When you decide to sell your FedEx Ground route, you have two choices: you can attempt to sell it yourself or you can list your FedEx Ground route with a broker. Why would you list your route with a broker rather than selling it yourself? Well, there are a lot of reasons.
Think of it like selling your home: you can do a “For Sale by Owner” scenario, but there are a lot of legal issues, vetting of buyers, appraisals, inspections, and more that you need to handle. That can not only take a lot of time, but it can involve areas where you have little or no knowledge.
This difference is even greater when you are selling any business including a FedEx Ground Route. There are a lot of steps involved and selling your route can turn into a full time job. In the meantime, you still have to run your route profitably and well, or it will not be worth as much when it is time to sell.
Here are five of the many reasons you should list your FedEx ground route with a broker.
1. Brokers are the Experts
Frist of all, route brokers are experts at doing two very important things: making sure routes are ready to sell, and that the owner knows and understands the value and what someone will pay for their route, and to find qualified buyers at the right time and in the right place.
In other words, they are experts at bringing sellers and buyers together so that they get the best deal, and the deal is conducted in a timely and legal manner, that all money is transferred from one party to the other correctly (just like when you purchase a home or make another large purchase), and that all the paperwork is processed as it should be.
Because of the nature of FedEx Ground routes, FedEx has rules that must be followed as well. Brokers know those rules well, and how to get their clients to the place where they comply with all the requirements necessary to purchase a route.
This is good news for both buyers and sellers.
2. Hiring a Broker Saves You Time
Finding a buyer for your route takes time, and that is just the first of many processes involved in selling your route. You would need to list your route for sale on several websites to have the best chance of selling, and when someone shows interest, you need to make sure they are qualified to purchase your route.
All of these things, even before you get to the paperwork and the closing process take a lot of time. Because this is what brokers do, they have processes in place to do them quickly. For you, you’ll have to learn as you go, taking even more time.
And that time has to come from somewhere. You either take time away from your route (which may mean paying someone else to run it unless you already have a driver in place), time away from your family, or time away from sleep and other necessities. It’s not that you can’t learn these things and sell a route on your own: it’s that most route owners don’t have the time or desire to do so.
3. Listing Your FedEx Ground Route with a Broker Saves You Money
How much is your route worth? How do you know? How much is the equipment that comes with your route, from trucks to hand carts and other supplies, worth? What have other routes that are of a similar size and location to yours sold for? What are other market factors that might influence how much someone will pay for your route?
Figuring out the actual value of your route is the first step in listing it on various websites, reaching out to buyers, and more. Often listing on those sites costs money, and it may not be worth it. A broker knows where and how to list your route to get the best responses so you don’t waste money (and more time) on a site that is not worthwhile.
4. A Route Broker Can Sell Your Route Faster
Because a route broker understands the process of selling a FedEx route and selling businesses in general, they can avoid steps that waste time. They don’t spend time on the wrong buyer who isn’t qualified. They can help make sure your paperwork is in order to speed the process of due diligence where the buyer determines if what you claim about your business is actually true.
They also know the process of getting buyers and drivers approved by FedEx and can ensure your buyer is qualified quickly. They can help you work through a transition plan, and how you will hand the route over to a new owner quickly and easily.
This may be the only time in your life you sell a FedEx route or any kind of business. A broker does this all the time, and they will work faster and more efficiently than you can on your own.
5. A Route Broker is a Great Teammate
When selling any business, there can be a lot of people involved from accountants to lawyers, from bankers and other financial institutions to mechanics and consultants. A route broker knows these individuals and how to work together with them to make the sale of your route a success.
It takes a team to make a route, and the sale of a route, successful. The broker is a great teammate who can coordinate the efforts of other team members and make sure things are happening in the order and the timing they should.
When you’re ready to list your FedEx Ground route with a broker, we want to be your partner. Contact us today here at Route Advisors. We’ll be with you every step of the way.