Sell My Business Online

• What is the thinking behind Sell My Business Online?

We've been involved in business sales for many years.   Alongside Sell My Business Online, we operate a mid-market business brokerage (Daresbury Company Sales) and also work in partnership with award winning corporate finance firm (Dow Schofield Watts).   All partners are ACA and/or MBA qualified and we've therefore developed a portfolio of services that can provide any business of any size with an exceptional level of qualified expertise in achieving a high value exit.

The mantra behind all of our brands is to provide best value.

At the mid-market and corporate finance deal level, it often requires a hands-on, experienced advisor to help prepare and deliver a high value exit strategy.   However, for the owners of the smaller business this is not normally a route they can afford or justify.   For this reason, the owners of smaller businesses have traditionally had to consider using a high volume business sale or transfer agent.

There are normally two types of volume sales agent;

Type 1:  The Up Front Payment: This agent will charge substantial up front and/or retainer fee.  The seller will sign an exclusive contract with that agent and pay a further charge at the sale of the business - often a % commission, from 2% upwards.

This structure is appropriate when selling a larger or more technical business.  Detailed preparation and a large amount of time and management is required to achieve best value.   Our broking operation, Daresbury Company Sales, provides this kind of service but ordinarily to companies who are likely to generate >£1m at sale.    With these companies, it's appropriate and viable to be instructing high quality advisors who handle a small number of businesses at any one time and are therefore able to provide therefore able to understand the business they are selling, to handle expert buyers and to drive best price through their understanding of business and market.

It is not an arrangement or cost base that works for smaller businesses and they're forced to use volume transfer agents with a very different level of service.   Agents who handle hundreds of businesses cannot, by the nature of their scale, provide a bespoke service and therefore if that agent can drive buyers to the business, the vendor will often end up doing most of the selling/negotiating.

More importantly, in our view, any buyer who contacts a volume agent will be speaking to someone with very little knowledge about the business they're selling and a buyer is easily lost when dealing with someone who doesn't understand the business they're selling.  This means that many volume agents act primarily as matchmakers.  The buyer is found and handed over to the seller who then conducts most of the process themselves.

Why then pay an agent thousands of pounds for little more than matchmaking when the vendor (or their own trusted advisors) are often the people piecing together the deal?

Type 2:  The 'No Sale, No Fee' agent.   This approach appears to be a 'no brainer' for the seller but the reality with many of these agents is that it's not quite the win:win it would appear as their contracts will often contain a sizeable redemption or cancellation charge.   This means that if they fail to sell a business, or even providing one buyer enquiry, they charge the seller who wants to pursue an alternative option.   More 'No Sale, Large Cancellation Fee'.

Another flaw in this model is that they to 'stack 'em high', cherry pick the best and neglect the rest.   The commercial realities of a volume transfer agent is they only make money when selling a business (or charging a redemption fee) so they are going to concentrate their resources into the easy sells.   Where is the motivation or reward for doing otherwise?

As smaller businesses are often more difficult to sell for an agent - focus around the owner operater, low margins, uncertain earnings etc. - the best person to sell a small business is often the owner themselves.   With low cost support, we believe they have a better chance of achieving a sale and maximising their net benefit.    They primarily lack two crucial ingredients for success - access to a volume buyer market and expert knowledge about how to negotiate the sale process itself.

Aware of this value destroying contradiction in the small business sales market, we wanted to provide a better solution that delivered a low cost, high value service that focused on these key issues.   How could we deliver buyers and support whilst eliminating contracts, barriers to buyers and large sale fees?  How could we achieve this at low cost so that owners of small businesses maximised the net benefit of their sale?

Welcome to Sell My Business Online.

• What are the key benefits of using Sell My Business Online?

We’ve stripped out the unnecessary costs and obligations of a traditional sales process;
- We use our expertise and buyer finding networks to provide value in key areas;
- Our clients pick and choose the level of service appropriate to their requirements;
- Our established buyer finding infrastructure generates volume buyers at low cost;
- There is no contract and only 3 month, fixed fee subscriptions;
- We charge nothing at sale;
- We provide a unique online, deal management system with buyer contact details and feedback;
- Our team of experts is available at anytime and helps to guide each seller through the process

• How does the service work?

There are two different levels of service:  Standard and Premium;

The Standard Service:  We call this our DIY service because sellers handle the buyers but it should really be called the 50% DIY service because beforehand we will help to shape the sales profile and then launch and manage a marketing campaign that delivers those buyers - with ongoing support and guidance throughout.   The standard process works as follows;

1.  Client signs up via our Website and completes our online Q&A about their business;

2.  We edit the Q&A and create a headline sales profile that will focus on what we buyers are looking for and where we believe is the key value of that business;

3.  That business sales profile is then circulated into the marketplace via a range of different and proven channels to market.   These can include the following;

-  The Sell My Business Online website & business listings

-  The Sell My Business Online buyer database

-  Range of different Business Sale Websites (we know the ones that deliver)

-  Corporate Finance Listing Sites & Forums

-  Professional Buyer Networks we have developed over many years within the industry (accountants, solicitors, brokers, agents, investor groups, business angels, high net worth individuals, MBI candidates)

-  Social Media Marketing inc. Twitter, Linkedin

4.  We monitor feedback and process all buyer enquiries via our 24/7 deal management system.  Sellers can access this information at anytime and start to contact buyers direct;

5.  Our team provides constant feedback and guidance.  We also provide a range of additional advisory services if required.  Our emphasis is to provide as much support as possible within the fixed fee, low cost structure;

6.  We provide 'ask the expert' facility where questions and queries are answered efficiently and from the basis of our extensive knowledge of the sales process;

7.  Even if we're not directly involved in the sale & negotiation process, we monitor the sale throughout and can step into the process at anytime.  This provides small businesses with access to expert support and if nothing else, peace of mind that we're available to help;

8.  Each subscription lasts 3 months and is renewable.  Most businesses take between 3-6 months to sell but the smaller the business, the less complicated the process and (fingers crossed) the quicker the sale.

