When you work with our VR office in St. Louis, Missouri, you get an experienced, hard-working team that will do what it takes to help your business stand out in the crowd.
When we represent a business, we do the proper preparatory work well before taking the company to market. You only have one chance to make a good first impression on a buyer and we do not want to squander the opportunity.
Every business sale assignment is unique, particularly from a marketing standpoint. Nonetheless, there are elements of the process that are consistent.
These are outlined in the bullet-point format below, followed by a few more details on certain key elements and how we approach assignments.
VR Manages the Selling Process
- Data gathering and owner interview.
- Recast financial statements.
- Agree on price and terms.
- Sign exclusive listing agreement.
- Prepare confidential business profile.
- Develop a marketing strategy.
Search
- Activate buyer search plan.
- Screen responses.
- Financially qualify buyers.
- Obtain nondisclosure/confidentiality agreement from buyers.
- Meet with the buyer to present confidential business review.
- Determine buyer’s interest.
Deal Making
- Buyer tours the business and/or views video and asks questions.
- Probe buyer’s interest.
- The buyer makes an offer or passes.
- Assist buyer, as necessary, with an offer to purchase.
- Facilitate negotiations.
- Reach an agreement. Contract signed by buyer and seller.
Closing
- Coordinate due diligence.
- Loan purchase package.
- Lender instructions.
- Assist in resolving any outstanding issues.
- Authorization to close.
- Review final documents.
- Close.
You may accept the offer as presented or leverage our expertise to help you structure a counter-offer.
Schedule a confidential appointment with our agent and develop your exit strategy and prepare your business for sale.
Professional Business Profile
The most important tool we use in positioning your company to sell for the best possible price is a Business Profile. VR profiles are in a league of their own and may include extensive trade area analysis, risk management data, extensive comparable sales information from industry leading resources, such as BizComps (VR’s exclusive proprietary database), DealStats (formerly Pratt Stats), FirstResearch, MergerStats, the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and other sources not available to the general public.
Business Valuations
We assist Sellers in determining the asking price for their business every time we take an assignment. We use a formal certified business valuation which will assist in determining the business value and the selling strategy. Preparing the business valuation is the single most important phase of the selling process because potential Buyers will be conducting their due diligence in a similar manner to validate the selling price and evaluate their investment risks. We want a solid business valuation to stand up to the Buyer’s due diligence and we want salable businesses which are attractive to buyers. You do not get that kind of quality or insight from a Broker’s Price Opinion (BPO) or Broker’s Opinion of Value (BOV). We work from real numbers and utilize proven and industry accepted valuation methods.
Marketing & Advertising
Depending on the selling and engagement strategy of the particular type of business, we will market the opportunity across a tactical and targeted range of investors and advertising outlets. Our strongest value comes from the continued investment of our office in VIP investors, private buyer lists, and proven relationships which trust our business offerings. We also advertise to other Brokers and their agents, locally and across the country, to create the maximum awareness of the listing across the brokerage industry. We follow up on popular sales media as well as key industry business sales websites and industry related international organizations.
Confidentiality
At VR, we are keenly aware how important maintaining the confidential nature of your sale is likely to be to your business, its employees, and suppliers. You can count on us to make all efforts to preserve the confidentiality of your business. Our ads and internet postings are “blind”, or what we call “vanilla” in that your business’ identity is hidden from the public. Only the facts necessary to generate buyer interest are presented. Buyers must sign a confidentiality agreement and demonstrate the financial wherewithal to purchase your business before they are given your Business Profile, and then only with your approval. Behind the scenes, we safeguard your sensitive information in our virtual vault room, which provides a secure and confidential exchange service where we can collect, organize, share, and monitor your important documents.
Co-Broker
There is no true Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”) for businesses like there is for residential home sales or commercial property. While businesses are kept confidential by the lack of an MLS system, all too often they are kept secret from potential buyers because the listing brokerage or M&A firm does not want to share its commission with a co-broker. We understand that you do not want your business to sit on the shelf in the hopes that a potential buyer is going to stumble across it hidden among a closed broker’s internal listings. In VR’s St. Louis office our focus is completely on a successful, expeditious closing. We work closely with other broker offices within the VR network and we have close relations with a number of high-quality M&A firms which we draw on in support of your transaction.
We also work with other business brokerages under friendly co-broker agreements to ensure the best opportunities are presented to all our Buyers and Sellers. In fact, VR Business Brokers of St. Louis is a founding member of the region’s local International Business Broker Association of Mid-America, IBBA-MA, which is an official chapter of the International Business Broker Association (IBBA), where we actively participate and cooperate with business brokers from Missouri, Southern Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa and across the nation.
Is this a right time to sell?
Schedule a confidential appointment with our agent and develop your exit strategy and prepare your business for sale.
Our Certifications
Selling Your Business in St. Louis
If you’re thinking “I want to sell my business” and you’re anywhere in the St. Louis metro, here is what the market looks like right now: about 69,000 small businesses operate across the region, and only a few dozen change hands on the public marketplaces in a typical year, at a median sale price around $475,000 and a median of 244 days on the market. Most owners never sell at all. The difference between the businesses that sell and the ones that sit is almost always preparation and pricing, and that is exactly where this process starts.
Priced by a certified appraiser, not a guess
Every VR listing begins with a certified business valuation prepared by a Business Certified Appraiser (BCA). Overpricing is the single biggest reason listed businesses fail to sell, so we would rather tell you the defensible number up front than let your business age on the market. Your valuation fee is credited toward our success fee at closing, and if you already have a valuation from someone else, we’ll review it for free.
What it costs to sell your business with VR
Nothing, unless we sell it. No upfront fees. No retainers. No listing fees. No marketing fees. No early-termination penalties. We are paid a success fee at closing, which means we only take engagements we believe will close, and we do the work of selling your business at our own risk, not on your dime. Ask other brokers and advisors for their fee sheet and compare.
Confidential from first call to closing
Your employees, customers, and competitors will not learn your business is for sale from us. Buyers are qualified and sign confidentiality agreements before they learn identifying details, and we manage showings, negotiations, financing, and due diligence so the business keeps running at full strength while it sells.
Common questions about selling a business in St. Louis
How long does it take to sell?
The St. Louis median is 244 days on market, but well-prepared, correctly priced businesses move meaningfully faster. The 6 to 9 months from engagement to closing is the realistic planning window.
When should I start?
One to three years before you want to be done. That runway lets us value the business, fix the things buyers discount, and time the market. If you want out sooner, we can work with that too.
Will you tell me if my business isn’t ready to sell?
Yes, plainly. And through our exit planning work we’ll show you what to fix so it sells for more later.
Ready to find out what your business would sell for? Set a Free Consultation