I'm trying to sell my offline business valued at $19,700. (I was thinking about putting an ad on Craigslist in an effort to do this).

That said, this obviously isn't a $17 Ebook. What do I need to be sure to include (or eliminate) in my ad in order to generate a response from potential buyers?

(For those who'd like to know, this is a windshield repair franchise. The end result of the ad is simply to get the reader to call me).

Any advice?

James, in effect, you're asking, "How do I write a direct response sales letter?" That's not a question that can be answered by a reply on a discussion board.

My advice: study copywriting. Buy the book (3rd edition), "The Ultimate Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy. That's a good place to start.

Alex

If you want a response, you're going to have to justify your price with income, ease of operation, benefits of being your own boss, etc.

It really depends on how you arrived at that value. Is the appraisal based on actual income, potential income, assets, what?

Why not compile a list of all the small mobile oil change, mobile pressure washing, locksmith, type companies in your area and market directly to them? It may make a nice complimentary side business.

I can't say for sure, but I'd guess the kind of responses you'll get from a craigslist ad are the types of people who will be more of a hassel to deal with. Unless of course you pre qualify by offering more detailed info in the ad. I suppose it's worth a try though.

You'd be surprised about CL. I trolled there looking for a boat with $35,000 cash in my pocket ready to spend. And I've heard of businesses being sold on their quick.

They're going to be savvy bargain hunters though so if he's not offering value, as I mentioned previously, forget it.

The principles still apply. A client of mine recently unsuccessfully listed a business for $29,000 on eBay -- no interest over the 10 day auction.

I re-did his ad (revised listing category, headline, sub-head, photos, body copy, listing features), re-listed it on a Thursday morning, he had calls Thursday and Friday and the buyer (who called Thursday) came over on the Saturday to buy -- all finalized by Sunday. eBay listing fees were about $30 (using feature listing etc) and then final value fees.

Definitely need to prove value, and a good believable "reason why" you're selling.

In the case above, it was because he had too many other commitments (completely true) and could show the buyer where the $29K value was -- even though the business had no customers! It was setup and ready to go, with equipment and training. Highlighted that it was an excellent "opportunity to make money", easy to prove the value of the asking and demonstrate the opportunity.

Cheers,

Two main points:

1. You need to think through how to get to some high quality prospects easily.

You certainly could advertise on Craigslist. Classified Ads in local offline newspapers are often very effective.

You may also find some local publications that are already listing businesses for sale. That can help.

And sending a sales letter to related local businesses as Lance suggested is a brilliant idea (if you do this be sure and tell them in the sales letter about the possibility of making a substantial second income from the clients they already have).


2. You need to think through your marketing process.

You'll probably have to use
a. A lead generating ad that leads to
b. You talking to the prospect on the phone and sending out your sales letter then
c. Talking to your hot prospects in person at the business.

The most important key here is to think about what a potential buyer is looking for and what they're wary about.

They'll want proof of income.

They'll also want some kind of proof of what components of the business are owned by you now and to be sure there are no hidden debts, financing etc.

Finally they'll probably want to know what skill is required, what kind of training you're offering and what kind of time input is required.

If you put all that in your sales letter and you have your proof ready when your prospects arrive to see you in person you should do alright.

I'd make one final point.

Most people think about how to sell their business around the time when they're ready to sell.

But if you want to get the maximum price when you sell your business you should really be thinking about that before you even buy or set up a business.

Check out Harvey Zemmel's free report here...
The 7 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make Selling Their Business

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh