7 Strategies to Make Your Business More Attractive to Buyers
It takes blood, sweat and tears to build a successful business today. When it comes to selling an enterprise, every entrepreneur wants to get full value for their investment. However, it’s important to appreciate that a sale doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not an event but rather a process.
You require a workable exit strategy for a smooth transition. Unfortunately, most sellers overlook exit planning and this diminishes the chances of a successful deal. Our exit solutions come in handy at this point. We help you at every stage of the process from initial discovery, valuation of a company, designing an exit plan and closing the deal.
The good news is that the business sale market is hot, with an increase in closed deals recently. If you are thinking of selling your business, here are some strategies we recommend to make it more attractive to buyers.
1. Optimize Metrics and Reporting
You need accurate data to make the right decisions. A good start is to tighten your metrics and reporting to get a clear picture of the financial health of your enterprise. Make sure you have accurate and easy to understand data that buyers can easily digest.
2. First Impressions
Whether you own a brick and mortar store or an online enterprise, first impressions are everything. Curb appeal matters for your store and you may need to invest in renovations. For your website, work on the site’s layout, speed, architecture, landing page, and all other sections. Sprucing up your business can make all the difference.
3. Prepare for Succession
A business operation that’s so dependent on one key person is at a high risk of failure. It’s an unattractive investment because much of the success is tied to your presence or input. To make it more appealing, you need to put a succession plan in place. Our exit team works with you to review different succession options for business management.
4. Create Policies and Procedures
Buyers want a business they can easily understand, and this is why you need a manual for virtually everything. Create policies and internal procedures, clear and concise job descriptions and guidelines for other operations. Buyers like such operation as they are less stressful to continue running.
5. Refine Marketing And Sales
Now that you want to sell your enterprise don’t relax in your marketing campaigns. We advise our clients to double down on their marketing efforts. Make sure you have current campaigns that generate decent returns. With current metrics and reporting, your business should offer proof of its success.
6. Ensure Compliance
Take time to review all industry and legal standards and ensure compliance. Staying up-to-date with regulations, relevant safety codes, lease contracts, insurance, and other requirements gives potential buyers to invest.
7. Develop and Build Your Email List
Email remains a powerful business marketing tool. An email list can turn into the most valuable asset during a sale. A good case in point is the sale of Hautelook for $270 million. The site’s email list pushed the price tag this high.
These are just a few of the strategies we recommend for our clients who want to sell their businesses. Get in touch for more in-depth and tailored exit consultations. We have the best exit tools to help you make the right call.
Let’s hop on a quick call to discuss the timing and prospects of an exit based on your goals and the current state of your business. Schedule your free exit consultation today.
You're guaranteed to come away from the call with:
Clarity about your business
Knowledge of the landscape
A high-level exit plan
A rough valuation
Actionable insights
Specific next steps
Testimonials
What our clients say
In my career you get to deal with a lot of service providers. There are the below average, the average the the above average. Then there is one category that no one talks about which is the exception. We engaged Hello Exit to source acquisition targets for us. The communication, personal service, attention to details, availability, interaction with the team has been nothing short of exceptional. If ANYONE wants further in-depth conversation about the exceptional experience please reach out.
I worked with Hello Exit for the sale of a business and everything went smoothly. The team was very hands-on and provided a lot of guidance throughout every part of the process. They took the time to get to know my business well and were able to communicate our operation effectively to potential buyers. The sale was a success and I couldn’t have done it without them.
Hello Exit was great working with me to help sell my software company. They made everything clear, were patient, never over pressured me, but kept a strong sense of urgency. I would recommend Hello Exit to anyone looking to sell their business and plan on working with them again in any capacity that I can.
The team Hello Exit is simply incredible! Their expertise and support throughout the entire process of selling my company were a game changer. Their expertise and guidance throughout the entire process was invaluable. They took the time to truly understand my needs and goals, and helped me navigate every step of the way with ease. Hello Exit is exceptional, and they truly go above and beyond to ensure their clients are not only satisfied, but actually excited about their exit!! I cannot recommend Hello Exit enough! Their professionalism, knowledge, and dedication to their clients are unmatched. If you’re looking for a top-notch company to help you sell your business, look no further than Hello Exit. Thank you guys, for all that you do!
It was a pleasure working with Hello Exit and they have my most sincere recommendation. They bring a sophistication and etiquette that is very hard to find in the lower, lower middle market – outstanding preparation, excellent sell-side coaching, a rationale / unbiased disposition, and so on. In addition, they bring a powerful network to the conversation and can add value well beyond the transaction. I hope to work with Hello Exit on many more deals to come!
Hello Exit added tremendous value for our portfolio of companies. They made a complex sale process easier and significantly more efficient. We received 5 offers (two above ask) and were extremely happy with the outcome. As a serial trouble maker that has acquired 7 companies and sold 4 we will be using Hello Exit for future exits.
Hello Exit has built one of the best online business brokerages out there. As a buyer, the company has continuously provided us with acquisition targets that have been very well qualified. Every opportunity has fit directly into the criteria we’ve been looking for which has saved a ton of time on due diligence. If you want to get a jump start on your acquisition pipeline, it’s easy to recommend Hello Exit.
Hello Exit is one of the most knowledgeable business brokerages out there for tech & web businesses. We used they to buy a significant business operated by 15+ employees. Our work in diligence was substantially reduced given the strong & accurate information package he provided. All questions were proactively answered, all supporting data was there and presented in the right format, and everything was accurately represented. This saved us weeks of work! In discussions & negotiations, they played a fair role & helped resolve issues by understanding the issue from the perspective of both buyer & seller. With their knowledge and experience, they were able to make smart suggestions and helped everyone reach a common ground quickly. I would surely work with Hello Exit again. They are super!
What can I say other than Hello Exit delivered on everything they promised… and then some. At first, I didn’t believe it when they said he would sell my agency in a few months. But they were so passionate about working together, a part of me believed they would deliver. And they did. We had 3 offers in 30 days and went under contract with the highest offer. 3 months later we closed on the sale at the price they evaluated us on. During the entire process, their knowledge and experience helped immensely. Any time there was confusion or a hurdle that myself or the buyer had, the team stepped in and smoothed every over. Selling a business is one of the most invigorating yet stressful experience I’ve ever went through and I’m so grateful that I picked the right broker to help me through it. I’d use Hello Exit again in a heartbeat.
The Hello Exit team was great to work with. They helped increase our deal flow with strategic deals. If someone is looking to increase their targeted deal flow I would definitely recommend working with Hello Exit.
Hello Exit was awesome to work with on the deal. They provided great support and advice all through – from initial interest discussions, negotiations, contract closure to execution. They’re very prompt and proactive which sails the deal making through. They also provided great support and mediation help post transition on some key contract payout clauses, which is highly appreciated. I recommend Hello Exit highly to SaaS business owners and entrepreneurs.
I’ve known Dustin (Hello Exit’s Founder) for over 10 years, and actually acquired a SaaS company he founded. I’ve always found Dustin to be extremely sharp, fair and honest, reasonable to deal with, and the kind of person you would want to do business with again in the future (which is rare these days). I’m currently mentoring and incubating over 150 international startup companies, and have already talked with Dustin about bringing Hello Exit into these businesses to broker the exit once they are profitable and solidly into their momentum phase.
Hello Exit is one of the best and most trustworthy SaaS advisories and brokerages in the industry! If you run a SaaS business, and Hello Exit contacts you, you should definitely talk to them! Even if you decide not to sell, it will be a very worthwhile and fruitful conversation.
