Selling Your Business
Your Trusted Partner
Our mission is to provide you all the information you need to maximizing the value when
buying or selling a business.
Get in Touch
- (206) 703-3555
- [email protected]
- Seattle, WA 98199
Sell Your Business with Confidence
Selling your business stands as one of the most pivotal decisions any owner can make. From the very inception of your venture, you unknowingly shape it for the eventual sale. As this critical moment approaches, proper planning, preparation, and execution become paramount, demanding a comprehensive grasp of the process. By teaming up with Washington Business Brokers, you significantly enhance your chances of securing a fair market price for your business.
Our objective goes beyond mere attempts; we are dedicated to making sure your envisioned outcomes materialize with success.
How Do We Sell Businesses?
1
Our Commitment to a Full-time, Coordinated Sales Campaign
- Targeted canvassing and on-going contact with buyer prospects and multiple referral sources
- Active participation in multiple business-for-sale networks and websites
- In-person and digital exposure by posting articles and blogs, hosting “How To” seminars, webinars and workshops, and talking to civic and professional groups throughout the Pacific Northwest
- Confidential networking with professionals, business buyer prospects and other business owners
2
We Prepare a “Confidential Business Review” on Your Business that is Top Notch
- Coordination with you, the seller client, to produce a high-quality marketing presentation that tells the complete story of your business in words and pictures
- Documents your business’ past and present, as well as what the future can be, with a credible presentation of footnoted financials
- Helps clarify what is important—a specific story and specific numbers
3
We are “Fussy” about Organizational Systems and Confidentiality Procedures
- Proper due diligence to make sure we know what we are selling
- Office set-up to handle buyer qualification and confidentiality for seller clients
- Buyer registration process to gather information and screen prospects
- Creative marketing and sales systems to get businesses sold
4
We have a CRM (database) of Buyers – Ready to Buy
- Active, registered and pre-screened buyer prospects already looking and ready to buy
- Knowledge of where buyer prospects are in their search process
- Regular contact with this database
5
We are Active Users of Social Media
- Active use of business multiple listing sites
- Individual brokers connected through social networking and affinity sites
- Website
- We maintain your confidentiality through “blind” listings
6
We Network with Selected Brokers and Other Intermediaries
- Provide packages and information to other trusted business brokers and intermediaries
- Offer of generous fee sharing terms to other professionals
7
We Network with Selected Brokers and Other Intermediaries
- Provide packages and information to other trusted business brokers and intermediaries
- Offer of generous fee sharing terms to other professionals
8
We Offer Special Outreach and Direct Contact
- Special canvassing efforts to find industry-specific buyers when needed
- Focused efforts in select industries to help our seller clients
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore our comprehensive frequently asked questions section to find clear, expert insights into the process of selling a business. From due diligence to negotiations, we've got you covered!
Yes. The type that makes money and is established. We believe that ALL businesses can be sold. As long as the Business Broker and the Business Owner are persistent, there is a Buyer who will find value in the business. The key to achieving success is to have rational expectations and exceptional tenacity.
Irrespective of the size, type, location, sector, or history, the two main factors that determine our decision whether to list or turn down a business are: (a) “Quality of the Business”, and more importantly, (b) the “Quality of the Business Owner”.
No broker can make an accurate prediction. Some businesses take months before they sell, and others get an offer in a matter of days. Your best bet is to set a reasonable selling price and have good books and work with a licensed, full-time Business Broker to prepare it for sale. After the initial consultation, an experienced Business Broker should be able to point out the challenges and advantages to your specific situation and give you his/her opinion.
Potentially. We communicate with dozens of people every week who are seeking to buy a business. Most of them are not serious, but a few of them are sincere and demonstrate it by providing us with their Financial statements and ‘Buyer Criteria’, and are added to our database that is refreshed frequently. If your business fits their needs we will try to match them with you. However, until they make you an offer, they are not Buyers for your specific business. For bigger businesses, the requisites are more defined.
Yes. Our mission is to sell your business at the highest fair market price in the shortest time, and the Broker’s interest is secondary. However, we are prohibited by law to share commission with a Broker who is not licensed by TREC. Unfortunately, there are many individuals who evade accountability and try to sell businesses without the license required to properly protect and represent the Seller of the business.
No. Be wary of Brokers who will inflate the price of your business and require you to pay an upfront fee based on the price of the business. Our commissions are based on ‘success’, i.e. if the business does not sell, you pay nothing. Occasionally, a business owner will negotiate a lower commission by offering to pay a percentage upfront; the higher the retainer, the lower the success fee. We do not charge any monthly service fees.
No. Selling company stock require specific federal and state licenses, without which any offering made by a broker is illegal. We sell the entire entity as an ‘asset sale’ or if the Buyer and Seller negotiate to consummate the transaction as a ‘stock sale’ we will register with the Texas SOS to participate in the transaction.
Depending on the size of the business our commissions range between 6% to 12% of the selling price of the business. Like everything else in life, commissions are negotiable, but your decision to pick a Business Broker should be independent of the ‘commission’ rate, as some brokers use that as the only means of listing a business.
Almost all our agreements are ‘Exclusive Right to Sell’ contracts. For businesses not matching our requirements for listing, we offer an inexpensive FSBO program. Occasionally, we will represent the Buyer to identify, locate and negotiate a sale of a business.
In lieu of learning from a strong mentor, IBBA can be an excellent source of training for the novice. But like all membership organizations, it derives its revenues by annual membership dues by promoting the membership as a prerequisite for excellence. However, it’s no substitute for real life experience that comes with time and the volume of business transactions.
Only if the property comes with the business. Sometimes, the property owner will sell the business and retain ownership of the property and continue to collect rent. Other times, the owner may wish to sell both. We do not sell Residential Property/Homes.
- Full time Business Broker specializing in business sales.
- Has a Real Estate licence (Broker) for full protection of the Buyer/Seller in a property/lease transaction.
- Local and available to meet you and the business Buyers face to face to facilitate and advance the transaction.
- Does not have a history of jumping in and out of the trade or switching companies frequently.
- Not a start-up brokerage franchise location that relies on telemarketing to stay in business.
Schedule Your Initial Discovery Consult
We welcome the opportunity to connect with any business owner who is thinking about buying or selling a business.