Selling your online business can be a challenging task, especially if you do it on your own. It could be tempting to ask for professional help and an experienced and knowledgeable website broker is the first expert coming to your mind. A website broker can provide you with the same type of help and support as a traditional business broker. The main difference is that the first one is specialising of the sale of e-businesses and online products and services such as websites, domains, apps, software, etc. However, either you will decide to do everything on your own or you decide to use some help from an experienced website broker, both cases have their pros and cons.
One of the main disadvantages of doing everything on your own means that the sale and the negotiation and due diligence process accompanying it will definitely take all your attention and be your priority. In this case, you have to take your eyes off your e-business, if it is a currently running one, which can definitely affect its progress and smooth operation. Of course, this will then majorly affect the upcoming sale. And if your e-business or online product/service don’t sell quickly, or you don’t manage to sell them at all, the negative effect will be long-term. In this situation, you are not only missing the focus on your e-business and you go out of habit of running your business, website, or app smoothly. You can also miss some great opportunities to develop and grow your business, website, app, or software even further, grow your profit and improve the performance.
However, if you choose to work with the help of a website business broker, how could you be sure they will actually be able to provide you with the help and assistance you need? At the end of the day, not all website brokers are created the same, not all of them will be able to actually provide you with professional assistance. Therefore, you are recommended to take your time and do a thorough research before hiring an online business expert. You want to look for references, ask your business networks for recommendations, get in touch with industry associations and ask for their advice too, etc.
Once you narrow down your choice and settle on a couple of, or even more, website brokers you are willing to work with, there are a few aspects of your future relationship and work with that broker you want to consider and further discuss with the professional. Here are some ideas you want to bounce around with the e-business brokers you are interviewing and some topics to brainstorm. The answers to these questions are going to help you make your final choice.
What is the marketing strategy of the broker?
Marketing is very important. Good marketing can sell your e-business, website, app, software, etc. in no time. Therefore, whenever you are interviewing a website broker, you want to ask them for a detailed marketing strategy or a detailed plan of the advertising strategy they are using. How is the broker planning to achieve full exposure for your e-business? Are they only going to post an online listing and nothing else? Well, in this case you can do that by yourself and there is no point in hiring a professional. Make sure to request for a portfolio of the profiles of all similar e-businesses they have served and the marketing strategies they have developed and implemented for other clients. This will help you make your choice.
What about the broker’s sales successes and failures?
You can go the extra mile and ask the website broker for the last ten e-business or online products/services sales they have made or the last ten e-businesses they have worked with. Then you can contact the business owners/clients of the broker and ask for their references/opinion. It may seem like a lot of work, however, don’t forget this is your business you are putting in their hands and you want someone reliable and experienced. A positive review from a client always speaks volumes for the broker’s work ethics and how they approach each project, even if the e-business, website, app, or software didn’t end up selling.
Review the first meeting between you and the website broker
Pay attention to everything you discuss, especially close attention to all the questions the broker will ask you. You don’t have to be pressured to sign for a listing during this initial meeting. After all, the main purpose of the initial meeting is for the website broker to understand more about your e-business, online product or service and your plans for selling it, your requirements. It is also a good time for you to understand more about how they work and how they are planning to approach your project of selling your e-business, website, app, domain, software, etc.
So, whenever you are discussing your e-business sale plans with an experienced and professional broker, you can expect to get a lot of questions about the e-business or online product.service itself. This is the only way they can make sure they are equipped well for selling your business. Every e-business is unique and in order to sell yours, there must be required a unique approach, at least in the context of marketing and advertising. It is a great sign if the broker wants to dig even deeper and ask about all the pros and cons of your e-business, all the ins and outs. This also shows their interest in a following meeting and future business between them and you. Ask for their honest opinion on whether or not the business can be sold and what is the best selling price you can get.
An Intermediary
However, a website broker is not just a marketing strategist, they can help you in more than just an effective advertising plan. The help of website broker can make the whole deal and negotiation process run smoother and with an improved communication, because a website broker is also an intermediary. However, this doesn’t mean you have to rely completely on their intercession. If you feel confident enough and you are pretty firm about your decisions, you need to take the majority of the control of the negotiation process and just occasionally ask the broker for their assistance. After all, every buyer would like to have all their questions answered, especially if you are providing the responses. This will give them a better assurance and they will feel more confident and convenient in making the purchase. Your chances of making a sale increase with the more confidence you can instill in the buyer. And this is something that often cannot be achieved by the website broker, not because they don’t know how to do it and they are not good at it. At the end of the day, we are all humans and the potential buyer of your business may feel safer when communicating with you as the other human being knowing the most about the e-business. It is not that easy to build a same credibility when a third party, such as a website broker, dominates the entire negotiation period.
Other aspects you would like to consider
✓ What is the fee of service by a professional website broker you are willing to pay?
✓ If you decide to use the professional help of a website broker, will you feel a lack of control?
✓ Are you used to doing everything by yourself?
✓ Never feel pressured to sign a contract you are not happy with just because it is offered by the broker. Don’t sign anything until you are not completely satisfied with its content and the service you will be provided with.
✓ A website broker often gets their fees as a percentage from the selling price of the e-business or online product/service such as a website, domain, software, app. Don’t let them pressure you to accept a lower price than what you are looking for from the sale so they can take their fee faster. They may also try to pressure you to take the lower price instead of risking the deal falling through. Don’t let them do that.
✓ Consider the client base of the broker and on how many sales they are working on currently. They may be too busy to pay their attention and show commitment to your project and properly represent your business.