Reaching Out For Leads To Make A Sale

In Wisconsin, all licensed residential, commercial, and business sales people begin by completing the same course work to receive a Wisconsin real estate salesperson’s license.  By the end of every even-numbered year, each one of us must have completed required continuing education courses in order to keep our license current.

But beyond that, we often go our separate ways, focusing on the specialty we choose and the scope of our knowledge.  Those of us who become business intermediaries (assisting with the buying, selling, or merging of businesses) have to understand business valuations, balance sheets, inventory and machinery appraisals, private equity groups, and more.  With companies from $250,000 to five million and beyond, the process of selling a business generally takes a lot longer than a residential home sale, and our territory can be anywhere throughout the state.

Sometimes real estate is involved, but often, a business rents its facilities, so real estate is not a factor.  However, I believe that local residential real estate agents can be a big help in finding buyers for business listings.  They know their community very well and the people in it.  They are aware of who works in various industries or professions. They always have an eye out for leads and for buying/selling connections.  I like to get to know local residential sales people in the areas where I have business listings.

Currently, our firm has a restaurant/bar listed for sale in Sheboygan…a really charming city on Lake Michigan.  With information and sales sheets in hand, I visited each of the residential real estate firms there, meeting with brokers and agents to tell them about the restaurant (which they all had frequented).  Every person was welcoming and interested.  As real estate licensees, we are able to offer a referral fee to another agent who leads us to a buyer.  Referral fees are a great incentive that I can use to get more “feet on the ground” in the buyer search.

For me, relationship building is an important part of my business.   If you would like more information about the buying, selling, or merging of a business, please give me a call.   I would enjoy getting to know you and to answer your questions. Gary Van Sistine, 920-621-3990