There are many ways to make a business more attractive to business buyers looking to buy a business. You might ask, what are business buyers in the Orlando area are looking for? As business brokers in the Orlando and Central Florida area, we see all kinds of businesses for sale. While every business for sale in the Orlando area is unique, most people searching to buy a business in the Central Florida area follow the same search patterns. Buyers look for the same criteria regardless of the industry. Below are some ways business owners can use to make their businesses more attractive to potential business buyers in Orlando, Florida.
1) Business Financials
We never want to sound like a broken record, but the reality buyers want to see clear and easy to understand financials. The less explaining the financials need, the better. Clean and easy to understand financials is a great way to help a business sell. When the financial numbers are easy to understand it leads to a unifying higher opinion of business because no matter who the buyer consults with whether it be their accountant, their attorney and or even their father-in-law the financial numbers and hence the business will look good to everyone. When everyone involved in a transaction can easily examine and understand the sales, expenses and profits of a business it leads to more offers from buyers. We hear all the time from business sellers, “If we find someone who knows the business, they’ll understand.” What business brokers in Florida typically find is that business buyers are not looking for complicated financials regardless of their experience in an industry. If the financials are clean, a business seller in Orlando is likely to get a better price and they will have an easier time selling a business in Central Florida.
2) Clean Business Premises
Buyers will often tell business brokers that if the financials support the business purchase price that they will make the decision to purchase a business. However, that is not always the case. Often times if the equipment or fixtures of a business are not in good shape or not up to date it can send a cautionary signal for buyers. Buyers might be concerned that they will need to spend extra money to update, paint, and clean everything up. The need for clean premises is even more important for businesses that have a retail component or those that host customers at their place of business. This does not mean that a business seller has to buy all brand new equipment and fixtures, it just means that everything needs to look like it is in good working condition because it does help the overall presentation when showing a business to potential business buyers in Central Florida.
3) Good working support systems including software and databases
There are many businesses that we as business brokers will visit where the business owner is the key to everything about the business. The contact information for a particular supplier or a key equipment repair person or the contact information for the insurance company all filters through that owner. This is all fine as long as the owner is in good shape, but if something happens to the owner the business could be in trouble. Business buyers like when they see businesses for sale that have systems and protocols in place. They recognize that a key aspect of buying and transferring a business to a new owner in Orlando is the transferring of key information that is vital to running the business. While buyers typically get acclimated to this information once a business sells, business sellers can make their businesses more attractive by showing potential buyers that they have systems in place. Keep in mind that a business owner does not have to show all the any details such as names and numbers, but they can mention that they have a particular software they use to manage their contacts or their sales. Business owners can mention that they have a hand book or a database with all the key contacts a future owner will need. These systems put buyers at ease because these systems give them something to fall back on if an incident happens to the owner or to them once they own the business.
4) Branding, a website, and social media
While some businesses in Orlando do not need it, it still helps businesses to have some branding, a website, and social media when marketing a business to potential business buyers in Orlando. Every little bit helps! Typically in Central Florida when buyers fill out Nondisclosures and financial forms they receive some preliminary information on the business they are looking at. It is assumed that many buyers will look up a business online to see if there is any additional information about it on the internet. For the purposes of selling a business in Orlando, it helps to have some good information about the business for sale online. It could be as simple as the business setting up a website. It is absolutely worth the extra few dollars to make it a nice, presentable and up-to-date website even if it is not vital to the operation of the business. Everything helps and potential buyers will want to set up those items for themselves so if these materials already exist it is a value added asset to the business.
5) Key employees
Great employees can be the key to any great business. Business buyers often look for businesses that have talented and key employees that will be staying on with the new owner. Contrary to what some business owners and their employees might think, most business buyers in the Orlando and Central Florida area want to hire all of the employees that are currently working at a business they are looking to purchase. Having a team on board for a venture that they have not experienced yet offers a majority of buyers an extra level of comfort that there is some back up in case something happens to them or the current owner. Key employees can also offer suggestions and assistance to a new owner when it comes to operating the business and they can also be helpful when it comes to troubleshooting potential issues in the coming future.
There are many more ways Central Florida business owners can help their businesses sell on the business for sale market in the Central Florida area. If you or someone you know is looking to sell a business or might be looking to sell in the near future call the number one Orlando business brokers at Crowne Atlantic at 407-478-4101 or check out our website at www.crowneatlantic.com.
