungry; he focused on them; he remembered babies, grandkids and asked about them. Feedback from men included: He talked a bit more about new tax codes to show competency but not too much to bore; he shared what he did in retirement; he demonstrated his enthusiasm to own the business and serve and swerve clients away from having to overpay taxes.

Eric was a “salt of the earth” man who helped with pre-tax planning, money management, and who was respectful of time. He sent out helpful checklists in advance so the appointments would run smoothly. He allowed enough time in his meetings so he never appeared rushed. And he held Joan’s rates for at least a year. Not only did he retain most of the client base but also he continued to add to it through referrals. •

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This economy has caused a lot of businesses to change ownership. The problems on one side of the table have become opportunities for the other side.

Perhaps you have been thinking about acquiring a franchise operation. There are golden opportunities available, but get ready for twice the due diligence of a traditional deal. The upside: there might be twice the pay-off if you do it right.

Indeed, caution is the by-word in considering the acquisition of a franchisor. Any such deal gets the buyer a unique distribution system consisting of scores, perhaps hundreds, of franchisees who will prove key to the success of the deal.

First Considerations

The franchise business is all about brands and franchisees, and the two concerns interact. The brand is promoted to attract quality franchisees, and then the franchisees are supported to promote the brand. And because franchisees are keys to success, a potential buyer must focus due diligence on the financial and legal health of both franchisor and franchisee. Why? Because a system that is inherently unprofitable for the franchisee will likely be a bust for the franchisor, too.

What does it take to do the right kind of due diligence when buying a franchisor? Where can trouble crop up, and how can one leave oneself room to structure the final terms of the deal to fit the reality one uncovers?

The first step is to inspect the uniform franchise disclosure documents (FDD’s) used by the franchisor in each state where it has done business over the last five years. Thirteen states—California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin—seek to protect franchisees by requiring franchisors to disclose a great deal of information in the FDD and place it in the public record, usually by registering it with the state attorney general.

Six states—Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas and Utah—require franchisors to file only a one-page form, and the others permit franchisors to operate as long as they meet the requirements of at least one of the 13 “registration” states. In addition, irrespective of these differing state requirements, federal law requires franchisors to give copies of their disclosure documents to all prospective franchisees.

This inspection of the records reveals whether the franchisor has properly registered its offering circular where required and whether it has faced state disciplinary action or litigation by franchisees. The FDD must detail the franchisor’s business experience and that of its senior executives, including any bankruptcies and securities violations. As a result, the inspection will turn up at least a cursory notation of any such difficulties, and lead to inspection of other records, i.e. court filings, regulatory records, etc. that describe any problems or deficiencies in detail.

In each case, it is important to understand the nature of the complaint, the franchisor’s explanation or defense, and the result. Was the violation serious or minor? Was it intentional or the result of clerical error? Was it an isolated incident or part of a pattern of behavior? A buyer needs this information to position yourself, when drawing up the warranties and representations of the purchase agreement, to keep the seller on the hook for any trouble that may not be fully known at closing.

Further Due Diligence

The next step is to inspect the franchise agreements in use in each state in which the franchisor operates. This means checking their terms against those of the standard agreements in the FDD. The object here is to discover whether the franchisor entered into any special arrangements with one or more of its franchisees. An example might be providing special terms to favored franchisees, such as giving a franchisee is Los Angeles the right of first refusal when new or additional franchises are available in neighboring Orange County.

This is important to the buyer of a franchising company because it takes on all the obligations of the seller, except those that are expressly left behind in the purchase agreement. A buyer probably cannot escape a side deal such as granting a right of first refusal, assuming it is a valid arrangement, but it can adjust the terms of the deal to reflect the impact of the agreement on post-acquisition plans. If the agreement proves to be too restrictive, such as limiting expansion plans in Orange County, it could cause the buyer to back out of the deal altogether. In any event, the buyer is at minimum informed of the situation.

For the same reasons, it is also important to track down the agreements with franchisees in all states in which the franchisor operates. It may be impractical to check each. These agreements may number in the hundreds, or even in the thousands, making it costly and time-consuming to inspect every one. The solution is to collect a fair sampling and require the franchisor to warrant that there are no undisclosed side deals with franchisees that materially affect the terms of the purchase.

In checking these records, the acquirer’s investigators must take special note of all obligations taken on by the franchisor regarding training, advertising, marketing, and other business functions, all of which represent costs affecting the value of the deal.

For the same reason, the buyer must look for other financial arrangements between the franchisor and its franchisees. A primary target for inspection should be the promissory notes and security agreements that are in place if the franchisor offers financing to help purchase the franchise.

