WOULD YOU SELL YOUR BUSINESS TODAY BASED ON 2019 VALUATIONS?
OPERATORS: TRY THESE TEN NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
While we have barely put the noisemakers away, mergers and acquisitions are already starting to happen! If your goal is to build a more valuable and more profitable company in 2021, especially if you have an eye on selling your business, here are 10 New Year’s resolutions to consider:
1. Stop chasing revenue. A bigger account is not necessarily a more valuable one if the sales come from battered margins and a constant reliance on your management team to keep the client happy.
2. Start surveying your customers using my Net Promoter Score methodology. This valuable tool offers a fast and easy way for your customers to give you feedback, and it is predictive of your company’s growth in the future. I will be happy to share it with you.
3. Sell more stuff to less people. The most valuable companies focus on “building the ticket” at each location. Selling 20 products to 10 locations is more profitable than selling 4 products to 50 locations. In those low volume accounts – RAISE prices. What do you have to lose?
4. Drop the clients that depend on you too much and require constant hand holding. So often, 70 percent of your customer service effort is spent serving clients that are not among the top 30% of your locations. Take a long look at your client list and determine which locations are draining your valuable time and energy – without an appropriate ROI. If you must keep those clients – raise their prices!
5. Focus on receivables. Turn a negative cash flow cycle into a positive one, boost your business’s value and lessen your stress load. Do not underestimate the importance of improving your client’s payment patterns by a few days. You will sleep better!
NOW AVAILABLE - ORDER MY FREE 2021 EXIT STRATEGY PLANNER
6. Create more recurring revenue. Predictable sales from rentals or renewing contracts mean less stress in the short term and a more valuable business over the long run. Buyers love contracts and rentals. These are two things that provide some welcome predictability.
7. Be different. Refine your marketing strategy to emphasize the point of differentiation that customers value. Be relentless in highlighting this advantage on social media. You typically post – “look what we did, just like everybody else.” Instead, post something that says, “Look at what we did and because it is innovative, here is the problem it will solve for you.”
8. Find a backup supplier for your most critical products. Consider placing a small order to establish a commercial relationship and diversify the sources of your most-difficult-to-find materials. We certainly found out about potential supply chain issues in 2020.
9. Teach them to fish. Answer almost every employee question with “What would you do if you owned the business?” Your goal should be to cultivate employees who think like owners so they can start answering their own questions without coming to you.
10. Create an instruction manual. Document your most important processes so your employees can do their work independently. Learning on the job is not a training program. Take some time to develop a more academic approach to training.
Buyers come to me because they know that I serve sellers who have thoroughly and thoughtfully considered their exit strategy with my help. That is the type of seller that you want to be – a seller who has their ducks in order, has taken steps to make their business as attractive as possible and a seller who values their employees enough to make a deal that everyone will feel good about.
Take that critical first step. That is often the toughest one to take.
That is why I offer free resources like the 2021 Exit Strategy Planner. I want you to have your eyes wide open when you consider whether it is time to sell your business.
NOW AVAILABLE - ORDER MY FREE 2021 EXIT STRATEGY PLANNER
Buyers come to me because they know that I serve sellers who have thoroughly and thoughtfully considered their exit strategy with my help. That is the type of seller that you want to be – a seller who has their ducks in order, has taken steps to make their business as attractive as possible and a seller who values their employees enough to make a deal that everyone will feel good about.
Take that critical first step. That is often the toughest one to take.
Order my free 2021 Exit Strategy Planner. At the very least, it will provoke some thought, and this is a good time to think about your future.
Why make VBB Advisors a part of your team?
There are at least three very good reasons to talk to me about being a part of your team for this important chapter of your business journey.
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Experience – I have done more significant deals than any other business broker in our industry.
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Access to buyers – Throughout the pandemic, I have been in ongoing discussions with potential buyers, from both inside and outside the industry.
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We are a sell side broker – We only represent the seller. Everything we do is on behalf of the seller.
Whatever your reasons are to sell your company - the timing, the current frustration, the desire to enjoy life or an interest in rewarding yourself for years of hard work – VBB Advisors can help you realize your goals.
I am Mike Kelner, the leading sell side intermediary in the convenience services industry. Contact me for a confidential conversation and to explore the possibilities.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Find out what buyers will pay for your business today.
OUR PROCESS
We specialize in sell-side advisory services and mergers & acquisitions. Our focus is on maximizing the realized value on behalf of our clients. VBB manages the entire process from valuing your business, assembling
information, to qualifying prospective buyers, through due diligence, legal documents and closing. Our process is entirely confidential in order to protect the interests of our clients.
OTHER SERVICES
Business Valuations. VBB business valuations are based on financial analysis and actual market comparables producing extremely accurate estimates of value.
Financing Assistance. VBB will provide assistance to businesses in the acquisition of various types of financing. Services include preparation of loan packages and presentation to various funding sources.
Strategic Consulting. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, VBB brings to bear a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of the business.
Buy-Side Services. On a contract basis, VBB will assist qualified, well-financed buyers seeking acquisitions in the vending, office coffee and bottled water industries.
Preparing Your Business for Sale. VBB offers a two year strategic plan designed to prepare a business for a successful sale and maximize value on exit.
