Business Buyers - Their First Visit To Your Location

Eventually, you will want your best prospects to visit your business in person so they can tour the facilities.

A good site visit can go a long way in creating enthusiasm in the buyer and it can help to distinguish your business from all the other businesses that the buyer is considering.

You want to make sure that you do all the necessary preparation to make the visit as productive as possible.

You also want to make sure that you only conduct a tour of your site for the very best prospects.

Too many sellers make the mistake of hosting visits from buyers at the very beginning - before the buyer has even read their selling memorandum.

The proper time for the buyer to visit your business in person is after they have received your selling memorandum, had some time to digest it and ask you some follow up questions.

Not only will you save time and protect your confidentiality, but the in-person meetings you do hold will be much more productive because the buyer will be properly prepared when he arrives.

Preparation

Take some time to spruce up the appearance of your location. Even small things like discarding useless office equipment and cleaning up the reception area can have a big effect on the overall impression you make on the buyer

From the time the buyer first hears about your business, they will try to picture in their mind what it actually looks like. This image is likely to be an idealized one - it will look in their mind's eye exactly how the wish it to look.

Obviously, you can't make everything about your facilities perfect, but you don't want that moment when they first lay eyes on your location to be a let down. So do everything you reasonably can to make the physical location as attractive as possible.

Pride of ownership is a big factor in the buyer's decision making process. While you are undoubtedly proud of your business, it's also possible that over the years you have let things slip a little when it comes to organization and cleanliness. If so, admit it and take steps to improve things.

Scheduling The Meeting

In most cases you will want to meet with your prospect for the first time after-hours or on the weekend. You want to be able to devote your undivided attention to them. The fewer interruptions the better.

However, it may be to your advantage to have the prospect see the business while it’s open - in the case of a busy restaurant or retail store for example.

If this is the case you can have the prospect come by just for a look. You can schedule a more detailed sit-down meeting later.

If the buyer insists on seeing the business while it is open (and he is a really strong prospect) you may be forced to conduct the complete tour during business hours. Just be sure he knows you are concerned about confidentiality and that he should not speak with any employees or customers about why he is there.

Make sure that when you sit down with the prospect for the first in-depth meeting that you will not be disturbed and that you have set aside plenty of time.

Nothing is more destructive than to have a meeting that is going well be cut short because either of you has another appointment. Sometimes you can’t get that level of enthusiasm back that you had been able to achieve in a previous meeting.

Tomorrow I will discuss what to do when the buyer actually arrives at your business.

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