這6件事 賣出公司前你一定要聽清楚

Selling a business is never an easy or simple process. However, the rewards can be great, and ultimately, life-changing, so if you do decide to sell there are six key things you need to be aware of that will help you prepare and maximize your chances of success. Getting it wrong before you start can ruin any hopes of a sale and can mean many months of your time wasted.

賣掉公司，過程絕不輕鬆，但回報也是巨大的，足以改變你後半生的生活。所以，如果你真的決定賣出自己的公司，務必要先搞清楚六件事。它可以幫你做足準備，最大限度地提高成功機率。而在這些事上行差踏錯，很可能會令你出售公司的全部希望盡毀，數月時間白白浪費。

While I specialize in the sale of online businesses and refer to those as examples, these points still apply to business sales whether offline or online. Experienced buyers will see straight through you and the business you are selling and will quickly pass over your offering if they see any red flags.

我的專長是網絡公司的轉讓出售，本文引用的案例也將來自這類公司，但其中要點同樣適用於非網絡公司的轉讓。有經驗的買家對你和你要出售的業務一眼就能看穿，一旦看出任何危險信號，他們根本就不會再理睬你的報價。

1. Buyers won’t pay more for potential.

1．買家不會爲了“潛力”多付錢。

I regularly speak to business owners who believe they have a potential gold mine and expect to command a high selling price based on perceived potential alone. This isn’t how it works. If a business is simply a concept without a proven revenue stream then there isn’t any value in the eyes of the vast majority of potential buyers.

對那些認爲自家公司是一座潛力無限的“金礦”，光憑這點就該賣個高價的老闆們，我要一遍遍地說：這套想法是行不通的。如果一門生意只是個理念，沒有已經證實的收入流，在大多數潛在買家眼中，它就沒有任何價值。

If they were interested in developing their own business from the ground up there are numerous resources to help them get started and they would not be looking to buy something already established in the first place. Buyers want to acquire something that is already successful, not an unproven concept.

如果買家有意從頭做起打造自己的業務，他們有很多啓動資源，無需花錢去買一家剛起步的公司。買家希望收購的是已經成功的公司，而不是一個未經證實的理念。

2. Buyers are interested in profits, not revenue.

2. 買家感興趣的是利潤，不是收入。

Another common misconception is that buyers are impressed with revenue figures. Sure, they can sound good, but when it comes down to it the only number that matters is the profit a business turns (see last week’s column for more on why revenue is a vanity metric). Take a look at these two scenarios:

另外一種常見的誤解是買家會被公司的收入數據所打動。確實，收入可能聽起來很美好，但歸根結底，真正重要的數據是一家公司的利潤。不妨看看以下兩例：

o Business A: $30,000 monthly revenue, $25,000 monthly expenses, $5,000 monthly profit and $60,000 annual profit.

o 公司A：月收入30,000美元，支出25,000美元，利潤5,000美元，一年利潤60,000美元。

o Business B: $10,000 monthly revenue, $1,000 monthly expenses, $9,000 monthly profit and $108,000 annual profit.

o 公司B：月收入10,000美元，支出1,000美元，利潤9,000美元，一年利潤108,000美元。

The monthly revenue for the first site is three times more than the second business, but the actual profit is almost half. Experienced business buyers want to see profit numbers, not revenue.

第一家公司每月的收入是第二家的三倍，但實際利潤差不多隻有後者的一半。有經驗的買家希望看到的是利潤數據，而不是收入。

3. Buyers expect verifiable financial claims.

3. 可檢驗的財務聲明才符合買家預期

If you are going to claim revenue from a specific source, you need to have verifiable proof. For example, if you are selling advertising space directly, be prepared to show invoices as well as bank statements that show matching deposits. If you are generating revenue through affiliate offers or third-party ad networks with an online business, be prepared to show deposit records and even access to your accounts online so both parties can see the accounts live. I advise clients to use TeamViewer or Skype as a practical way to verify financial claims on smaller business sales where using an accountant is not always practical or cost-effective.