It is equally important to inspect the franchisor’s records of all leases tied to its franchise agreements. In some cases the franchisor itself will lease the property in question and sub-lease it to the franchisee. In others, the franchisee will lease the property directly. Either way, a buyer must match up each lease with its respective franchise agreement, making sure that the terms agree. The buyer also must be certain that no third-party clearance is needed, such as approval of lease transfers by real estate owners.

A great deal of examination can be done in the offices of the franchisor, where other important but unpleasant items may be found, i.e. notices of late payments or default by franchisees, correspondence regarding disputes between franchisor and franchisee, or records detailing the processes followed in terminating franchise agreements. In essence, the goal here is to find out what went wrong between franchisor and franchisee so that a purchase agreement requires the seller to stand behind appropriate representations and warranties.

Final Thoughts

In all of this, it is crucial to step carefully, since few deals close without a hiccup or two.

There is risk for both buyer and seller in any acquisition involving a franchisor, but don’t let that make you run away from the idea. The due diligence necessary to any such acquisition is tough, but it’s really just a measure of the possible pay-off.

The business lawyer doing due diligence in the purchase of a franchise company must track down a great many documents to gain an accurate picture of the relationships between the franchisor and its franchisees. Then the real work begins. It is also necessary to inspect the documents in detail and draw up representations and warranties holding the seller of the franchise company responsible for any agreements or information contrary to or inconsistent with the documents inspected or information provided during due diligence. In deals involving large numbers of franchisees, it becomes impractical to obtain and inspect every document on this checklist, of course. In such cases, the lawyer should sample a number judged reasonable by the client and shape the language of any representations and warranties accordingly. •

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Here are key factors for selling a business.

Buyers are more educated than ever these days, and they are not taking risks. The current marketplace is such that there is a healthy pool of buyers with impressive backgrounds and liquid funds looking to purchase quality businesses. Buyers are coming out of corporate America and looking to purchase businesses by using their savings or retirement funds through various programs as a source of down payment. Younger Baby Boomers (mid 40’s – 50’s) are also looking to fulfill their dream of owning and operating their own business prior to reaching retirement age. The key is in understanding what motivates buyers in today’s market in order to successfully sell your business.

Determining The Multiple For Your Business

Buyers purchase “cash flow” when they purchase a business. Cash flow, also know as discretionary earnings, is the net income plus certain acceptable owner benefits or “perks.” Businesses with cash flow and “transferable value” are in demand in this economic environment. Buyers are willing to pay a multiple of cash flow which is determined by the type of industry, years in business, key employees being in place,  condition of the equipment and facility, lease terms and the type of finance available. There are many other factors that go into determining this multiple and therefore the value of a business. An experienced Certified Business Broker can assist you in determining the cash flow, multiple and ultimately the correct value of the business.

If the business does not have traceable, verifiable cash flow, then it needs to be sold as a Sale of Assets in Place, which yields a lower value. Although the buyer pool for these businesses is less, there is still a demand for these assets in place by individuals willing to take a risk to turn the business around. The value is ultimately determine by the market place so it is important to highlight the benefits.

Packaging Your Business For Sale

A second key item to selling a business is in packaging it correctly. Buyers need and demand information. They need to know everything about the business to see if it will meet their needs as they are typically putting down a significant portion of their life savings at risk. It is important to package the business so that the features and benefits are outlined clearly. It is also important to clearly outline the cash flow of the business and all the add-backs. The bottom line is the bottom line, so it is important to explain how the cash flow was derived. Buyers will typically not move forward unless they are comfortable with this analysis. In addition, if a buyer does not feel comfortable with a business’s transferable value which includes policy and procedures, whether or not key employees are in place, if the business has growth opportunities and a sturdy marketing plan, if the assets and systems needed to move forward are in place and in good condition, etc., then the buyer will most likely not be willing to take the risk and the business will not sell.

How Buyers Can Finance The Purchase

The last key element is how a buyer finances a business purchase. The choices are limited. Typically there are three methods:

All Cash
This is not common. If a buyer is willing to pay all cash, then the buyer will expect a discount in the purchase price since price is a function of terms.’

SBA Finance
There is a big misconception on how financing with a Small Business Administration loan works. First, these loans are among the highest risk loans for a bank that typically funds the loans using a SBA guarantee. In today’s economic environment, these loans are extremely difficult to obtain. The banks will only consider what is on the selling company’s tax returns. The tax returns must show consistent year-after-year gross revenue and profitability in order to assure the bank that the cash flow is there to cover the debt service. The bank and SBA will also require that the buyer have direct industry experience, good credit, ample reserves and, in most situations, additional collateral to secure the loan.

In some cases, the bank and SBA may require that the seller carry a portion of the purchase price in second position, sometimes with no payments for 3-5 years. This depends on the verifiable cash flow available to cover the debt service. These loans are typically leveraged with 10-25% down, and therefore the payments can be high for the buyer. For some transactions, this may be a viable option, but as you can see, it can be challenging to meet some of the requirements.

