Make sure the person you ultimately use is experienced at valuation and knows your industry, region, and size of business. In addition, professional or trade associations may refer you to contacts who can give you an independent assessment of what a company like yours is selling for. Next, go to the International Business Brokers Assn. But it could easily have turned out otherwise. She recalls phoning one broker, who began reading a canned statement from his company's marketing materials that described what he could do for her.
Barnes recommends that sellers ask prospective brokers for four references.
And when calling those references, she says, ask bluntly if the broker was cooperative, truthful, experienced, and if he or she had the seller's best interest in mind. If you've bought a business in the past, you know that many of the same resources buyers use can be tapped for an independent valuation of your business, which will help you to better assess the evaluations you get from brokers or advisers and to understand how a buyer might see your business. They sought valuations for similar companies that had recently been sold from BizComps, a San Diego information broker of small-business sales data, and from their local Small Business Development Center. Ultimately, a buyer's willingness to come to terms will boil down to his or her perception of the company's growth potential. Topps's buyer was most interested in the company's earnings, so he was willing to meet Elin's other terms.