How to protect yourself in a listing agreement.
I recently received an email from a would-be seller asking about how to get out of a listing agreement with another broker who they’ve been stuck with for nearly a year and have had zero potential buyers come to them. I recommended that they talk with an attorney to figure that out. This was one of the reasons I started this company up was to give people an option! If you are deciding to sell your business here are some key takeaways to ensure that you are protected.
-Start with the valuation of your company. 95% of would-be sellers typically overvalue their business and think their business is worth more than what it really is. We always offer free valuations and use market comps from a local level, and a national level to ensure we are going to get you top dollar for your business.
-Have a start date and end date. A normal listing agreement is from 6 months to 1 year.
-We have a clause that allows sellers to leave with a 30 day written notice, any money spent on the listing would be due, this is typically advertising/marketing fees. In our 7 years of being in business, we’ve never had a buyer use this clause to leave.
-When you find yourself not receiving any leads there is something off and it typically starts with your asking price for your business. The market is screaming at you that you are overpriced. We take care of this potential issue upfront by pricing it at a realistic sales price.