The Premium Service has a similar structure but provides these additional features;

9.    Premium clients receive a dedicated advisor who provides one central contact and who will handle the process throughout;

10.  Alongside the Headline Sales Profile we can create a more detailed Information Memorandum.   This is particularly useful when explaining larger or more technical businesses to the buyer market;

11.  There is an option to utilise our Buyer Targeting Programme.  This is particularly useful if you want to use our services for an anonymous approach to competitors.  Competitors often provide a good option as they will know the sector, your business and (perhaps) can be tempted to pay a strategic premium over and above the market.   We will target up to 10 potential buyers - additional targets will be chargeable;

12.  We provide a filtering and confidentiality service which creates an extra barrier between our clients and the market.  We make first contact with each buyer, ascertaining the level and reason for their interest and (if required) organising the exchange of confidentiality agreements to help protect the commercial sensitivities of disclosing identities and trading information.

Our Case Studies page provides direct examples of how different businesses have benefited from using Sell My Business Online.

• What do i pay?

Standard is £295 for each 3 month subscription

Premium is £495 for each 3 month subscription

• How long does each service last?

Each subscription lasts 3 months and can be renewed for a similar period and cost.  There is no contract and therefore no obligation to renew - so we're always have to provide evidence of our value or clients walk.

• Do i have to pay any other fees if I sell the business?

We charge nothing when a business sells.  We have saved clients many £000's in agents fees.

• Do I sign a contract?

Our fixed fee service requires no contract at anytime.   Clients can leave at anytime, sell to anyone and suffer no penalty.   Completely flexible.

• Can I terminate at any time?

No contract means nothing to terminate.

• Any hidden costs?

Our fixed fee service has no hidden costs.  We do charge for a range of more detailed advisory services but most of our clients have sold using just the fixed fee service.

• How long does a standard sale process take to complete?

Our most recent deals were completed within 3-4 months and we hope that most clients will not need more than the initial 3 month subscription - whilst the deal might take some time to complete, the buyer is often found within that initial subscription.

For your general interest, a USA business broker press survey provided the following % breakdown for length of time from marketing a business to achieving completion;

1 – 3 months                    6%
4 – 6 months                   34%
7 – 9 months                   37%
10 – 12 months                15%
13 – 18 months                7%

• What are the most important factors for a buyer?

Different buyers require different things though most are looking for the following elements;

• Profitability
• Customer Base
• Growth / Scale Potential
• Level of Owner Dependency
• Management Structure
• Strategic Fit
• Visibility and Security of Future Earnings

• What if I find an interested buyer but need extra help?

Finding a buyer is only one small step towards achieving a deal.   For this reason, we provide a range of supporting advisory services that can be accessed when and if required.

• What quick win changes should I make before trying to sell?

Preparation is absolutely key to driving the best value so you’re better off ignoring pre-sale valuations and concentrating instead on applying the 80/20 rule ie what small, quick changes can have the biggest impact?

• Financial Information: So many business owners try to sell their business with inadequate or out of date financials.  Think about selling close to or just after year end so your information is recent and credible
• Fixtures & Equipment: Prepare a list of fixtures & equipment in advance of finding a buyer.  It indicates that you’re in control of the business and avoids a scramble under the pressure of trying to get a deal
• Keep Working: Keep your foot down with the existing business operation and strategies because a drop in current performance will directly impact on price and indeed, if performance starts to deteriorate during negotiations then it might spook a buyer completely
• TLC: First impressions count in everything and visual improvements can make a subtle but important difference to perception about your business.
• Non-Profit Generating Assets: Sell them.  Why let a buyer benefit from them?
• Strategic Vision: No-one knows your business better than you so sketch out your own strategic vision or ambition for the buyer to consider – makes a big impression

• Why not use a Traditional Volume Sales Agent?

Some agents will genuinely work hard on behalf of their client, some will not.   We happen to provide an alternative option but it might be worth considering an objective analysis of how some agents operate by reviewing this Daily Mirror investigation from 2009/2010;
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2009/03/rta-business-transfer-agents--.html
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2009/01/grief-from-commercial-sales-ag.html

• Why don't I just sell the business myself and advertise on a business sale website?

No problem with that option and if you google ... "selling a business" or "buying a business" then you'll find some excellent sites however, they're individual advertising portals and don't provide the marketing or expert support provided by our service.  Measure their basic service alongside the Sell My Business Online offer;

1.  We help to shape the business profile you use to sell your business

2.  We create and manage the entire marketing campaign

3.  We don't access just one site, we provide you with access to buyers via a multitude of different avenues

4.  We manage buyer enquiries and provide feedback throughout

5.  We have an 'ask the expert' line and provide additional expert guidance throughout

6.  We know the process - the market, the buyers, the advisors, the pitfalls, the key areas.

You won't get any of this by listing within an individual sale portal.

• Sell My Business Online is a volume agent so why are you any better?

If we haven't convinced you by now we never will.   If unsure about purchasing professional services online then please review the market and if in any doubt, consider trying a volume agent first (without accepting their cancellation terms!!)

• Will Sell My Business Online work with my existing advisors?

Many accountants rarely sell a business and don't therefore have the buyer finding infrastructure and deal expertise contained within our service.   This service is ideal for them to access our service whilst retaining and protecting long standing clients.  Your accountant can handle the core of any deal process whilst accessing Sell My Business Online to drive the marketing campaign.

• Where can i get more information?

Email info@sellmybusinessonline.co.uk for more information about this unique service.