I was talking with a colleague last night about the challenges of selling their newsagency. They have been in the game for ten years and want to purchase a bigger newsagency. Their business has been on the market for three months with little interest shown. He says it’s because of the market. I am not so sure. I’ll share below what I suggested he do in response to his request for suggestions on how to get more interest:
From the front of the shop through to the back make sure the business looks appealing to customers, that it is easy to navigate and that it does not feel cluttered.
Clean, clean and clean. You cannot clean too much.
Take all your stationery off the shelves and put it back on, neater and better laid out.
Make sure all your employees have clean and fresh uniforms.
Have flyers going out in bags as customers leave – show that promoting the business is easy. I good flyer to have while you’re selling the business is a two page A5 size flyer promoting your business as local, friendly and there to serve the community. People like to belong and they are more likely to buy a business which is well connected.
Make sure all your lights are working and are turned on.
Have appropriate music playing.
Reengineer your back room – make it look like a GREAT place to work.
Get on top of your paperwork – make the business look easy to run.
Have a good system in place for employee communication – so you can show that managing the team is straightforward.
Bring in a visual merchandiser to freshen your in store displays and make the shop look sexy – this is just like bringing in rental furniture for a display home. People need to see the possibilities.
This is by no means definitive list. Post your comments with other suggestions and maybe we could create a formal advice sheet.
Selling a newsagency is like selling a home. It has to look appealing – where people would want to ‘live’. If it doesn’t, they will move on to the next store available.
Of course, some buyers don’t want to see any of this because they get pleasure from turning a scruffy poorly run business into a local hero.
Fantastic suggestions … many newsagents could take these on board not just for selling their business but to simple help improve the business they plan to keep.
Personally im one of the latter people you talk of. Run down businesses often provide greater opportunity for growth, making them a more profitable investment.