If you’re putting your restaurant up for sale and want to sell quickly, you’re not alone. Finding buyers through Restaurants For Sale Global is the easy part, when you get your leads flowing in, be sure to follow these six tips and minimize the time it takes to sell the place.
- Compete With Other Sellers for Their Money
Your ideal buyer will probably be an ideal buyer for many other restaurants. So if you want to sell your restaurant quickly, you will have to compete with the other sellers. You should assume that other restaurant owners will be doing their best to convince your buyer, and then do your best to make a competitive offer. Your buyer will be comparing your restaurant and proposal to other offers. So in addition to putting out an enticing asking price, be sure to highlight all the strengths of your business.
- Be a Proactive Seller. It’s Your Job to Keep the Sale Moving, Not the Buyer’s
All follow-ups and next-step initiations are your responsibility. For instance, when you wrap up a meeting with a prospect, let him or her know what the next step is. Follow it up by setting up the time, location and other details of taking that next step. Remember, you’re not just running against other sellers, but against the status quo; the buyer always has the option to do nothing, which you don’t want.
- Pursue Multiple Buyers
Having just one potential buyer is as good as having no potential buyers. If you want to sell your restaurant quickly, you can forget about engaging just one buyer at a time. You might sell that way, but chances are bleak and even if you do it will take a long, long time. You can’t predict or count on what one person can do. It’s best to have a pool of potential buyers. The odds of selling quickly at a good price increase dramatically if you get multiple buyers interested in your restaurant.
- Don’t Expect Buyers to Pay for Your Restaurant’s “Potential”
It’s a common mistake, justifying a high price to buyers by explaining how they can take the restaurant to “another level”. People will pay for the present, not a possible future. Granted, the restaurant’s sales can skyrocket with new ideas and strategies. However, it’s only a potential for growth, not a guarantee. Moreover, the new owner will have to put in the hard work, more money, and/or unique ideas to convert that potential into profit. There’s little sense in you getting paid for that. So don’t waste time convincing them otherwise.
- Offer Seller Financing
As much as you may want to sell your business for cash, you should realize that cash sales are inconvenient for buyers. The good news is that you can actually make more money by offering some sort of financing. It will help you sell your restaurant quickly. Again, think about the competition. Most sellers try to get a cash sale, and tend to stick to this attitude, at least initially. By offering seller-financing, you can get an edge over them and sell your restaurant in less time.
- Keep Your Selling Intentions a Secret for as Long as Possible
Selling a restaurant can take anywhere between six months to a year. This is considerable time for things to go wrong. For instance, your employees may be distracted and start looking for a new job if they found out you’re selling. Similarly, suppliers may become hesitant to extend their terms. To increase your chances of pulling off the sale without a hitch, keep the sale a secret for as long as possible. Keep these pointers in mind and you will speed up your restaurant’s sale. You’ll need all the help and good advice you can get. You can get plenty of that at Restaurants for Sale Global, an excellent resource for people selling their restaurants.
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