As a business owner, there are a lot of areas of responsibility in which you need to collect and utilize basic knowledge beyond the product or service you are providing. This is where professional consulting through a company like UconsignEquip can prove beneficial.
If you use trucks, trailers or heavy machinery equipment in your business, there will come a time you will need to disperse older or underutilized equipment.
If you’re replacing it with new, you could go directly to a dealer and negotiate a trade-in. This is definitely the quickest option, but it almost always drops the value of your trade-in, resulting in a decreased ROI.
Depending on the market, the auction is another option – if you don’t have a reserve bid set, it will likely sell at auction, but you cannot guarantee the price, and the cost to bring it to auction reduces your return even more.
The best way to get a better return is to sell privately. But if you’re not in the business of sales, this means investing a lot of time and money into advertising, negotiating with unqualified buyers, and ensuring proper transfer of ownership.
Here are some of the major challenges you will face when selling privately.
Setting the price
If you aren’t up-to-date on market values for your listings, it can be difficult to arrive at an accurate price and you could run the risk of either overvaluing or undervaluing.
Sellers often make the mistake of thinking if someone is interested they will call. However first impressions can make or break a deal, preventing the buyer from reaching out if they see its overvalued.
How to advertise
It’s all about presentation, if you can answer the buyers questions on your advertisement by providing detailed & precise specifications to show value to potential buyers. Along with clean, crisp and detailed photos then you can eliminate a LOT of wasted time answering simple questions and requests on your listings.
There’s the traditional, handwritten “For Sale By Owner” sign you can stake in your yard, or hang off the back of your truck. This may work for potential buyers in your designated region, but it does nothing to promote your truck in a distant region where there is a higher need and as a result higher prices and quicker sales.
There are lots of places where ‘free’ advertising is offered, but savvy sellers take the paid route, which means your freebee ad falls well below the fold, and can be difficult for buyers to find. And which ones have the best audiences of buyers in the market for your specific piece of machinery equipment? That’s a lot of research that will take trial & error to detrmine the most cost effective route.
Identifying a qualified buyer
What is a qualified buyer? One who is prepared to pay for your equipment, either with supported pre-financing or cash, one who is prepared to pay for transportation, and one who is prepared to make a timely decision.
Qualifying buyers takes experience, due diligence and patience. Not qualifying them can be expensive and time consuming.
Closing the deal
The sales process is complex and each side needs to protect itself. Buyers need to ensure that there are no liens on the equipment they are purchasing. Which may seem trivial compared to the most important aspect for them in making a decision to pursue the sale; once they complete their due diligence to ensure the unit is in a condition they can manage.
For sellers, the negotiation with any conditions laid out by the seller, requesting buyouts and lien discharges can be a daunting task and getting paid are all time consuming and crucial aspects of closing the deal.
How to Mitigate Obstacles in Selling Privately
Upgrade your private sale with trusted assistance, from UconsignEquip. Our professional selling agents are market-savvy, know how and where to advertise your equipment for best sale price and quickest sale, are diligent when vetting potential buyers and know how to close the deal quickly and efficiently.
We look forward to working with you to manage your truck, trailer and machinery fleet so you can stay focused on running your business.