Who is Your Buyer?
Before starting the selling process, determining where your potential buyer will come from will put you ahead of the game. Know who your buyer really is.
Each business transaction is different, but there are common factors to any deal. There are certain main aspects of a buyer, each with their own list of pros and cons to consider, which typically are:
- Do they have industry (whichever type your business falls under) knowledge/experience?
- Are they a first-time buyer?
- Will they need financing?
A business broker should be able to give a preliminary idea or priority list of the most likely types of buyers. By knowing the type of buyer, the seller will have a better understanding of their needs or constraints when it is time to make or close the deal.
Broken down to the main or top-level categories, there are essentially six (6) different types of buyers. Again, what is a “pro” for one type, might be a check in the “con” bucket of another type.
Is Your Buyer the:
Corporate Executive
A usual concern for this type of buyer is whether or not they are trying to relocate or stay in their current geographical location. These are often first-time buyers, but make sure they are serious. A business transfer requires a doer, not a dreamer who is not ready to leave their current state of employment.
Competitor or Vendor
This can be the best idea or the worst idea. Though they will have knowledge of the industry, if the business transfer is not a quick process, a competitor can cause harm in the marketplace to drive down the revenue. However, due diligence should be cut markedly. Depending on their motivation, they could pay a considerable amount more than asking or their situation might not require inventory that could be on hand and therefore result in not wanting to pay top dollar.
Existing Employee(s)
A great option for bank financing if they can come up with the funds for securing the loan. Being that they are already invested in the business, they are of lower risk. If they are not able to come up with these funds, owner financing should be expected to be on the table. So it is fundamental to know if the business is being sold to a business minded individual.
Investment Group
They are always looking for a good deal but are not interested in handling the day-to-day responsibilities. If a good management team or the owner is staying on in some capacity to run the business, the deal is more likely to sell for asking price.
Intergenerational Buyer
Keeping a business in the family can be ideal. A good rule of thumb is to use an unbiased third-party company to handle the valuation before a deal is put on the table. Family transactions can carry the added weight of emotion, so using separate attorneys and CPAs as any other business transactions is recommended. Because of familiarity, it can also lengthen the time for an accepted offer. Make sure to set clear expectations so relations are not damaged in the process.
Foreign and Public Companies
This is a very unlikely buyer for small businesses. The larger the transaction, the more viable an option this buyer type becomes. Being in contact with this type of buyer will require clear mediation to determine what each other’s requirements of the deal really are.
To learn more about how to find the right buyer for your business, pick up a copy of EXIT– A Business Owners Guide to Selling a Company, by Alex Vantarakis.