If you're selling a business, it's likely that you'll be looking for a professional to help you do it. Not only that, but you'll want to choose the right person for the job to ensure you get the best possible result.
This is where choosing between a business broker and a business adviser can make a big difference to your the final outcome of your business sale.
Find out how a business adviser can maximise the sale of your business. Nash Advisory has all the expertise and experience you need to get the best possible price for your life's work.
What's the difference between a business broker and a business adviser?
The difference between a business adviser and a business broker may not be immediately obvious if you've never worked with a business adviser before. Here are some of the key differences at a glance:
Business broker
- Collating information
- Advertising your business
Business adviser
- Collating information
- Advertising your business
- Analysing information
- Preparing your business for sale
- Researching potential buyers
- Approaching potential buyer to engage in discussions
A business broker will collect information about your business and advertise it for sale on relevant platforms. A business adviser, on the other hand, can give you expert advice on how to prepare your business for sale and then locate and approach the most relevant buyers.
The extra services of a business adviser are designed to maximise the potential sale price of your business rather than just achieving a quick sale, giving you the best possible return for your hard work.
Why you should consider a business adviser
The benefit of the additional work of a business adviser is that your business will be in the best possible position for sale. Once your business is positioned for sale, finding the most relevant buyer will dramatically improve the potential sale price.
If you have never sold a business before, you may not know who your potential buyers are or what they will be looking for in potential acquisition targets. A business adviser will conduct extensive research into your industry to understand who the buyers are and what they're looking for.
Some of the tasks a business adviser can do to prepare your business for sale include:
- Creating a valuation report for your business
- Identifying areas for improvement
- Executing strategies to improve business value
- Automating business processes
- Analysing data and providing advice
The result of these steps is achieving a higher sales multiple. To see every step in more detail, read Nash Advisory's selling a business process.
Finding the right buyer
Finding the right buyer for your business is one of the most important things you can do to maximise your sale price, and it's one of the primary services a business adviser can provide.
The best buyer for your business will see value in how your business aligns with their own business goals. If they see value in your business, they will be willing to pay a higher price for it.
The steps a business adviser takes to find the right buyer for your business include:
- Conducting extensive industry research
- Referring to Australian and international contacts
- Contacting the most relevant buyers in the buyer pool
- Managing enquiries from potential buyers
- Organising documents and site tours at the appropriate stage
To see for yourself how we've done this for our clients, read our case studies.
The risks of only using a business broker
In most cases, a business broker is best suited to selling smaller businesses, such as cafes and restaurants, where the value proposition is fairly simple for potential buyers to understand. When more complex businesses are involved, a business broker may fail to sell the business because they do not actively research and seek out the most relevant buyers.
A highly specialised business may only have a limited number of potential buyers, while still offering significant value. If you only use a business broker to sell your business, you run the risk that they won't be able to find the most relevant potential buyers, resulting in a lower sale price or no sale at all.
The Nash Advisory advantage
At Nash Advisory, we have a great deal of experience in a wide range of industries. Our team has executed a large number of business sales, mergers, and acquisitions, both as business advisers and company directors. We understand what business owners are looking for because we are business owners ourselves.
All our clients work closely with our directors to achieve the best possible sales result. We have an extensive global network of buyers, and we go to great lengths to locate and approach the right buyer for your business.
