How to Create a Business Listing that Gets Attention

Although selling your business is almost inevitable, it can be a difficult and emotional process. Not only are there a multitude of factors to consider but selling the business you worked tirelessly on, is an intensely personal decision.

After all the hard work building, growing, elevating and establishing your business to become a focal point in your local community, you’ve decided that now is the best time for you to cash in and be rewarded for all your efforts by selling up shop – and rightly so!

But before creating your listing you must ensure that your business is seller ready. You should have all the documents and information ready. 

When a listing is priced reasonably, marketed effectively, and the business description answers any questions a buyer could possibly have, a great listing can practically sell itself.

To achieve this, you need inspiring ad copy that will grab a buyer’s attention, motivate them into action and decide to make a purchasing decision right then and there. 

So, how do you create the perfect business listing, geared towards selling for the highest possible amount? Fortunately, as your resident experts, we’ve outlined below all the factors to include so you can maximise your business listing’s potential.

Listing Title & Category:  

Matching a buyer’s search intent and criteria are the most important factors which prompt them to view your listing. 

Here are some tricks to consider when writing a title for your business listing:

Research Competing Listings: A quick google search or browse through our industry-specific listings here at Eden Exchange, can yield businesses for sale with similar features as your own. Make note of the language and keywords they use in their listings. 

Be straightforward: Keep it short and simple, a title under 8 words should do the trick

Be Descriptive: Incorporating powerful, emotive words evoke a reaction from viewers and encourage them to take action. 

Listing Description:  

With hundreds of businesses being listed for sale each and every week, buyers have an endless supply of opportunities to pursue. 

To ensure your business sells, it is important to treat your listing description as a pitch to buyers, including as many details, benefits and unique selling points as possible. 

Do you see the difference between these two descriptions? Which one would you find more enticing to click on? 

• This café located in Melbourne CBD is for sale. Many great benefits for purchasing. Contact me for more information
• Renowned café located in the heart of Melbourne CBD is now for sale! With an established business formula, robust training and ongoing management support, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that is hard to give up. If you love coffee or need a career change, this low cost, high growth business will definitely be the fix you need. 

Your description should create an image in the reader’s mind. Well crafted listings draw buyers in and help them visualise what their life will look like after purchasing the business. 

The fine balance between storytelling and providing essential information motivate buyers to take action immediately. 

Remember to only include enticing and relevant information – avoid cliches and redundancy – and it is recommended that any unnecessary jargon gets left out, to keep your listing precise. 

Here are some important details you could consider including in your listing: 

• About the business
• Revenue and profit
• Asking Price
• Opportunity Overview
• Key Strengths 
• Business Highlights
• Property information
• Business operations

While it is important to be transparent, if there are certain details you’d prefer to speak about in private, disclosing that in your listing could encourage buyers to contact you directly. 

Utilise Keywords

Include keywords that buyers will be on the lookout for. Doing this can maximise your listing and make it stand out from competing listings. It’s also incredibly beneficial for industry-specific buyers – especially if your business is of a particular niche.

This could entail keywords relating to the features of your business, or descriptive keywords that influence buyers to visualise and evoke emotions in them. 

Examples could include,

Feature Keywords:

• Franchise
• Private building 
• Company Vehicles 
• Large team of staff
• Top grade equipment
• Located in city centre

Descriptive Keywords:

• Low cost
• High profit 
• Successful 
• Independence
• Community – staple
• Low Maintenance

Key Strengths: Show Off Your Unique Features 

Identifying your unique point of difference is crucial to getting your business sold. Much like how irresistible deals and great reviews encourage customers to purchase from your store, 

a strong value proposition, makes your business stand out from competing listings, increasing it’s saleability 

Flesh out the unique characteristics of your business. Consider what makes you different from your competitors, what value your business can give to a buyer, and what sets your offerings apart.

Once you pinpoint the specialties of your business, make sure to highlight it in your listing! 

Here are some features you could consider:

• Location 
• Pricing Strategy 
• Business Model
• Branding
• Marketing 
• Customer satisfaction
• Service Offering
• Product Offering 
• Innovation
• Status
• Growth potential

Photos: 

Humans are visual creatures, we like being able to see and feel our options. When browsing online, the average shopper needs to see four photos of a product, to consider a purchase.

Listing a business online means, buyers cannot take a look at your store or have a face to face conversation with you right away. A lack of imagery could cause unnecessary hesitancy and distrust for buyers, potentially reducing the leads for your business. 

This is why high quality pictures, showing off the best aspects of your business are much more effective at communicating information compared to large blocks of text.

For example, how many times have you browsed eBay, Gumtree or any other listings site and seen an ad that had pixelated images and 144p videos? And how many times have you scrolled straight passed said listings? 

When it comes to listing your business, you’ll want to provide good quality images and videos, and it might even be worth enlisting the services of photography or video production professionals.

Of the 15,000+ businesses sold on our platform, we’ve learned that the best photos that will help your business sell include: 

• Exterior shot – What the business looks like from the outside, and its surrounding areas
• Inside shot – photos of the business’ interior design, equipment,  assets and features unique to the business
• Staff – Photos of you and your employees in uniform, completing work duties and helping customers
• Branding – Banners, posters, uniforms, merchandise and vehicles. Basically anything that has your branding, tagline or signage on it!
• Advertisements – Any previous marketing/information photos or videos of your business can also be helpful to include 

Contact Information

Your contact information is a crucial component of the business listing. If all goes well, it’s likely that you will have many eager buyers wanting to enquire about your business opportunity as soon as possible. 

Outlining the best mode of contact, and your availability, can prevent any potential communications problems that may arise and potentially scupper an opportunity to sell.

Consider adding these details to your listing: 

• The best phone number to reach you (can be personal or business number)
• Your email address
• Business address and trading hours 
• Any business related website or social media pages

Remember to stay responsive. Buyers can become disinterested if their enquiries go unanswered for an unreasonable amount of time. Always aim to respond to messages, calls and emails within a 24-48 hour timeframe. 

Final Revision

Congratulations! You’re almost done. 

Now that all the heavy work has been done, it’s time to do a final revision.

Before publishing your listing, make sure to check all the fine print and ensure your ad has all of the following: 

• Correct spelling and grammar
• Working links 
• All information and claims are factually correct
• Attachments are easily accessible
• Any photos and videos included are high resolution 
• Phone numbers, email addresses are correct 

Listing Complete

You’re all done! 

By following this guide, you are sure to have a compelling business listing, guaranteed to bring in hundreds if not thousands of potential buyers and command a strong position when it comes to selling for top dollar. 

It can take anywhere from 3-9 months to sell a business, so remember to stay patient, as it won’t happen overnight, but remain vigilant to answer any and all enquiries if and when they come up – because chances are, these buyers are looking at other businesses as well. 

If the listing process seems daunting or you require further advice and assistance, book a free business consultation with one of our seasoned experts today – and sell your business for top dollar tomorrow!