Seller Finance
This has been the most common method of financing  in the last five years. The advantage with seller finance is that the seller will be able to set the requirements. Seller finance typically involves a buyer being screened both financially and work-experience wise. This kind of transaction typically begins with requiring 40-50% down and is negotiated from there. When a buyer puts 40-50% down and a seller carries 50-60%, this creates an even playing field. The buyer has “skin” in the game as well as the seller. It is crucial to set up seller finance correctly upfront and put mechanisms in place to reduce the probability of a problem down the road. Again, this is where a Certified Business Broker is key to assisting in this process as well as managing the entire transaction from beginning to end.

Selling a business is an extremely complex process, so it is important to work with a broker who understands the dynamics of selling a business in this current economic environment. No two deals are ever alike. Selling a business can be just as much of an art as a science. When you work with someone who has the experience to analyze the specific situation and develop a custom plan to price, package, market and structure a transaction, the chances of selling a business successfully increase tenfold. •

CASE IN POINT:
Long-Standing Family Business Thinks Out Of The Box

Two partners owned a 50-year-old box manufacturing business that their fathers started. The partners after many years of running the business wanted to sell. They had lost a large long-term customer and the revenue had decreased. The business still had a reputable name, long-term employees in place and a working facility. After much discussion, the partners decided to sell. Their accountant referred them to our firm. We went in and evaluated their business given their situation at no cost and gave them an opinion of value. The value took everything into consideration.

The sellers thought their business was worth more but we explained to them that the recent lower cash flow was bringing down the value. We also explained that financing would be difficult to obtain which our lender confirmed. We agreed on a starting selling price, and after discussing the benefits of seller finance and how we would structure it to secure their position, they agreed to offer seller finance subject to approving the buyer’s qualifications and credit worthiness. We created a detailed package on the business highlighting the features and benefits including the 50-year history, long-term employees in place, financial analysis, among other key factors.

We went to market and started identifying potential buyers. We learned after discussing the business with several buyers, that this would not be an easy business to sell. Most buyers agreed that the business had an excellent reputation, employees and facility but they were concerned with the drop in revenue as a result of losing a large customer. Remember, the majority of buyers purchase cash flow and they must feel comfortable with the company’s transferable value.

The sellers had no formal marketing plan in place and did not do much to generate new business. We suggested to the sellers that they immediately focus on trying to generate new customers in order to show that new business was attainable if someone put in the time and effort to go out and do so. The facility had the capacity to handle more business; someone just needed to generate it. After a short period of time, the company started obtaining a handful of new customers. The revenue began to increase and it became clear that the company could rebound.

We re-priced the business and marketed it using our wide range of company resources. It took some time and speaking to several buyers to discuss the features and benefits, but we eventually found a buyer who saw the transferable value and potential to turn this business around. We had several meetings with the buyer. Once he completed his due diligence, we opened escrow to comply with the bulk sale requirements and complete the transaction. The buyer said one of the main reasons he considered this business was the fact that the seller was willing to finance a portion of the transaction. This made him feel comfortable with the fact that the seller had confidence with the business going forward. The transaction closed and after training was completed we all went out to dinner to celebrate.

The sellers were happy, as they were now able to retire and focus on their other activities. The buyer was happy, as they saw many opportunities to expand the business and had already implemented some of them. The buyer indicated that he was glad he purchased the business, but he probably would not have gone forward unless the sellers agreed to carry the note. Everyone was happy and after several months of operating the business, the buyer has increased the revenue substantially and has indicated that he will most likely pay off the note sometime this year.

Glossary Of Terms

Bulk Sale Requirements: A law that regulates the transfer of business assets so that business owners cannot dispose of assets in order to avoid creditors. If a business owner wants to conduct a bulk sale of business assets — that is, get rid of all or most of its inventory, merchandise, or equipment — the business owner must give written notice to creditors and, in some states, publish and record a notice of the sale. This is also in place to protect the buyer.

Discretionary Earnings: This is the cash flow of the business after adding back certain, traceable, non-business related expenses to the net income.

Multiple: A multiple is derived from a number of business, industry, market, and owner preferences factors. The multiplier is used to convert a single-point business economic benefit into the business value.

Sale of Assets In Place: When a business lacks verifiable cash flow, it can be sold as a Sale of Assets in Place. The business may have value for certain assets that are already in place and ready to be used by a potential buyer. The market place and what a willing and able buyer is willing to pay typically determines the value.

Transferrable Value: The value of a business going forward. Tangible benefits such as policy and procedures, key employees that are in place, growth opportunities for the business, a marketing plan, and any other systems that are in good condition that add value to the business.

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