Learn the most effective ways to advertise your business for sale with Daltons Business
So you’ve got this far, you’ve identified your motivations for selling, and researched the best time to enter the market, you’ve prepared all your paperwork, and got yourself a fair and accurate valuation. Now then is the time to think about how to advertise your business for sale in order to reach as many buyers as possible.
Advertising and marketing your business needn’t be a difficult or time-consuming task, after all, if you’ve followed our guide then you should have all the information you require to hand. If you feel you are ready to create the perfect ad and showcase the USPs of your business to the world, then read on.
How Should I Advertise My Business for Sale?
1. Profile Your Buyers
A great way to start your sales journey is to identify and profile potential buyers. In most cases, you will probably already have some idea of who they likely are, however, it’s also worth asking yourself a few questions that might narrow down the options when considering how to advertise your business for sale.
These should include whether potential buyers will be based locally or nationally; whether they will be first time owners or seasoned entrepreneurs; whether they will require specific qualifications or credentials in order to run your business; or even whether you want to attract similar businesses looking to swallow the competition.
This is a particularly useful exercise as it allows you to tailor the next steps of the sales and marketing process to specific types of people and organisations. In turn, this will give you a better idea of where you should be advertising, what type of information to include in your advert, and how best to promote your business advertisement.
2. Consider Where to Sell
Long gone are the days where a handwritten sign hung in a shop window was enough to bring in prospective buyers, and today there is a wealth of available channels where sellers can advertise. We advise using as many suitable channels to advertise your business as possible, however, if for example, you’re selling a florists, then you probably shouldn’t waste your time on advertising in technology magazines and vice versa.
With this in mind, the Daltons Business Marketplace is an ideal place to start. Here you can reach out to buyers in a variety of industries and with a broad range of interests. Additionally, a huge number of prospective buyers regularly trawl the listings in search of their next purchase.
Other outlets to consider include newspapers and industry-specific magazines, local and national business forums; through word of mouth at networking events or other industry-specific conferences; and who knows, it might pay to try that advert in the window after all.
3. Create an Advert
Creating a business advert is your opportunity to really make your business stand out from the crowd. Start by putting together a generic template that will be suitable for listing in a range of publications and other outlets. This should include a compelling overview of why your business opportunity is unique.
Setting up an account with Daltons Business, will allow you to include photos when advertising using an intuitive ad creation tool. Remember, these should be of the highest quality and showcase any assets alongside business premises’. Additionally, attaching any relevant documents is a great way to show buyers your paperwork is in order.
Other information that should be included in the advert is the asking price, annual turnover, number of staff, detailed information relating to any products or services you offer, and the reasons why you want to sell in the first place. Finally, details of any social media accounts or other marketing activities are a great way to let buyers familiarise themselves with your business.
4. Promote and Proactively Sell
As we’ve mentioned before, the more prospective buyers you have, the more likely you are to complete a sale to your satisfaction, so the active promotion and marketing of your business advert is a great way to generate interest. Social media is a great place to do this, and posting your business advert on any relevant pages where buyers might hang out is a great forum for this type of thing.
Conferences and networking events are also great places to scout potential buyers, with word-of-mouth advertising still a powerful force. Finally, if you have longstanding competition in the area, it may well be worth your while contacting them to see if they have any interest in buying your business from you rather than face the unknown quantity of a new owner.
How to Advertise a Business – Last Word
Learning how to advertise a business is a great way to ensure that you give your hard work and dedication the exposure it deserves. Many successful and attractive business ventures are sadly overshadowed by poor marketing and lacklustre adverts. So, if you are looking to maximise your profit, make sure you give your business a head start and showcase it in the right places. Discover how Daltons Business can help you achieve this today.
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