Successful Online Business for Sale Listing

2misi.com

Each year, thousands of business owners decide to sell their business for a variety of personal and financial reasons. Whatever the cause, selling successfully requires the owner to think creatively in terms of attracting the most potential buyers and weeding out the ones who are not really serious about buying.

To realize the most success in selling your business online, it is imperative to maximize the effectiveness of your listing. A well thought out and well written listing will allow you to attract more prospects and better sort out the serious buyers from the rest.

By keeping in mind the following "8 commandments of quality online listings," you can help ensure that your business attracts the best potential buyers, and that the selling process goes quickly and smoothly.

1. Include Key Financials

It is essential to include as much financial information in your listing as you can. Including the numbers, such as revenue can greatly increase the amount of views for your business listing, as this is the most common way potential buyers search for businesses.

Disclosing the financial information of your business in a listing is likely to build confidence in potential buyers. If you do not include the information, buyers might get the impression that you have something to hide and quickly navigate away from your listing.

2. Provide Maximum Geographic Information

Sellers should provide as much geographic information they can without revealing the exact identity of the business. Most buyers search at the county level, and by hiding the county of your business in your listing, you eliminate your listing from their search results.

Many sellers are hesitant to provide details on their business's location, but doing so will almost always result in more messages from potential buyers.

   
3. Be Creative with Your Headline

Your headline is what gets potential buyers to click on the listing in the first place. An eye catching, well thought out headline will help separate your business for sale listing from the pack. Before listing your business, put yourself in a buyer's frame of mind. It will help to draft a list of the qualities of your business that would most make you want to buy.

 If you bought the business from someone else, remember what features first made you interested. Was it an ideal location, or a great looking space? Decide what is best about the business you are selling, and prominently feature those details in a headline that effectively conveys what is special about the business.

       
4. Include the Right Contact Information

It is crucial to include a phone number in your business listing to reassure potential buyers and maximize contacts. To maintain confidentiality, though, it is not a good idea to provide the phone number of the business you are selling. Instead, provide a personal or alternate phone number people can call to inquire about the listing.

Although it can help to provide a variety of ways in which a buyer can contact you if interested, you should generally avoid including your personal email address to protect against spam and protect confidentiality. Instead, it is a good idea to create a new email address specifically for responses from your listing. If you do so, make sure you check the account daily to avoid missing any responses.

Whichever forms of contact you choose to include in your listing, be sure you have a strong follow up process. Respond to questions about your listing right away, and if prospective buyers seem serious, do not keep them waiting too long for information or they will likely become discouraged and look elsewhere.

5. Be Descriptive

The most effective way to instill confidence in prospective buyers and get them to respond to your listing is to use a generous amount of description. When a seller provides very limited details about the business for sale, buyers will probably think it is because the seller has something to hide. In order to ensure prospective buyers are confident in what you are selling, you have to appear confident.

 6. Include Pictures
 
One of the most effective ways to differentiate your business for sale listing from the rest is to include photos. While you should probably not include a picture of the outside or any obvious interior section of your business to maintain confidentiality, there are other ways to mix images into the text.

For example, taking a photo of one of the rooms of your business - making sure to capture its best features - can give potential buyers a good look at what you have to offer without sacrificing too much confidentiality.

Free online images databases such as Google Images can also serve as a useful source of imagery that you can help you create your listing to stand out from the crowd. However, be careful not to select images of any part of any specific business that is not yours. Instead, find generic images. Does the business your selling offer dining? If so, try to find a generic image of a table setting showing the kind of food the restaurant serves, for example.
 

http://www.2misi.com/article/2012/07/successful-online-business-for-sale-listing