Why hire an FBX broker to sell your business?

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• Confidentiality, The most important Benefit of all. History shows when a seller take it upon themselves to market their own business it hurts their overall cash flow and the business valuation. When a seller gets tided up in the process of selling their business, marketing their listing, communicating with buyers, and bringing a deal to the closing table they have to take their eye off the cash flow. Secondly if customers or competitors find out the business is for sale it can directly hurt cash flow. Good customers may leave or competitors may use the knowledge to gain market share. This hurts the owner’s pocket as well as the valuation of the business. It’s hard to get top of the market price with declining cash flow.

• Valuation and financial analysis. What’s my business worth? Experts in Tax Returns, P&L statements, and balance sheets, we are able to unwind even the most complex financials to locate the true seller discretionary earnings “SDE” and EBITDA. Based on Earnings, gross sales, growth rate, and the business financial strength we are able to determine the fair market value of your company. Through expert financial analysis and understanding industry norms we are able to present a clear and simple picture of the businesses’ profitable to potential buyers. A under priced business leaves money on the table for the seller and a over priced business will not see the closing table.

• Historical sales records.  What are businesses like mine selling for? How do I find comparable sales of businesses in my category? Unlike real estate, the sale of a business is not public record. We have our finger on the pulse of the business and M&A market through our confidential business MLS service and over 20,000 comparable business sale records.  Our multi listing service, or MLS just for Florida businesses allows the confidential marketing of business and the recording of sales for comparable sales searches.

• The BBF. The BBF, Business Brokers of Florida is the only cooperative business brokers association in the state, and one of only a few in the country. The BBF not only provides a confidential MLS but an opportunity for your listing to be viewed by over 1,000 business brokers in the state. The BBF brings together business brokers from all over the state working together to secure buyers and get listings sold. If you list your business with a broker that is not a part of the BBF it’s likely your listing will only be shown to the small pool of buyers within that brokerage. List your business with a BBF member and your guaranteed to have your confidential listing marketed to over 5,000 potential buyers increasing the likelihood of closing a deal.

• Qualified buyers that will compete to purchase your business. As business brokers, we guarantee to only bring to the table qualified and vetted buyers. Our strategy is to allow our qualified and vetted pool of buyers to compete to purchase your business. A qualified buyer has the ability to operate your business as well as financial strength to close the deal. Once a qualified buyer expresses interest, a NDA is signed by the buyer locking them into maintain the confidentially of your business.

• Effective marketing strategies. Our marketing strategies allow us to make your listing to the general public while maintaining complete confidentially. From niche businesses to the most common of industries, we create engaging marketing campaigns designed to put your listing in-front of qualified buyers and industry professionals interested in acquiring a new business or expanding their existing operation.

• Phased release of information and financials. I like to call this the discovery phases. As a buyer inquires on a business listing, they will be requesting to see a variety of business and financial information regarding the Business’s performance over the last 3-5 years. We phase the release of this information as to mitigate exposure and secure trade secrets. The First Phases is a “Teaser” offering memorandum to engage a buyer’s interest. This contains the basic financial information of the business as well as some basic statistics and demographic information. The Steps progress from here releasing information as needed until an offer is generated by the Buyer.

• Act as a buffer between the buyer and the seller. As “Transaction Brokers” our duty is to the transaction which gives us the unique opportunity be a neutral party to the transaction, acting as a buffer between the buyer and the seller keeping the deal on track. This gives both parties the opportunity to have equal representation and dramatically increase the likely hood of your deal making it to the closing table. NOTE, we do offer single agency representation for a higher fee as it removes our opportunity to represent both the buyer and seller in a transaction.

• Assist with negotiations. Our Job as brokers is to bring a buyer and seller together. Our communication and negotiation skills create a synergistic relationship between the buyer and seller, facilitating an opportunity for both parties to work together towards a common goal of closing the deal and seeing the business succeed.

• Let the owner focus on running the business. An owner’s critical role in operating and running a business is to key their eyes on the crash flow. What we call In consulting the QBR “Queen Bee Role-from Mike Michalowicz book Clockwork”. Hiring a Qualified business broker to sell your business allows you to stay focused on the key functions of your business and maintain revenue.

• Assist buyer to obtain financing. Business brokers develop key relationships with local and national SBA lenders as well as private equity groups. These relationships assure buyers have access to the necessary capital to close the deal. With our vast knowledge of business leading programs, we guide our buyers and seller through the complex process of per-qualifying, application process and loan underwriting for conventional and SBA financing. 

• Manage due diligence. Due diligence is the most critical phase in closing a business transaction. During this phase the buyer starts the “looking under the hood” phase of the transaction. Due Diligence becomes the most pivotal phase of the deal as the buyer and buyer’s discovery team dive into the financial records of the business to get a test drive type understanding of how the business operates and how it compares to what information has been presented during the discovery and agreement drafting portion of the transaction process. If a deal is going to fall apart, it will fall apart during due diligence which is why it is so crucial to have a qualified business broker by your side during the due diligence process with a deep understanding of financial analysis, tax forms, P&Ls, balance sheets, and overall business finance. Having the right team will assure your deal makes it to the closing table.

• Co-broker. As a member of the Business brokers of Florida and the Florida Business Exchange central Florida team, we have access to over 1,000 business brokers to Co-broke with. This exponentially increases the odds of finding the perfect buyer for your business.

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Jason Godwin is a member of the Florida Business Exchange Central Florida Team and the Owner of   Buy a Florida Business .com.

If you have any Questions about selling you business or purchasing a business feel free to contact me here