Qualifying Buyers and Sellers (Motivation)

Uncovering an individual’s motivations to buy or sell businesses can be extremely challenging because they either want to keep it a secret or they just aren’t sure themselves.

One of our main functions as business intermediaries is to qualify potential buyers and sellers and to understand why someone wants to buy or sell. Nobody wants to move down the path toward closing a deal just to find out that the other party isn’t really compelled to complete the transaction.

Walking away from a deal can happen on the buy side or the sell side, but in either case, there are going to be some upset people if it happens. Transactions can be tedious, difficult, long processes so it’s best to anticipate the hard work.

Buyers: Are you willing to put in the time and effort to look for a business? Are you willing to get a loan and fill out paperwork? Will you be seeking assistance to help with the process? Do you really want to own your own business? Can you manage your attorney and accountant advisors instead of letting them control you? If you answer yes to these questions, then you might be ready to buy a business.

Sellers: Are you willing to talk to multiple buyers and share your financial history? Are you prepared to transition into the next phase of your life? Is your husband or wife ready to have you around the house? Are you willing to listen to advisors about your business value? Can you manage your attorney and accountant to get the business sold? Are you willing to train a buyer if necessary? If the answer is yes to these questions, then you might be ready to sell your business.

Obviously, there is plenty of soul searching that needs to be done, but that needs to happen prior to searching for a business or a searching for a buyer for your business. Spend some time talking to your Apex Business Advisors to uncover your true motivations.

Doug Hubler
President