The Ins and Outs of Selling a Business with Jim Lund
Many people think selling a business is as easy as ABC. They believe it is just a matter of finding a seller, and the next thing you know, the business is sold. The truth is, selling a business is a process. Are you at a point where you want to sell your business? This episode is for you. Jim Lund has some fantastic nuggets that will help you with the process.
Jim Lund is a business sales broker at Xcllusive Business Sales. Jim has been selling businesses for over 14 years. During this time, he has completed countless deals in SME and mid-market. According to Jim, a business sale is like a ruler. The first inch is for getting the business ready for sale and finding a buyer. The last two are for the signing of contracts and handing over. Everything else in between involves negotiations, and that’s where the rubber meets the road.
In this episode, Jim will take us through the process of a painless business sale. We’ll look at how to know your business is healthy, how to price your business correctly, and spend time looking at how to negotiate a deal. Also, Jim will share his opinion on how to handle employees and physical assets during a sale.
Do yourself a favour. Grab your notebook and pen. You’ll need to take notes.
Key Talking Points of the Episode:
[02:02] The process of selling a business
[04:44] What goes into preparing a business and the owner for sale?
[07:36] Making the selling process as painless as possible
[12:51] How do you know if your business is running as well as it should?
[18:22] How to price a business accurately
[24:40] Importance of having buyers in the sales process
[28:41] How to negotiate a deal
[41:21] How Lund manages relationships between him and accountants/solicitors during a sales process
[49:54] Lund’s advice for the handover process
[52:19] The four handover stages
[54:40] How to deal with staff from a seller’s perspective
[01:04:29] How to handle physical assets during a business sale
[01:11:38] What’s the role of a broker in a deal?
Magical Quotes from the Episode:
“The best way to build trust is to be as honest and transparent as possible.”
“If you don’t have a plan B and go into selling a business, selling becomes a do-or-die decision. And it is a bad position.”
“I advise every seller to make sure that they have a commercial solicitor.”
“People will do business with people I like doing business with.”
“Assets are a very complex part of the business sale. They must be analysed accurately and properly before you go to the market. If you have a wrong understanding of how assets will be treated, you’re automatically going to have a wrong expectation or what you’re going to achieve on end.”
Connect with Jim Lund:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jim-lund-383a165b
In future episodes, we will be covering all aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions, buying businesses, selling businesses, exit strategies, and numerous other subjects that will help you gain a better understanding of business purchasing, succession planning, and many other aspects of business ownership in today’s market.