As we at The Tenney Group attempt to connect investors with just the right transportation businesses for sale, we come into contact with many less-than-ideal sellers. If you’re considering putting your transportation business up for sale, we hope you’ll consider these three characteristics of ideal sellers before entering into the stressful world of negotiating a business sale.
Proper Motivation
If you’re hoping to somehow sell your business for far more than it’s truly worth, we’d prefer that you not waste your time. Or ours. Or that of serious investors. As transportation brokers, we consider it our business to secure the best price possible for your business. However, before we recommend a list price, we perform a transportation industry evaluation we call our TransValuation. Our transportation business expertise means we are uniquely qualified to help you determine the value of your business as a foundation from which to build a successful transportation business sale. If we start out with a major disparity between the true value of your transportation business and the price for which you’d be willing to sell it, then you’re probably not a seller we’d describe as properly motivated.
Thorough Cooperation
Thorough CooperationWe absolutely welcome questions and are willing to explain all aspects of the evaluation, listing, and selling of your business! However, ignoring or arguing with our professional opinion is both unwise on your part and frustrating on ours. We desire to use our transportation business brokerage experience to benefit you, the seller, but we cannot do our job if you don’t cooperate with us. Part of that cooperation means being ready when we’re able to identify a suitable investor for your business. This readiness could include having various documents and legal details in order as well as being emotionally prepared to sell. If we produce a buyer who’s a good fit for your company and you aren’t ready or willing to take action immediately, the entire deal may be jeopardized. When we have to start back at square one because of your unwillingness to act, the lost time is something we’ll both regret.
Reasonable Goals
Buyers and sellers alike must go into a potential transportation business sale with specific goals in mind as well as a willingness to compromise. Meeting in the middle is part of making a deal, 
and it often means being able to empathize with the seller’s needs and goals. When both the buyer and the seller are fair-minded and willing to trade concessions, both can walk away from the sale with their main goals met. While The Tenney Group focuses on serving sellers by helping them secure the best possible prices for their transportation businesses, we realize that a sale often requires that the seller be willing to concede to at least a few points. Sellers with an “all-or-nothing” attitude rarely get top dollar for their businesses and almost never win the respect of their business brokers or potential buyers.
The tips above are what we consider to be “tough love.” We at The Tenney Group, like all business brokers, want to help you successfully negotiate a deal with a buyer or seller. It’s important to remember, though, that although no one knows your business like you do, no one knows how to buy or sell your business like we do. So before entering into the world of business sales, ask yourself whether or not you’re truly prepared. Are you emotionally ready? Are your legal and financial documents in order? Are you ready to be reasonable and logical about the sale? If not, then perhaps you aren’t ready to sell yet.
Dream on … How often does this type of seller come along in real life? Sellers are usually selfish, egotistical, and focused on one thing – making the biggest buck for themselves. Let’s get realistic and smell the coffee.