Some business owners feel that they can sell their business themselves. After all, who knows the business better than they do. Often, these owners become sellers by simply placing an ad in the newspaper and waiting for the telephone to ring. They think of the money they can save by not paying a intermediary's fee. Sounds good, but it very seldom works! First, the telephone may not ring. If it does, it may be the local competition attempting to find out what is for sale and for how much. Those who may be interested will visit the business, ask a thousand questions, leave, and never come back. So much for confidentiality, proper pricing, qualifying the prospects, and finding the right buyer.

Business Intermediaries are not magicians. They can't sell an overpriced business or create a demand that isn't there. What they can do, however, is market the business so it is shown only to qualified and interested buyer prospects. Sellers have to understand that Business Intermediaries can provide suitable prospects from the overwhelming majority of people who don't really know what they want. Very few buyer prospects really know what kind of business they want, or what best fits their needs. In fact, 90 percent of all buyers are considering buying a business for the first time, and are open to all suggestions. A business intermediary can supply many prospective buyers that sellers couldn't find on their own.

Another advantage is that a business intermediary acts as an intermediary between the buyer and the seller. Without an intermediary, the seller often gets frustrated with the buyer pointing out items they see as wrong with the business, or taking up too much of the seller's time investigating the business. A good business intermediary shields the seller from most of these frustrations.

Very few sellers price their business properly. A business intermediary has a handle on the local marketplace, access to market data, and pricing information not available to a seller. Business Advisors are also good sources of outside financing, if available. In some cases, the full sale price is not the issue, but rather how the sale is structured is the key to a successful sale.

Business Advisors generally have a backlog of buyers that they work with on a current basis. They prepare a business profile on the businesses they represent, designed to show the business in its best light. They know how and when to advertise, when to use trade publications, how to use the Internet, and how to qualify buyers. Business intermediaries can maximize the price of a business and create added value so that their fee is generally a non-issue. Sellers usually receive a higher price when working with a business intermediary, even after the fee, than they would if selling the business on their own. Remember, it always pays to use a professional!