THE SUNBELT NETWORK'S FRANCHISE RE-SALE PROGRAM
Franchise re-sales, no matter how frequent, are opportunities to:
- Improve a franchise with a new motivated owner.
- Increase franchisee participation In strategic initiatives.
- Increase the inherent value of a franchise.
As a franchised business itself, Sunbelt has been able to realise both the global facets
as well as the subtle nuances that differentiate franchise opportunities from non-franchised
concepts. Sunbelt's detailed and systematic approach to each resale is focused on
dramatically reducing a franchisor's time spent in the process.
A key facet in many franchise systems is standardisation. Standardisation is the fundamental element behind Sunbelt's Franchise Resale Program.
The concept is quite simple. With each franchise organization, Sunbelt's Resale Program will:
- Educate participating Sunbelt offices on the ideal buyer profile the franchisor seeks in a new franchisee, saving franchisors from the lengthy pre-qualifying stage Train each Sunbelt office on the strategies, initiatives and values that make the franchise organization unique and valuable.
- Market each of the franchisor's re-sale opportunities in a consistent manner, regardless of geographic area.
- Educate both the buyer and seller on the sales process.
- Remove the franchisor from potential conflict between buyer and seller.
- Coordinate the entire transaction, ensuring the franchisor's timely involvement
in the approval process.
This approach, coupled with Sunbelt's deep buyer pool, will provide a fair selling price and bring educated, motivated new owners into the franchise organization. Sunbelt's Franchise Resale Program treats each opportunity with unparalleled expertise and professionalism.
THE SUNBELT ADVANTAGE
As the largest business broker network In the world, Sunbelt Business Brokers Is the only organization capable of handling all of a Franchisor's re-sale needs.
The Sunbelt Network has over 300 offices worldwide. With over 25 years experience in selling businesses, Sunbelt has successfully transitioned thousands of franchises in a variety of industries. Sunbelt attracts all types of prospective buyers through innovative and consistent marketing of the businesses it represents. Sunbelt aggressively searches for potential suitors for each listed business by advertising in national and local newspapers, more than a dozen business-for-sale-websites (including Sunbelt's award-winning website, as recognized by Inc. Magazine) and other strategic media endeavours. The marketing lures buyers, yet protects the confidentiality of the seller's business. The seller approves all marketing prior to its start.
Prior to introducing a business, Sunbelt carefully screens buyers to find a business that meets a buyer's needs. Sunbelt works directly with the franchisor to ensure the criteria for prospective new franchisees are met and understood. Assuming a buyer meets this profile, Sunbelt educates both buyer and seller to set proper expectations, an often overlooked foundation for successful business transactions.
THE RE-SALE PROCESS
The process of Sunbelt Network's Franchise Resale Program is quite simple. Once a franchise organization begins working with Sunbelt, the franchisee contacts Sunbelt via its toll free number. Sunbelt then educates the franchisee on the sales process and coordinates efforts with its local participating Sunbelt office.
When the local Sunbelt office is notified, it meets with the franchisee to discuss the benefits in utilizing Sunbelt Business Brokers. Even if a franchise organization has Sunbelt's Re-sale program in place, the decision to use Sunbelt is up to the individual franchise owner. The listing agreement will be between the local Sunbelt office and the individual franchisee. Once listed, the Sunbelt office begins to confidentially market the business.
Potential buyers are screened to meet the franchisor's qualifications. Only suitable buyers who sign confidentiality agreements will see more information about the business itself.
Sunbelt then coordinates buyer/seller meetings and negotiates an acceptable offer. Once the offer is accepted, Sunbelt's assists in the following:
- Coordination of accountants and solicitors.
- Locating buyer financing.
- Establishing timelines and objectives for due diligence.
Coordination with the franchisor to ensure a seamless approval and transition. By knowing what a buyer and seller need prior to the approval process, Sunbelt saves the franchisor's valuable time. Sunbelt guides both the buyer and the seller through the entire re-sale process and delivers unsurpassed results to all parties.
FRANCHISOR BENEFITS
It Is the franchisor that ultimately benefits from Sunbelt's Franchise Re-sale Program: - SAVE TIME. Time is a precious commodity that can easily be consumed by the re-sale process. With trends indicating more and more re-sales in conjunction with the ageing population, time demands on the franchisor will greatly increase. Having a resource to delegate the process to will become invaluable.
- EDUCATION. Most brokers only understand history and what they hear from the exiting owner. Sunbelt understands where the franchisor is headed and what programs the existing owner did or did not participate in. The steps of the sale process are clearly defined for both buyer and seller. The new owner will not only meet the franchisor's criteria for approval, but will know the strategies, the training and the investment required to fulfil their role as an acceptable franchisee. A "No Surprises" approach saves time and headaches for all three parties - the buyer, the seller and the franchisor.
- INCREASED VALUE. A higher but realistic sales price, which allows the buyer to service acquisition debt, earn a salary and have a profitable rate of return, increases the potential value of each franchised location; increasing the entire value of the franchise.
- NO COST. Sunbelt has no retainers or hidden costs. Its fees are paid by the seller and are based purely on successful sales transactions.
- DEEP BUYER POOL. Franchisor prospective buyers are typically limited to industry specific inquiries. Sunbelt's buyer pool is comprised of prospects from a variety of industries and we strive to match each buyer with the most compatible opportunity, regardless of industry.
- REDUCED LIABILITY. Using a third party removes the franchise from many potential issues regarding the sale. Sunbelt handles the negotiations and represents the seller.
- CONTROL. The franchisor stays in control of how its businesses are marketed, the type of new owner selected and the organization's destiny.
- ADDED FEATURE. The franchisor can market Sunbelt as an additional feature or resource to both new and existing franchisees, illustrating concern for the entire life cycle of its owners.
- PRESENCE. Sunbelt offers dedicated national representation, unsurpassed local service, and a commitment to educate franchisees through franchisor shows and conventions.
DO YOUR FRANCHISEES HAVE A SUCCESSION PLAN?
The majority of small business owners have a common trait: they do not have a succession plan. For a franchise organization whose success is dependent on their franchisees, a non-existent, or ineffective succession plan wiil have negative effects on revenue, profits and franchise value. While most franchisors recommend vendors to their franchisees, they typically overlook recommending their franchisee's final, and arguably, their most important vendor - the one who assists them in selling their business.
At some time, every business will be available for sale. Given the ageing population trend, more businesses will become available for sale within the next decade than anytime in history. A knowledgeable resource that is ready to assist franchisees when that day arrives is in an organization's best interest. Since re-sale value is a clear indicator of a franchise's worth, all parties benefit from a maximum sale price that still allows the buyer to service debt, draw a salary and have a profitable return on investment each time a re-sale occurs.
Possessing the nation's largest pool of potential buyers, Sunbelt wiil find the right buyer based on the franchisor's desired buyer profile that will pay the right price for each re-sale.
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