Frequently Asked Questions

• Part of a National Network. This allows you to expose your business to the largest pool of qualified buyers available.
• Understands how to promote on the Internet. Request that your business be promoted (discretely) over the INTERNET. This will likely attract many out-of-town buyers. The INTERNET can promote your business 24-hours-a-day to a WORLDWIDE audience.
• Experience, Education & Training. You want to be sure that the intermediary you choose to work with has the expertise, education and training necessary to sell your business in a timely manner and make the process as easy for you as possible.
• Professionalism and Ethics. At EMPIRE we pride ourselves in treating all of our clients with the highest level of professionalism and ethics. That is why our number one source of new business is referrals from our past clients.

A business enterprise, like any asset, is worth what a buyer is willing to pay. Buyers ask countless questions, but they are primarily concerned with a fair return on their total investment. In addition, prospective buyers make many judgments about market position, proprietary know-how, competitive strengths, quality of the assets, growth potential, and risks of the business.

A professional business intermediary helps the business owner determine the true value of the business, and, more importantly, can help prospective buyers understand the reasons for such value and structure a sale that will maximize the benefits to both the buyer and seller.

Sound working relations with employees, customers, suppliers and bankers are important factors to a company. Any premature indication of a possible change in ownership could disrupt these relations and weaken the company’s competitive position. For these reasons, and many others, confidentiality is critically important at all stages.

With the proper procedures, it is possible to minimize the risk of an untimely disclosure. In every transaction, there is an appropriate time to reveal that a sale may be imminent. Proper timing of these sensitive announcements can contribute to a smooth transaction and reinforce the buyer’s willingness to proceed to a closing.

A professional business intermediary helps to ensure that all information about the business is kept confidential throughout the entire selling process until it is appropriate to reveal that a sale is forthcoming.

It generally takes an average of nine months to sell most businesses. Some of the factors that affect the time that it takes to sell a business:

* The asking price.
* The down payment amount.
* The condition of the business.
* Is it being marketed to buyers outside the immediate marketing area?
* Is the business being marketed for sale on the INTERNET?

Our fee is based on a percentage of the total sale price of your business. Our fee schedule is very competitive, and, unlike other intermediaries, we do not charge upfront or ongoing fees for representing your business for sale. We are paid at the close of escrow when the business is sold.