How it Works for Sellers

So, you might want to sell your business?

The Biz.for.Sale concept aims to create a marketplace where sellers can provide details of businesses for sale in an environment where confidentiality is assured and the widest possible national market can access the information offered.

We provide users with simple search tools with which they can filter through the businesses on offer in order to closely match their requirements to your listing.

The process, in a nutshell, is.......
1 Submit details at Submit Your Listing.
2 Print and sign the Commission Agreement.
3 Scan and email the signed agreement to us.
4 Sit back and wait for enquiries.

How Are Businesses Normally Sold ?

Lots of different ways.

The sale process (and finding a buyer) is quite different for a R100,000 business when compared to a business with a R100 million price tag. But businesses sold from this website are normally in the R100,000 to R5 million range.

The seller will normally drop through the following processes........

Somebody helps, or an internet resource is found, and a realistic price is set.
People who know the business are considered for an approach.
- Existing staff, or a group of staff
- Friends and aquaintances
- Suppliers
- Customers
After that you figure you may need outside help. That will be Auditors and Brokers.
- Your Auditors. They know the business and usually have a network of other accountants and auditors who know of clients actively looking to buy a business such as yours.
- Business Brokers. You may be reluctant to pay their commission rates but remember that they are skilled in advertising, they usually have extensive networks with other brokers, and they have the experience and expertise in closing deals between a buyer and seller. They will usually find the best price price for you and will guide you away from making expensive mistakes. Business brokers make extensive use of our services.
You can see here if there are brokers in your area who may be able to assist.

Then there is our service.

We have been active in this area on the internet for about 25 years and have considerable trust and authority ranking with the search engines. Just type "businesses for sale in south africa" and you will usually find us on the first page. And people searching for a business for sale with the descriptive characteristics of yours would have a similarly relevant result. In other words, when we list your business it has a very wide range and high relevancy which places it in the front of listings. That means high visibilty and enquiries. Which you convert to a potential sale and, eventually, a successful sale.
Many business brokers scan these pages regularly looking for a suitable business for clients who have given them a mandate to search. And we also regularly mail people with details of businesses that fit parameters in which they are interested.

And best of all is that there is no cost to you unless this website introduced the buyer to you. And even that is a very affordable commission, usually in the 1% to 3% area.

You will get a good idea of what people need to know by quickly scanning through our Frequently Asked Questions page.

What Businesses Are Sold Here ? ?

Well, nothing really. Please remember that this is a lead sourcing site. We at BizForSale are something like the old newspaper classified listings, or the list of properties in the window of the real estate agent. We advertise (and most effectively) your business to a sea of searching buyers and brokers out there. This website automatically puts the prospective buyer in touch with you and you proceed with the selling process. We do help with tools and tutorial articles but we do not get involved with you in the sale process. Think of us as providing leads which, if they end in a sale, earn a spotting commission for us.

Businesses located in or near the big metros (Joburg/Pretoria, Cape Town, PE, Bloem and Durban) attract more enquiries and prices below R700,000 are the most popular. From R2 million up you need to check the buyers carefully for available funds and after R3 million the response drops off, except for the dreamers.

What we do not list here is business startups and biz-in-a-box opportunities. In other words you need to have an existing, running business to offer as that is what prospective buyers are expecting to find. This would not exclude a dormant business which is often the case when conditions (which can be reversed) have caused a shut down.
Franchise offerings and startup business opportunities can be listed at our sister site: FranchiseOpps.co.za

Are You Actually Ready to Sell ?

This may seem like an odd question, but it really refers to whether you have made the necessary preparations to ensure that you receive the highest possible price for your business. Some opinions suggest that with the right factors in price you could even double your anticipated selling price.

Once you have made the decision to sell; you need to prepare. This process could take a year or more - and you need to work at it constantly. Once it is completed you can look at starting the selling process. The preparation mode will generally make the business leaner and stronger and with each passing month you will be better placed to sell if you suddenly have to.

These considerations include assembling documentation, future staffing, financials, tax planning, customer control, legalities and recording processes. There is a lot to consider - and it will all impact the eventual buyer.

We have an excellent article which we urge you to read : How to Prepare Your Business for a Future Resale.

We would also recommend our nuts and bolts guide : How to Sell Your Business to make sure you have covered all bases..

Confidentiality

The nature of releasing information on the proposed sale of your company across the internet raises the possibility that your staff, creditors and customers could all react negatively to the information. It is therefore in the interests of all concerned to conceal your identity until such time as you decide to approach a prospective buyer.

When completing the form "Submit for Listing" you will be able to specify the level of confidentiality that you require and we will use that to determine what information is released should the visitor contact us directly. The implications of the choice are explained on the form.

It is your decision as to whether you contact the prospective buyer or not. Should you wish to conduct a short but anonymous correspondence then we can also assist in this regard.

Costs

Sellers are required to agree to pay a commission to Biz.for.Sale, but this commission would only be due only at the conclusion of a successful sale which resulted from an introduction which originated from the Biz.for.Sale website. So you pay nothing to list, and if you sell as a result of some other broker marketing or your own efforts, then when you withdraw the listing from our side there is also nothing to pay. You are liable for commission to ourselves ONLY if the buyer came to you via our website.

This commission is based up a sliding scale which varies from 3% for sales under R 100 000 to as little as 0,75% for sales over R 1 500 000.

After submitting the details of the business being offered for sale you will be presented with an on-screen contract which you are required to print to your printer. You then need to sign the contract, have it duly witnessed and mail it to Biz.for.Sale. On receipt of the signed contract, we will release your database entry your "Business for Sale" listing will be visible to website visitors.

Should you be in a rush to have your listing published then you may scan and email the signed agreement through to us and we will publish the listing immediately on the understanding that the original signed agreement is en route to us in the mail.

You may inspect a copy of the Commission Agreement here.! Please contact us directly if you require an amendment to any of the terms.

Note to Business Brokers : A different agreement type (which enbles multiple submissions) and commission structure is available for business brokers. Please visit the Business Broker Services section for more details.

Listings will only be activated on our receipt of the agreement or bona fide evidence that the agreement has been signed.