Interested in selling your ecommerce business? Just as you shouldn’t sell rare coins at a yard sale, you shouldn’t sell your website to the wrong buyer. This makes sense because the right buyer will be able to give you a fair price as well as understand the value of your business.
To sell an ecommerce business, you need to have a website business that is in good shape as well as a buyer you can trust. A strong online business is both attractive to buyers and will bring in a higher sale value for you.
Prepare for Sale
The first step to selling your online business is to check for any risks that may arise during the sales process. If you have the following, you probably have a good business to sell:
- Steady growth
- Stable or growing web traffic from a variety of sources
- Established product suppliers
- A high percentage of repeat sales
- A high percentage of repeat visitors
- A solid business model with good scalability
If your business does not have these characteristics, take steps to improve the business and thus improve the value of the sale. For example, if you have low repeat traffic, ask an expert to determine if the design of your website or the prices of the products affect your conversion rate.
The next step to prepare to sell is to write a prospectus or letter outlining the information about your online business that will help the buyer see what your business has to offer. Include the information in the above list and the financial information that shows your business health over the last 12-24 months.
A third step is to check that your business can be transferred. Can a new owner take over day to day business? Are there legal issues or growth worries that would cause the downfall of the business? If there are no large concerns, then you are ready to work with a buyer. If there are concerns, try to resolve them before the sales process begins.
The Sales Process
When you find a buyer with experience and know how, the process of selling should flow smoothly. The business broker you choose should be honest and upfront throughout the entire process. A solid buyer will:
- Ask you for verifiable financial data including gains over the last 12 months, expenses, as well as profits and losses (PNL).
- Ask about current metrics and growth potential
- Look for risks in the sale
- Conduct due diligence in looking carefully at the business and any information important to the sale.
- Conduct the sales process quickly
The more information you can give to a trusted buyer to show the business and how it can be transferred easily, the more smoothly the process will go. A good ecommerce business broker is not trying to steal from you, but give you a fair value and improve the business for you.
See the sale of your ecommerce website as a good business move to a solid buyer so you can calm fears during the process. A quick sale can go through in as few as 14-90 days. A business broker who can see business potential and maximize growth can give you assurance throughout the entire process.