Selling your Business? Use a Specialist By Mark Crossman, CA, CBI

Did you know that most people retire after they sell their business? It is a pivotal point in your life, and you must be careful in whom you entrust this aspect of your retirement planning. Get a specialist. If you have a bad heart what do you do? First you might see your family doctor and he/she then refers you to a specialist - a cardiologist. Just as open heart surgery is a dramatic point in a person's life, selling your business is an important point in the life of that business. The analogy of health care is valid, for while your family doctor is the one you have trusted for years, you wouldn't expect him to treat your bad heart. You have to find a specialist and draw upon their skills. Like surgery, selling a business is not a simple procedure. You need the best specialist you can get. For your business, you need someone with the training and experience that will ensure that your best interests are served. You need someone who will be loyal to you. Your specialist has to be a skilled negotiator, someone who thoroughly understands the financial side of the deal,	the business valuation and the financing, and must be someone familiar with con-tract law. That person must be governed by confidentiality. The specialist in the field of 'selling businesses' is a business intermediary, in fact a Certified Business Intermediary or CBI. Like other professionals including doctors, lawyer, and architects, business intermediaries have a professional association that oversees their members. The International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) is a professional association formed in 1983 as a peer review group. The IBBA is an accredited group of professionals with 900 members worldwide, (23 members in Canada, 6 with the CBI designation). The organization promotes members professional develop in several ways. The first step is by adopting and monitoring an industry standard of ethical practice a Code of Ethics that governs its members. The association also develops and maintains a continuing education program and it facilitates networking and cooperation among the members.	IBBA certification is not automatically conferred by simply paying one's membership dues - it is earned. Certification requires a combination of education and experience. In most situations, a CBI has a university degree (core subjects include pricing/valuation, financial analysis, and legal and tax issues), have owned their own business, and have years of related business experience. Due to their very unique set of skills, the Certified Business Intermediary is a very focussed specialist, with specific training and ethics that govern his specialty. Merger and acquisition work requires a person who is a very skilled negotiator and a dealmaker with your best interests in mind. While the Certified Business Inter-mediary's code of ethics includes several key factors, he is, above all else, obliged to be loyal and honest with you - the client.
What Will M&A Canada Do To Sell Your Business Quickly, Quietly And For The Most Money?
Appraise Your Company: The first step in selling your business is to determine what it's worth. Pricing your company wrong will either cost you hard-earned money or disappoint you when it goes unsold. We thor-oughly analyze both your company's earning power and its asset values. Then we work out a pricing strategy that will maximize your value. Design a Marketing Strategy Once we have an in-depth under-standing of your business, including its strengths, weaknesses and growth opportunities, we can build a comprehensive marketing strategy. What types of buyers will find your business most valuable? Where will we find large numbers of such buyers? Prepare The Selling Brochure: A skillfully written presentation of your business can substantially increase both its value and its salability. Remember that buyers are very selective, especially when a business is fully priced.	Find and Qualify Buyers: Your company is now ready to be marketed. First, we will review our database for previously qualified buyers and check with our marketing network across Canada and throughout New England for candidates. We will contact our extensive professional database of advisors and make them aware of the business opportunity. Finally, and with your consent, we may contact other companies that might be interested m your company. Before learning your company's identity, however, each prospective buyer will be qualified for financial capacity and managerial skills, then they must sign a confidentiality agreement. We look for many qualified buyers to create the competition which tends to maximize the price you recieve.	Negotiate The Best Deal For You: When it comes to price and terms, your needs will differ from a buyer's needs- thus negotiations are likely to be emotional. Skilled intermediary is needed to resolve the many differences and to find solutions for complex problems. Keep Everyone Focused Until The Transaction Has Closed: Once conditions of the transaction have been set in a letter of intent, there are still three difficult bridges to cross before a sale of your company will be complete. These are the buyer's due diligence; arrangements for any required bank financing; and legal documentation of the sale. Successful sellers usually have found that a skilled intermediary will help find solutions to any problems raised by accountants, bankers or lawyers with different points of view.