After spending so much time, money and effort perfecting your ecommerce site, it can be difficult to know when to walk away. But for some business owners, the end goal of ecommerce is handing over the reigns to someone else and enjoying the profits and rewards of their hard work.
But knowing when to sell your site, who to sell it to and how much to sell it for can be a mine field…
Should you sell your site?
First things first, you need to decide whether selling up is the right choice for you. Do you find yourself becoming bored with your current site? Or do you resent spending time on the website? Maybe you just want to cash out and move on to new opportunities.
If your site generates consistent revenue, has few regular expenses and optimised revenue streams, then you’re ready to start selling. Closing a door on one business and moving onto to new things should be exciting and something you’re ready to do.
Before taking the first step and putting your site on the market, you need to have a clear idea in mind of how much you want to sell it for.
How much is your site worth?
There’s no set way to determine the exact amount you should expect to get for your website. But using a general formula and taking a look at your site’s performance, you can figure out a range that you should expect to get for the sale.
Typically, the equation used to work out sale prices is your monthly net profit average multiplied by a factor between 20-50. That multiple is determined by a variety of criteria and there are a number of things you can do to increase the it…
Increase average net profit
Clearly, the higher the average net profit, the more your site will be worth. Increasing your net profit and reducing business costs is a sure-fire way to increase your cash-flow, making your site more valuable.
Reduce expenses
Items that you may have charged onto the business account may not actually be relevant, such as drinks and meals. Covering these expenses yourself and refunding the business can help to increase your net profit.
Boost revenue streams
If your site is reliant on one single revenue stream, it may not be as attractive to a buyer. Conversely, if you’re diversified, with product income and advertising, for example, your multiple will increase.
Stand out on social media
Having a solid following, including good interaction with customers is a must-have in ecommerce. Proving to potential buyers that your social media accounts can drive real traffic and leads to your site is definitely going to help boost your multiple.
Limit the time needed
Chances are, if your ecommerce site takes up 40 hours a week to run properly, not many buyers are going to be interested. Automating as many aspects of your site as possible, as well as developing a solid team will make your site a lot more attractive.
Increase your site worth with Fluid Digital
Are you struggling to make the necessary changes to boost your site’s value? Fluid Digital are here to help. Our team of ecommerce specialists can help fine-tune your site and your ecommerce operation more broadly, to drive traffic, increase profits and make your site more attractive to buyers.
For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – or head over to our LinkedIn page, where you can keep up to date with the latest ecommerce trends, along with tips and tricks for improving your site. You’ll have all the information you need to make your site irresistible to buyers in no time.