Your Buyer is Your Biggest Customer

A successful sale starts with you – the Seller. As a business owner you are in control of most, if not all the decisions in your business. The strategy you set and actions you take fuel your personal and business success.

You determine your product strategy based on what will attract qualified customers and strive to offer customer service experiences that motivate them to return to buy more and refer others. Years of experience have been dialed into a recipe for success, and you’ve proven what works for your business. Most Sellers know their business inside out and understand the minds of their customers.

When you go to sell your business, you are attracting your final customer to negotiate your biggest sale. The key issue most Sellers’ face is they don’t understand what goes on in the mind of their final customer. Sellers are so focused on protecting themselves and maximizing the proceeds of their final sale they often say and do things that cause qualified buyers to walk away from the sale. By slowing down to understand what motivates your final customer and how you can be prepared to provide them with the best possible experience, you will have a smoother journey to the closing table and maximize the proceeds of your sale.

What Motivates Your Final Customer – Your Buyer?

• Getting answers as quickly as possible. If you can’t answer customer questions about your products and services, they will probably buy elsewhere. Just like customers, buyers like to ask questions and gather the information they need to make a confident decision to purchase. Prior to selling prepare yourself and your business to be ready to quickly provide buyers and their lenders with the information they need to understand how your business operates.
   
• Working with Sellers that remain flexible during negotiations and are open to hearing all offers (even if you know you won’t accept them) keeps buyers motivated to stay in negotiations. Just like your customers, buyers love a good deal! Many buyers start negotiations with a low-ball offer. If you expect it – you won’t be offended. Being offended is a choice – as well as a waste of energy. If a buyer is financially viable, sellers have nothing to lose by considering even the most ridiculous offers. The key is to get buyers talking, making offers, exploring what your business has to offer them, and negotiating in good faith. Being flexible allows you to stay focused on the goal of selling while exploring alternative solutions for reaching a win-win deal.
   
• Being able to trust the Sellers. Like your customers, buyers want to do business with people they trust. Buyers need to trust that Sellers are engaged in a full disclosure sale. If a buyer thinks you are withholding information or not disclosing the skeletons in your business closet, they will walk. Trust is an essential part of a successful sale.
   
• Feeling appreciated. Your customers won’t likely return if they feel you don’t appreciate them as you take their money. It may seem odd when you think about it – but the buyers of your business are your final customers. They are making a big investment and handing you, the seller, a large sum of money. If the final terms of your sale include any earn outs or carry-back financing terms you will be remaining in contact with the buyers over several years. As a seller, what you say and how you say it is important, for instance words like: “I appreciate your time” or “thank you for your interest in my business” are easy ways to help buyers feel you respect and appreciate them.

As the Seller, you have the ability to say No. You don’t have to cater to bullying, listen to silly terms, or waste time with tire kickers (that is the job of your Broker!) Don’t let this power of having the final word – Yes, or No, get in the way of treating your buyers like your biggest customer! Listen to them, work with them, explore win-win deal terms and show them the respect and courtesy you would show a customer. They may or may not behave the same way. However, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by treating them like your biggest customer.