Why should you use The Crest Group to sell your business?

1. The Crest Group, as an affiliate of Business Brokers Network (BBN), offers business owners the opportunity to have the largest network of brokers and offices in the United States working to sell your business, not just one local broker.  With 450 affiliate brokers nationwide, covering every state in the country, we have thousands of buyers we are working with seeking the right buyer for each business we represent. Creating competition among multiple buyers is our goal. In this way we are more likely to get an offer that meets your price and terms. 

2. Marketing your business effectively and broadly is critical to getting multiple buyers. They want a productive way to understand the businesses they are considering. The marketing package that The Crest Group provides is through and detailed, combining the experience of BBN with the experience of The Crest Group. We have been told by hundreds of buyers that our brokers have the best and most professional marketing in the industry. In addition to its appeal to prospective buyers, this material makes it easy for one affiliate broker to quickly understand a business listed by another.  When prospective buyers are presented the information on your business, they will be able to have most of their questions answered and be able to make an informed buying decision.

3. CONFIDENTIALITY is vitally important when selling any business. At The Crest Group we insure that you are in control of  the material that we produce and that it is not shown to anyone without your approval. Further, we insure that all buyers are fully qualified as to knowledge of the industry and have a financial capability to meet your terms before we release any confidential information to them.

4. At The Crest Group we work on a concept of total return on the sale of your business. We will work with you to develop ways for you to receive value from your business before sale, at sale and after the sale with creative approaches that do not reduce the value of your company, but allow you to get more from the sale than you would otherwise.

What affects the selling price? 

1. The most important factor in determining the value and price of your business is the cash flow of the business. Assets that are going to be sold with the business are also important in establishing the optimum value. The Crest Group can assist you in determining this optimum value including advising you on the advantages of an independent third party opinion who will validate a market based price. 

2. Another of the important factors in selling your business are your sales terms. This includes the amount of the selling price to be paid at closing, and the amount of the price you are willing to finance and for how long and at what interest rate. It also includes what you are including in the sale of the business, and whether you are willing to stay with the business for a transition time.

3. The BBN organization has been selling businesses since 1981 and currently sells over 1000 businesses per year. Based upon that experience, as well as industry statistics, it is important that owners recognize that for the highest price  for their  business they will usually have to provide owner financing for at least  25% of the price. The down payment or the cash required at closing is a key factor, because buyers are trying to buy as much as possible for their money.  So, when a seller asks for $800,000 down on a $1,600,000 priced business, buyers prefer to continue looking until a $2,400,000 to $3,600,000 priced business is found where the owner will accept $800,000 down and the rest can be financed by the seller, the assets of the company and assumption of company payables. The seller who asks for all cash or a large down payment is not likely to obtain the full fair market value of their business, because buyers know they can buy three times as much business for the same investment. So high percentage down payments may  cause  buyers to discount offers.

4. Another important factor impacting the offer for your business is the quality of the information provided to a prospective buyer.  The value of the assets and cash flow generated by the business must be provable and verifiable. The Crest Group can assist you in arriving at these amounts and presenting them in a format that makes the evaluation process for buyers much more effective and lends more credibility to your business. 

5. Another factor that effects the sales price of a business is whether there is competition among prospective buyers. Competition creates higher selling prices. One caution is that when a business owner asks for more than the fair market value for their business or does not offer reasonable terms, there will be fewer buyers interested. It is possible that some very interested buyers will not be turned off, but this does reduce the number of potential  buyers.  On the other hand, when a business is priced realistically and with proper terms, multiple buyers are likely to pursue acquiring the business.  A buyer who knows he has other buyers competing for the business will be motivated to offer a higher price or more favorable terms to ensure they do not lose the business to better offer.

What are the chances of selling my business in today's market?

Approximately 90% of the stable or growing businesses listed for sale at a fair price and with fair terms are sold.  Assuming your business falls into this category, the chances are excellent.  But less than 10% of businesses with an overstated price or with unreasonable terms are ever sold.  At The Crest Group, we will work with you to determine the best price and terms to meet your requirements and that will assist in being able to close a sale to meet your timetable.

Will my competitors, customers, employees or competition find out my business is for sale?  How will you keep my information confidential?

Finding the right buyer is a process that can typically take a number of months.  It's important to keep knowledge of the possible sale of your business from suppliers, customers, employees and lenders until you are ready to let them know. The Crest Group will manage this process to insure that you are in control of any information that you think may disclose the identity of your company, and that potential  buyers are qualified before you agree to have us send them any confidential information. We will insure that the non-confidential information that we develop with you does not provide a clue to the name of the company. This one page summary will be sent to potential buyers that we know, and to other brokers who we know are interested in your kind of business, as well as to others.  In addition, this non-confidential information will be posted on a number of websites that we have found successful in locating the right kinds of buyers. In all of these cases no material is released without your signed approval, and no prospective buyers receive any confidential information until they have signed a confidentiality agreement and provided a valid financial statement that shows they have the capability of buying your company.  In addition we will talk to all prospective buyers and once we believe they are valid buyers we will inform you to  get your approval to send out confidential material. 

What are the first steps to selling my company?

We will need to give qualified prospective buyers enough information to decide whether or not your business is a good fit for their requirements.  The core of  this information will be in a document we will prepare with you called a Confidential Memorandum.  This document is prepared using information you provide, including a summary of your last three years' tax returns or financial statements.  In most cases, where the value of your company is unknown or in question, we will need to have an independent appraisal of the business developed and a summary of this will also be  provided to qualified prospective buyers. This is the first step that we will work with you on to sell your business. 

How long will it take to prepare an independent appraisal and Confidential Memorandum?

An independent appraisal for selling purposes will generally take two weeks to complete.   A Confidential Memorandum typically takes five to seven working days to complete after we receive the information from you needed to prepare it. After it is prepared we will renew it with you in detail and get your signature that you agree with it. 

What will my initial investment be in the selling process?

An independent appraisal of the value of your company by an outside appraiser is accomplished on a fixed-fee basis, negotiated with the appraiser.  The fee depends on the complexity and size of your business with prices starting at a few thousand dollars. The Confidential Memorandum is typically prepared on a fee basis, however, such funds are reimbursed against commissions upon the sale of the business.  Sellers of businesses pay a commission on the successful sale of the business, with the commission percentage based on the value of the business and other factors.  

How will my business be advertised?

The Crest Group may use several media to solicit prospective buyers, including multiple websites on the Internet devoted to buyers and sellers, trade publications you think are good sources of buyer leads, and other print media as appropriate. In addition, we have many qualified buyers who have registered with us to look for businesses for them, which include many financial groups with whom we have done business before. There are also specific BBN brokers who are specialists in certain businesses who we will contact. Local newspapers are used as little as possible, because it is often more difficult to protect confidentiality when a business is advertised locally.

What else should I know?

The Crest Group is the "team leader" in the process of selling your business and the key facilitator for your successful sale. Our job is to get your business listed at the best possible obtainable price and with realistic terms of sale.  The next job is to get qualified buyers interested in your business without wasting your time, and to do this  on a confidential basis. Qualified buyers will be presented your confidential business profile after they have completed a Confidentiality Agreement and a financial statement.  We will then schedule meetings between you and the interested buyer at mutually convenient times, most often at your business location.  During this meeting, you will describe the business to the buyer and provide additional information as appropriate.  After these meetings, and other discussions, we will work to get a written Offer to Purchase.  We will present all offers and after acceptance will coordinate the due diligence process that will lead to the closing.

Do you have other questions about buying or selling a business?

Contact our offices for answers to your questions or you may send an e-mail to us by selecting the Contact Us page.