Tips to Boost Your Company’s Attractiveness to Buyers [PODCAST]

When it is time to sell your company, you have to prepare on two fronts. A business owner has to prepare themselves personally for this major change while they also consider their company’s readiness for sale. 在最近的一集 交易摘要 podcast, Joe Hellman discussed owner readiness with business exit strategist advisor Julie Keyes. 凯斯是一个 经验丰富的商业顾问 还有一个 注册出口计划顾问 (CEPA)，也是这本书的作者，准备退出.”

In this follow-up episode, Joe and Julie discuss the business readiness process in M&A transactions and how that differs from owner readiness (the topic of the 第一集).

什么是业务准备?

You want to get the best possible deal when you sell your company, but you also need to make sure the business is actually transferable. 如果它太依赖于所有者, 现金没有流动, 领导层没有到位, sales are flat—issues like these can detract value from the business and make its transfer more challenging. That can be especially problematic when the marketplace is volatile, 就像过去一两年一样.

“香草卖不出去,凯斯警告说, especially if you plan to sell to a third party (as opposed to family or staff members). 而不是, to be transferable a business must offer a value proposition that is different, 异常, 班级最佳. So you can think of business readiness as a process of de-risking—identifying and removing potential barriers to transferability. 

你会收购你的公司吗?

如果答案是否定的，问问自己为什么. Your goal is to get ahead of any red flags a buyer might have. 取决于交易, 你可能没有时间解决所有问题, 但你至少可以解决一些问题.

For example, Keyes says the vast majority of her clients do not have a current, 工作策略计划. This tells a buyer you aren’t very serious about making your business successful and profitable. You can fix this with some simple but effective steps:

• Ask yourself, if you were sticking around, where would you take the business?
• Do a good, old-fashioned SWOT analysis with your leadership team
• 为成长和改进制定一个坚实的计划

放弃完全的控制

A business that cannot function without you is less desirable to a buyer. Owners are notoriously hesitant to relinquish control, but delegation—especially to a great leadership team—为公司的售后成功做好准备. 买家对此表示赞赏.

“Listen to the smart people around you,” cautions Keyes. “没有顾问知道所有问题的答案. 没有哪位企业主拥有所有问题的答案. But surrounding yourself with people who could have answers that you don’t have is the best foot forward toward dialing in the business end so it is both attractive and prepared for transition.”

发展你的业务以增加价值

You can boost revenue in the near term without spending a lot of money through horizontal, 垂直, 地理, 或者其他增长机会. 凯斯最喜欢水平和垂直的选项.  

“Horizontal growth is when you have a good solid database of clients or customers and you have other services and products that you could sell to them,凯斯说。. “So they're already on your warm list, you're already working with them. But there's a lot of opportunity to grow with the people who are already doing business with you.”

关于垂直方法, Keyes says a company should look at “Do you have capacity with your current staff, 用你的设备, 有你的空间. You have capacity to take on more business without adding on additional expense.”

重新审视营销和销售

Keyes often sees companies with what she describes as “broken” marketing and sales. There is no strategy, or there is no marketing at all. 该公司没有与营销公司合作. They might have a website, but there is no strategy for that, either. 如果网站是 生成, 他们不是好朋友. 销售人员在抱怨.

However, sales and marketing are the two things that actually drive revenue in a company. 其他的都是开销. So if your sales and marketing are not working, you are strictly an operations company. But what buyer cares if your operations run smoothly if you are the best-kept secret in town? 特别是如果你一直是推动销售的人. 你得找对人. 你必须有正确的策略. 

最终的想法

Owners should consider stopping having the business pay for personal expenses like cars, 手机, 或者季票. This is often an issue in smaller companies and it will help clean up a company’s financials.

Keyes also says look at your “owner dependency” and “Do a time study on yourself if you're really not sure what it is that you need to delegate.” She recommends tracking everything you do in 15-minute chunks over at least two weeks.

“It's just for you to look at and go, ‘Wow, I’ve got to get rid of some of these things’....If you're a smaller company and you're one of the main people that drive revenue in the business, we need to have someone else helping you with driving revenue. You can't be the face of the business or you won't be able to sell it.”

Keyes stresses that business owners should take a look at their company from a 买家的角度来看 而不是他们自己. “We’re all afraid someone is going to call our baby ugly,” she laughs. 它可能是. Look at it from a logical perspective versus an emotional perspective, 她建议, 对自己诚实, 所以你可以得到最好的退出结果.