Positioning Your Ad Agency For Sale
Positioning a digital agency or marketing company for a sale involves making improvements and preparing the business in a way that will make it attractive to potential buyers. It’s comparable to cleaning up a home before you sell it. But it’s a lot more than just aesthetics. You need to focus on the underlying finances and bookkeeping and financial fundamentals.
Here are some steps to consider when positioning a digital marketing business for a sale:
- Clean up the financials: Ensure that the financial statements are accurate and up-to-date, and that the business is operating in a profitable manner.
- Improve operations: Implement operational improvements to increase efficiency and profitability, and to demonstrate the business’s long-term potential.
- Diversify revenue streams: Diversifying revenue streams can make the business more attractive to potential buyers and reduce dependence on a single customer or product. Another reason why selling your agency takes advanced planning because this might take years.
- Increase brand awareness: Building the brand and increasing visibility can increase the value of the business and make it more appealing to potential buyers.
- Reduce risk: Minimize potential liabilities and risks associated with the business to reduce uncertainty for potential buyers.
- Update legal and contractual agreements: Ensure that all legal and contractual agreements are up-to-date and in compliance with applicable laws.
- Document processes: Document all key processes and procedures to demonstrate the business’s stability and ease of transition to a new owner.
One thing I was told by my broker and that I took to heart was to keep your foot on the gas. Try to grow and add revenue as much as possible since your more recent financial indicators will be more revealing to a buyer then data from a a year or two ago. Yes, the last 3 years of financials are very important but the time leading right up to the sale are most important because a buyer will more likely want to buy a business on the upswing and not one in decline even if it’s temporary.
It is important to start preparing for a sale of your digital marketing agency business well in advance, as many of these steps can take time to implement. Seeking the advice of a professional business broker or investment banker can also be helpful in positioning the business for a successful sale.
