In your rental biz, you probably have an ideal client in mind as you make decisions about new pieces to buy and ways to market your services. This strategy applies to selling your business, too! You’ll want to position your rental biz to appeal to your ideal buyer—the buyer that best fits the soul and style of your company.
First, we’ll talk about the different types of buyers that purchase specialty rental businesses. Then we’ll take a look at strategies to attract each kind.
Of course, there are buyers that don’t quite fit into one of these five molds. But having these “personas” in mind can help you understand how to position your business.
The Vendor
The first persona we’ll look at is The Vendor. This is an individual already in the event industry who wants to offer rentals to their existing clientele. This could be a wedding planner, DJ, caterer, venue, photographer…someone who is already servicing your same clients and wants to have an additional stream of revenue.
Rentals are the most lucrative specialty in the event industry. A photographer can only be in one place at one time. A venue can only host one client in their space. But rentals can be in multiple places at once, making you money in three, ten, twenty places where you don’t physically need to be.
The Competitor
The Competitor is another rental business in your market. They will be drawn to your inventory because they’ll be able to add a huge chunk of new pieces to their collection in one go.
By purchasing your business, The Competitor is getting rid of their competition while doubling (or more) their business.
The Big Box
Rental companies that supply all the party basics—plastic tables and chairs, speakers, tents, generators—are what we call “big box” rental companies. The Big Box buyer is interested in expanding their reach with a specialty rental branch. They are attracted to your specially-curated collection all wrapped up with a bow. The Big Box might also be interested in your brand if they want to add your business as a sister company (e.g. Beautiful Boutique Rentals by ABC Events).
The Stranger
Your buyer could be someone completely outside of the event industry. This could be an individual or a couple who sees your listing somewhere like businessesforsale.com. They will likely be attracted to your business because they foresee being able to make a profit without needing to be super hands-on. Often times, The Stranger is someone who has experience buying/selling businesses in the past.
This buyer is great if you are looking to sell your business quickly and don’t have time to whip it into shape.
The Bride
You might have had a client who loved your collection and can see themselves running a business like yours. The Bride wants to create beauty just like you did on her special day. She wants to buy more beautiful inventory and create gorgeous events. Profit is not number one on her priority list—designing is.
Now that you know a bit about each persona, let’s talk about marketing strategies to attract your ideal buyer.
The Vendor will love the scalability of your business. They want a turnkey solution—a business that is already working. You’ll want to showcase how big and successful your brand is and how it can bring more clients to their existing brand. They’ll be attracted to your SOPs, crew, organized warehouse, equipment, trucks—revenue on a silver platter!
The Competitor is mainly interested in your inventory. They are also interested in your market share. They’ll be able to double or triple their sales by acquiring your business. The Competitor won’t need your SOPs or support systems. Depending on the positioning of each of your businesses, they might merge their brand into yours or vice versa.
The Big Box company wants your specialized collection. You’ll want to emphasize the utilization of your pieces and the return on investment you experienced. RW Elephant can get you those numbers with a few different reports:
The Stranger is in for a fixer upper. They want to purchase a business that is running but has room for improvement. To position your business for The Stranger, emphasize the untapped potential of your business. For example, available market share that you haven’t captured, scaling potential that you haven’t realized, and utilization opportunities for your current collection beyond your historical numbers. Potential is the name of the game.
The Bride is attracted to the creative side of your business. She’ll be interested in your collection first and foremost. Emphasize that she can be as involved as she wants to be in the styling process—she gets to keep planning her wedding! Make it clear that you’ll share your buying sources and introduce her to all your vendor and referral relationships.
It’s totally possible that you’ll be marketing to more than one type of buyer at any given time. You can create multiple versions of your One-Sheet to distribute in different places. If you want help creating a One-Sheet, fill out this form so we can give you a hand!
Want help strategizing about what kind of buyer(s) would be best for you to pursue? Schedule a paid consulting call with me!
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Happy renting!
