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Plenty of eCommerce store owners often don’t realize they have a marketable asset. The reality is that a good eCommerce store isn’t just a marketable asset, but it’s also an extremely desirable asset, and the number of eCommerce stores for sale increases each year.
Whether you sell via Amazon, drop ship, or own a large eCommerce business, there’s a possibility to sell. So, regardless of where you are in your eCommerce journey, it’s crucial to ask yourself what your end goal is.
Many entrepreneurs never think about leaving their business because they don’t want to abandon their eCommerce dreams. Still, it’s feasible to entertain a sale without giving up on your dreams.
It’s better to jump on that possibility as quickly as possible, even while your capital is still tied up in your business. Know that you’re perfectly capable of finding a purchaser for your eCommerce business as long as you understand how it should be valued.
Obtain Accurate Data with an Analytics Tool
Buyers always want to know how your eCommerce store is driving traffic, and they won’t just believe in your words for that.
If you run your store on an eCommerce platform like Amazon, your traffic and sales data will be available in Amazon’s built-in analytics tool. That is of great importance when individuals want to understand how to sell Amazon business for the highest value. Another good idea is to install Clicky or Google Analytics, the two broadly accepted analytics tools.
The kind of data that these tools provide is vital to potential buyers. It’s a standard method to provide read-only access to your data for competent buyers to check the statistics. They’ll look at where your traffic is coming from to comprehend your customers and how you drive sales. It will allow them to understand the conversion rate and help them appraise the history of your business.
Organize Your Finances
Getting your finances right is essential to closing a deal. If a potential buyer sees that your calculations are off, it’ll probably deter them from carrying out a deal.
Potential buyers will want to have an easy view of the finances of your online store. Therefore, creating a P&L is the perfect way to do that. A P&L covers all the incomings and outgoings of a business, including monthly net profit, monthly gross sales, and product costs.
In case you’re not proficient at creating a spreadsheet or calculating those figures, it’s highly advisable to employ an accountant. An accountant will work with you and help you create the most appropriate P&L.
Establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Standard operating procedures or SOPs are instruction manuals describing how you perform particular tasks for your online business. An SOP is an extremely useful resource for every task that demands some kind of process to complete.
Searching for new products, restocking inventory, and writing product descriptions are tasks that always require an SOP. Writing out a template for those procedures will help the buyer employ new people easily, for example, if the current staff chooses not to continue.
Having SOPs in place will make your business a more appealing prospect. No buyer wants to spend a considerable amount of time figuring out how to run your business. Everyone is much more interested in devoting their time to expanding it or having other people run it instead of them.
Provide Employee and Supplier Contracts
The supply chain is key to the success of an eCommerce store, both in cost and serviceability. If you have a good relationship with your supplier/s, then that is the greatest asset to your business.
So, you should inform your supplier that you’re planning to sell and try to get it in writing that your existing arrangement will remain in place. Buyers don’t appreciate being taken by surprise if your supplier ups the rates and affects the profits after they’ve taken over.
A similar process needs to be done for each employee your business has. You’ll need to speak with your employees and find out if they’re willing to continue working there. If they won’t, then the SOPs you’ve created will make training new staff fairly easy. Also, if you have used freelancers, then providing their contact information will be helpful to potential buyers.
Final Words
Even if you’re not planning to sell your business in the near future, good preparation for a potential sale is advantageous in order to improve sales performance and streamline operations. When the time comes to sell your business, you’ll be in a position to negotiate a premium price that reflects its value.
