How to Sell a Franchise Business?
Selling your franchise can be a very difficult decision. After years of hard work, you will probably feel very attached to it. Nevertheless, you may eventually decide to sell. Maybe you feel that you’ve taken the business as far as you can and would like to move onto another project. Maybe the company has become successful enough to secure you a comfortable retirement. Whatever your reason for selling, it’s important to do it right. It would be a terrible shame to undermine years of hard work with a botched sale. Here are a few things to consider before you sell.
Be prepared
When you bought your franchise, your contract would have included conditions of sale. Hopefully, you read these at the time but, if not, your first step is to familiarise yourself with these in order to avoid any nasty surprises. You also need to be up to date on the state of the market, both in your specific industry and in general. This will prevent you from trying to sell at a time of economic instability when you are unlikely to get a good price for your franchise.
Make your franchise as attractive as possible
Potential franchise buyers will look for any excuse to lower the asking price or back out of the deal altogether. Before you put your franchise on the market, you need to deal with any obvious flaws in your business. This can be anything from redecorating your premises to renegotiating a troublesome contract or chasing up long-term debt. Your buyers will do their research, so any jobs that you’ve been putting off need to be taken care of immediately.
Find the right buyer
In an ideal world, you will already have a buyer lined up. This could be because the franchise owner has told you that somebody has expressed interest, or because one of your employees is keen to take over the reins. If a buyer isn’t immediately available, it will be up to you to find one. You need to spread the word far and wide in order to maximise the number of potential buyers. The more interest you generate, the more you can sell the franchise for, and the more likely you are to find a buyer who is a good fit for the business.
To find out more about putting your franchise up for sale, contact us at the Quality Franchise Association today.
