How Can A Business Broker Assist People To Purchase Or Sell A Business?

How Can A Business Broker Assist People To Purchase Or Sell A Business?

If you are interested to buy a business, or if you are a business owner who wants to sell, it’s recommended that you utilize the services of a professional to assist you during the process. A business broker is such a professional and he can assist both buyers and sellers during the buying/selling transaction.

As a general rule you don’t find young people fresh out of college in the field of business broking. This is because you need an in depth knowledge of the business world in order to do the job well. Business brokers are thus often retired business owners, bankers or accountants. These guys not only know what makes for a successful business, but they also know how to interpret financial statements and what questions to ask when buying any type of business.

If you have a business that you’re trying to sell, a business broker will do it on your behalf in return for an agreed commission. There is thus no professional fees to be paid unless he can sell the business. As a rule he will advertise it in one or two well-known newspapers and on the Internet as well. He will subsequently deal with inquiries that come in and meet with potential buyers who have expressed genuine interest.

Once he has dealt with these inquiries, there will usually only be one or two serious candidates left. The broker will then set up a meeting between you and these buyers where they can ask you any remaining questions. Always tell the truth, but also do not part with any confidential business info at this stage. This must wait until you have a formal offer from a buyer and you have accepted this offer.

For a buyer making use of a broker also makes a lot of sense. They will have a large number of businesses for sale at any given moment. The financial statement for all of these will be available for you to study. They will also be able to answer routine questions about such business. Once you have studied the financials and you are still interested, a meeting between you and the owner will be arranged. At this meeting you can ask any remaining questions.

If you go ahead and make an offer on the business, you can make it subject to the fulfillment of certain criteria. A purchase contract can then be drawn up which only becomes binding once these criteria have been met. You could for example ask that your own accountant verify the accuracy of the financial statements and check the accuracy of stock lists and assets registers.

Whether you are a seller or a buyer, it thus makes a lot of sense to use a business broker. They have both the skill and experience to give sound advice to both sellers and buyers.

A business broker is a specialized type of expert familiar with the ins and outs of marketing a business. Make sure you choose a top rated New Jersey business broker for selling your business.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 9th, 2010 at 3:32 am and is filed under Business.