Sellers hire a business broker with the intent of selling their business. And yet, at times, Sellers can be their own worst enemy.
If you’re considering selling your business, it’s helpful to take an introspective journey, and consider the areas where you may have some resistance or hesitation to the idea of selling your business. We often experience hesitation among our clients, which is not at all unusual; and this is usually not a problem – until the hesitation is significant enough to cost the seller a valuable deal in the process.
These are the key reasons that sellers hesitate to move forward with solid buyers.
No Buyer Could Ever Run the Company Like Me.
Many sellers believe that they are the only person who can successfully run their business. While it’s true that Sellers are uniquely qualified to run their business, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone else cannot also succeed in this role. If you genuinely want to sell your business, it’s important to consider that there is no single buyer with your exact skill set, background, and experience. It’s useful to be open minded and consider a broad range of skill sets, even those that may not be a perfect fit on paper.
My Business is Worth More.
It’s easy to have delusions of grandeur when selling your business. You’ve poured your life’s work into building your company to its current level, and surely, it’s worth more than the current offer on the table, right? The answer is more complicated. The value of a business is defined by what the market is willing to pay for it. No more and no less. If you’re ready for a change, it’s critically important to be open to reasonable offers, and to realize that every business falls into a range of expected multiple ranges. If you have a strong offer in the range, take some time to consider your reason for hesitating. Maybe the reason is not strictly about the price.
I’m Not Really Sure I Want to Sell After All.
Sellers are often conflicted about their decision to sell. Sometimes the decision is influenced by a spouse, and the seller doesn’t really want to sell, deep down. Perhaps you’re considering selling in order to retire, and yet, you don’t have a formal retirement plan and you’re not sure what to do with yourself after the business is sold. We often find that hesitant sellers are dealing with an introspective issue, which can get in the way of a successful transaction. For this reason, it’s important to spend some time prior to your decision to sell; and make sure there are no internal reservations about the path ahead.
Selling a business can be an exciting time, and opens the door to the next chapter in your life. But it’s important to come to terms with the decision to proceed, and to consider the reasons for any anxiety and hesitancy you may have about this deeply important decision.
Jordan Zweigoron is a Senior Advisor with Sunbelt Business Brokers. He can be reached at (408) 436-1900 or at [email protected]. Or connect with Jordan on LinkedIn.
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