We are a boutique business brokerage focusing on helping entrepreneurs with the process of Buying and Selling Internet Companies, Amazon Stores, Software Companies, and other Businesses in the Digital Space. We are a unique M&A firm that not only facilitates the acquisition process in the sale of a business, but because our Founders are Internet Entrepreneurs as well, we’re in the best position to provide guidance, valuation, and market knowledge when it comes to developing exit strategies and buying techniques when buying or selling a digital business.
Just like buying tangible products, buying a website also involves a couple of tips that can help you negotiate properly. They don’t happen the same way, and you need to focus on different things when making your choices. Although the common ground for any purchase is price, buying a site isn’t left out of that requirement. Many online businesses want to buy an existing website and a new website for a reasonable price, and the website owners want to sell for a profitable amount. While you might want to do this yourself, you may want to consider getting the help of business brokers or website brokers like Website Closers. One thing about operations in online businesses is the flexibility; buying websites is not rigid either.
Today’s segment is going to focus on a few tips that we would like to convey to those interested in buying a website for sale through Website Closers or any other brokerage. The process of purchasing a website from a long list of websites can be demanding, but if you follow website buying tips from the preparation stage to the closing sale, you will save yourself from making some mistakes that can cost your business.
To begin with, consider the opportunity to have a website broker, attorney, or other consultant assist you with any acquisition transaction.
While you may be the best negotiator you know, you’re always going to be at a disadvantage when representing yourself because, as the buyer, you bring emotion into the deal – and since you’ll be working with the Seller long after the deal closes, emotion is the last thing you want in the agreement. By using a third party, like an Internet Brokerage, an intermediary can help steer you in the right direction, help identify negotiable touch points, and help enlighten you about market and lending standards.
No matter how experienced you are, attempting to walk down the road of buying a website is a difficult task, especially if an SBA-backed lender is going to finance the deal. The deal structure, contract, and process need to be in line with bank and SBA standards.
As a soon-to-be business owner, it is a good idea to take a look at a long list of websites that suit your needs before making a decision about which website to buy. That is if you don’t see website development as an option or if you consider it time-consuming. One valuation strategy you can adopt is to get the contact information of the website seller in order to get the full details on the websites.
Before kick starting any negotiation, the first thing is to curate a list of websites for sale and pick the one that matches your online business needs. Buying a website rather than building one from scratch can help you bypass the many hurdles of building, but if the right choice still needs to be made, you should be ready to face terrible hurdles.
Relationships make way for many people, and do not play down on it. Buying a website might take less time than buying an actual product, but it requires a more personal relationship. Negotiations involve painful and exhausting phrases that might not be trusted due to their online nature. Personal relationships with the seller might not reduce the price, but it can make the transaction easy and fun.
A couple of other factors go into negotiating the terms for the purchase of a website. You don’t only have to negotiate on price. If you cannot get the seller to make concessions on price, you can create some sort of deal where they can agree on other terms.
You can also negotiate using a contingency payout; here, the buyer tells the seller to take 80% of the agreed fee, and he gets to pay up the remaining 20% in the space of 3 months. Learn to take charge!
If you want to avoid getting involved with a website owner who has issues with state or federal laws, that would be a damaging move for your growing business. You would want to do your best as a solo buyer like we do here to ensure the purchase of websites is within the confines of the law.
You must ensure that the website to be bought has a clean stand with no issues with using the intellectual property of other registered brands. You can hire a lawyer for the due diligence process; this will come in handy. Involving a lawyer means you have someone on your side to help draft the purchase agreement and a professional to structure the deal, who will make your self-interest a priority.
When buying a website from a soon-to-be previous owner, even if you are skilled in negotiating, You might want to give yourself the upper hand by choosing one of the following means:
These are professional platforms that help to connect website buyers and sellers on an unbiased ground. They specialize in helping buyers and sellers of e-commerce stores connect; an example is WebsiteClosers.com. From the available options on the Brokerage page, you can easily filter out those websites that aren’t a perfect match for you. Avoid the pitfall of trying to do it all yourself; sometimes, we’ve got to let the professionals handle it.
You might be tempted to get a website you stumbled upon by chance that can be dangerous. Most business industries have their communities and forums online due to changing times where members connect and share ideas, and it is an opportunity to join sections that talk about business sales and website sales. Freelance Marketplace is where you can get a website for sale. These platforms are known for being popular among freelancers who offer their skills for sale, but they can be used even for the sale of a website.
The brand reputation can either push a discussion for sale forward or cut it off. One major negotiation tip you should have is to buy a website that clients trust. We’ve closed a huge number of SBA-backed deals, so we know what to expect and how to structure a deal to ensure that it passes all rigorous stress tests.
The negotiation process can seem quite daunting if you are new to deal-making. Chances are that there will be a number of bright individuals involved in the process, and when buyers are negotiating the deal, they might feel threatened and less likely to ask the tough questions – and demand ALL the answers. But when handled correctly, in our mind, negotiations are a very healthy part of the transaction process. The reason we say this is because a good business acquisition is never lopsided towards a single party. Negotiation isn’t always about giving in – it’s more about finding a resolution and solution to all deal points in a way that is respectful, mindful of party desires, and fundamentally, the best solution to get the deal through to closing.
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