If you’re a business broker we have some good news - our industry is growing! But this unfortunately has resulted in listing sites becoming more crowded than a New York City subway, making it difficult to stand-out.
In the fast-moving world of business brokerage, having an eye-catching business-for-sale listing can make all the difference in having a serious buyer submit an NDA for your listing.
Using the power of DealBuilder AI, our software has written hundreds of listings - resulting in thousands of submitted NDAs and inquiries.
After reviewing hundreds of listings (you should see our screen time 😅) we’re sharing our best kept secrets for writing eye-catching business listings.
Craft a Compelling Listing Title
Just like a first date - the first impression is make or break.
A great business-for-sale listing contains a captivating headline that succinctly conveys the essence of the business. It might emphasize the business's unique strengths, like its strong position in the market, ownership of intellectual property, or key financial aspects like profitability or potential for growth - these are all things to grab the attention of potential buyers.
How we do it: DealBuilder AI actually writes listing titles for you, making it easy to create and customize attention-grabbing headlines. How does it do it? By following the following framework:
1) Buyer Qualifier
- A key-word that will catch the attention of your Buyer Persona.
2) Business Descriptor
- Describe your business in 3 words or less (clothing store, coffee shop, wholesale distributor, etc.)
3) Supporting Attribute
- End with an attribute that sparks Buyer interest and supports the Buyer Qualifier.
Share the Business Story:
Beyond the financials, buyers are interested in the story behind the business. Share the history, mission, and values that make the business unique. This is a great opportunity to point-out whether the current owner is the founder, a previous acquirer, or simply the heiress of a business mogul that owned a high-margin manufacturing company in the Mid-West (it happens).
The story should highlight the human-side of the business. Because this is ultimately what buyers and sellers of small businesses are doing - making life decisions.
How we do it: DealBuilder AI goes to your clients website and actually pulls relevant and important information to help populate your intake questionnaire and complete the CIM. Better yet, if it’s missing details - the AI system will automatically generate a list of follow-up questions to ask your client.
Highlight Key Financials and Performance Metrics
While you can paint the most heart-warming story about your business, one thing is going to determine whether you can sell it at the end of the day - the financials.
Answer the following question - how much money (as a buyer) can I expect to make as the owner of this business? Ideally, this shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer.
How we do it: Provide a clear snapshot of your business's financial health. Utilize DealBuilder’s robust tools to normalize the income statements, create pro-forma projections, monthly revenue trends, and any other relevant financial data. Attach your source documents (i.e. Tax Returns) into DealBuilder’s built-in data-room.
Emphasize Growth Opportunities
Buyers are not just interested in the present, but also the future. Outline potential growth avenues, untapped markets, or expansion possibilities.
How we do it: Interview your client and ask them the following question, ‘if you were 10 years younger with more time & money - what activities would you invest in to grow your business?’
We’ve found this question is a great trigger to get a business owner brainstorming.
Professional Photography and Visuals
A picture is worth a thousand words. Capture the essence of your business with high-quality images that showcase its physical assets, products, or services.
How we do it: You want to keep the confidentiality of the business secure, we typically source our listing image from Unsplash, which offer a wide selection of high-quality free images to use.
For more specific images (such as the office space, pictures of equipment, etc.) DealBuilder allows you to seamlessly integrate visuals into your digital CIM presentation, ensuring that potential buyers get a comprehensive view of what your business has to offer.
Establish Your Client’s Credibility with Testimonials and Reviews
For many businesses, Google Reviews are the lifeblood of a small business. The good news? It makes it easier than ever to source client testimonials to reference in your CIM or listing page. Use these testimonials/reviews to build credibility by featuring positive testimonials or reviews from satisfied customers or partners.
How we do it: On the listing page we will typically just refer to the average Google Review rating (if worth mentioning 😬) such as ‘the business boasts an average rating of 4.7/5 stars on Google. Then, within the CIM, we will be more specific and actually reference specific testimonials - quoting them directly within the CIM itself. You can see for yourself in our example CIM here.
Conclusion
Crafting an eye-catching business-for-sale listing is a blend of art and strategy. Leveraging DealBuilder AI as your trusted companion, the process for creating both listings and CIMs is completed in minutes, allowing you to showcase your business in the best possible light.
Are you a business broker interested in closing more deals with less work? Start your free trial of the DealBuilder platform here.
