OPEN LISTINGS - BAD IDEA!
"OPEN LISTING" It sounds great to a business owner who's listening to a broker say "hey, just sign here and there is no obligation unless we bring you a buyer." It seems like the perfect business model for a business owner wanting to sell their business and make absolutely no obligation to the broker. What could be better than making absolutely no commitment to a broker other than you'll pay a commission if the broker brings a buyer. Sounds like a free meal to me.
As a child, I was taught there is no such thing as a free meal and let me tell you why "Open Listings" are a bad idea for your business.
First, most business brokerages usually sell more than just restaurants. They sell hair salons, lube franchises, adult video stores, meat processing plants, waste companies, internet companies, etc. Can you imagine your restaurant being thrown in with those businesses? Either could I! That's one of the reasons I specialize in restaurants. They are special businesses and deserve a firm that knows your business!
Second, when the "open listing" broker places your listing on the market, you're business has just become part of the heard of cattle they process through their "plant." There will be nothing special about your business. The broker spends little time learning about your business. Your business for sale has just become another listing to add to the broker's pile of listings. No special analysis is done. No special prep work. No fact collecting of checking. In the brokerage business this is called using the shot-gun approach to marketing...if you shoot a bunch of listings out there, a couple are bound to sell. We personalize every restaurant with photos, full evaluations, questionaires and disclosures. We know you business by the time we're done.
Third, little marketing is spent on your business with virtually no real effort going into finding a buyer. Again, these brokers rely on massive number of listings resulting in a few deals. I recently had Frank F. , the owner of Mr. Pickles franchise, call me about an open listing he did. He asked the broker what kind of marketing the agent was doing. The agent tells him "oh, the usual." Mr. Pickles asked again,"exactly what are you doing for me?" And the agent had no ligitimate answer. Mr. Pickles came to us.
By hiring a professional restaurant broker, you get your business intelligently valued; well prepared for market; well marketed along with other restaurants that attract serious restaurant buyers, and; most important, your business is confidentially marketed.
At SellingRestaurants, we work hard at finding you a qualified buyer. Our technology keep's you in the game with us. Ask one of our agents what that means!
Contact us at 800.576.3615
We at SellingRestaurants feel obligated to educate the public, our customers and our clients with information that can help them make more intelligent buying and selling decisions.
Mel Jones is one of the premier restaurant brokers in the nation having published hundreds of articles on buying and selling a restaurant and bar business, selling thousands of restaurants in CA., WA and AZ and building one of the most copied business models in the brokerage industry. Mel started SellingRestaurants in 2004 with the one simple concept, give the buyers the information they need to make intelligent buying decisions without being pestered by a broker or hiding information, prepare the business for market by researching key details that make or break deals and educate the buyer on the buying process to create an intelligent buyer. Prior to SellingRestaurants, Mel was a Chief Financial Officer for Universal Music Group, the largest music company in the world. There he participated in more than $11.5 billion of merger and acquisition transactions. He also work for top companies such as Nestle Foods, USA. He hold a Bachelors in Business Administration Finance as well as attended Law School at Gonzaga University. Give Mel a call at 480.274.7000.