如果你要宣稱擁有一筆特定來源的收入，就要拿出證據。比如，要是你在直接出售廣告位，準備好出示發票和能顯示相應收款的銀行對賬單。要是你的收入來自會員服務或第三方廣告網絡，準備好出示收款記錄，甚至是在線登入你的賬戶，以便讓雙方都可以看到你賬戶上的實時情況。在規模較小的商業交易中，聘用一位會計師往往既不方便也不實惠，我建議客戶用遠程軟件TeamViewer或Skype來證實財務狀況。

4. Don’t live in the past.

4. 不要活在過去。

The previous success of a business is largely irrelevant at the time of sale, especially if it has been struggling lately. Buyers are interested in recent performance (usually the last 12 months) and future sustainability and viability, especially if you operate in a dynamic space (such as with websites). I commonly hear sellers talk about how successful their business was in the past after a recent drop and “all it needs is a little work to get back on track”.

一家公司過往的輝煌歷史在出售時往往沒有多大意義，尤其是如果它近來已經身陷困境多時。買家感興趣的是公司近期的表現（通常爲過去12個月）和未來的可持續性與生存能力，特別是當你的公司處於一個不斷變化的領域的時候（比如互聯網）。我經常聽到賣方說，儘管最近業務下滑了，但自己的公司過去是多麼成功，“只要輕微一點努力便可以讓其重回正軌。”

Unfortunately, buyers don’t see it this way. They aren’t interested in fixing and recovering your business, especially if you are expecting them to pay a premium. However, don’t be afraid to show previous years if the business has been growing steadily. Buyers love to see growing revenue and profit figures, especially if you have already made future plans for the business that seem realistic based on past performance.

可惜的是，買方並不這麼看。他們沒有興趣對你的公司修修補補，更別指望他們會爲此支付溢價。但如果你的公司一直在穩定增長，大膽展示之前的成就吧。買方喜歡看到不斷上升的收入和利潤數據，如果你還根據之前的業績制定了看上去可行的未來規劃，那將對買家更有吸引力。

5. Honesty is the best policy.

5. 誠實是最有效的策略。

The truth is going to always surface, so be upfront about everything from the beginning. Experienced investors understand that every business is going to have positives and negatives. There is no such thing as a perfect business.

真相總有水落石出的那天，所以從最開始就要將所有事情說清楚。有經驗的投資者能理解每門生意都有優缺點。世界上不存在完美的生意。

If you are honest and transparent from the start there is less risk of a deal going sour because the buyer uncovered something during due diligence that wasn’t accurate or an instance where the truth was stretched. Honesty is the best policy in all business transactions and selling any business is no different.

如果你從最開始便能做到誠實透明，便可以大幅降低買家在盡職調查時發現事實不準確或被誇大，從而導致交易失敗的風險。在任何商業交易中，誠實都是最有效的策略，轉讓公司也不例外。

6. Expect to answer a lot of questions.

6. 準備好回答許多問題。

Businesses — especially those run 100 percent online — are forever becoming more popular, with so many people looking to become independent and quit their nine-to-five jobs. Consequently, it has lead to a lot of inexperienced buyers inquiring about businesses for sale, which can be a significant time drain, unless you use a broker whose job is to handle questions and vet buyers for you. Selling yourself will lead to a lot of questions — and you need to be prepared to answer them all, regardless of how simple they may sound.

做買賣，尤其是互聯網領域的買賣會越來越熱門，有太多人渴望不受約束，告別朝九晚五的生活。最終，這將導致許多經驗不足的買家打聽待售的公司。回答這些問題會耗費大量時間，除非你聘用經紀公司負責處理這些問題，幫你審查買家。賣掉公司本身會帶來很多問題——你需要做好回答這些問題的準備，不論它們聽起來可能是多麼簡單。

Never judge a buyer. You never know whom you are dealing with or the buying power they possess. Someone asking what appears to be a simple question could potentially be a buyer that is new to the specific industry and have deep pockets for investing. Experienced buyers will often hammer the seller with questions in an attempt to turn up inconsistencies and red flags.

不要對買家指指點點。你永遠不知道與自己打交道的是誰，或他們具備怎樣的購買力。問着看起來很簡單問題的人，或許是對某個行業不夠了解但財力雄厚的大買主。有經驗的買家常用的一招——就是用反覆提問轟炸賣方，以圖找出你回答中的前後矛盾之處和那些危險信號。（財富中文網）