How We Achieve Our 90% Success Rate
With over 20 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, the Summit Acquisitions Group has created a carefully developed process that repeatedly produces successful results (Sequence of Steps in Selling a Business). And, because of our consistent application of this process, while the rest of the industry sells 20% to 30% of their client’s companies, we have had a success rate of over 90% during the past 12 years.
Whether our clients want to sell their business immediately after our valuation process, or wait for several years, our motivation remains the same – to provide our clients with all the information needed to: (i) accurately indicate current market value, (ii) spotlight components that will enhance future business value, and (iii) prepare our clients’ companies to be marketed at whatever time in the future our clients tell us to begin.
The following information describes the four (4) key elements we feel are vital for the successful preparation and sale of every privately held company.
1. Business Valuation
Knowledge of the actual market value of the business to be sold is vital to correctly price the business. The correct asking price is necessary in order to appeal to financially and operationally qualified buyers, and to ultimately obtain financing for the transaction. Therefore, we provide our clients with our market value opinion, including extensive documentation, at the start of each engagement – at no charge. Many other business intermediaries often attempt to sell their client’s business at whatever price their client would like to receive – regardless of its true market value. This results in wasted time for the client, and needless delay in the ultimate sale of the business.
Through our subscriptions to numerous business comparable databases, we are knowledgeable of market conditions at all times. Add, we are actively in the market with many sales in process at any given time – as buyers and sellers. Therefore, our assessments of the market value of our client companies are usually within 5 to 7% of the valuation of a professional appraiser. However, should independent outside resources be needed to confirm our valuation opinion, we have relationships with local and national professional independent appraisal firms to provide this services at below-market rates.
For a more detailed explanation of our Valuation Services, please contact the Atlanta or Charlotte office, or click here.
2. Captivating Marketing Documents
Effective and efficient marketing of a business requires a thorough understanding of the business operations and its market value. This understanding must then be translated into clear, concise and captivating marketing documents for potential buyers. Momentum is a critical component of successful deal-making. If buyers don’t receive sufficient information at key points of their investigative process, they often become frustrated or confused, and move on to other more clearly articulated opportunities.
While many other business intermediaries typically prepare marketing documents that include just a few pages of basic company information and photo copies of prior years’ tax returns, our 50 to 100-page Confidential Business Review is designed to answer about 80 to 90% of all the questions potential buyers may have about our client companies.
We realize that it may be a year or more before our clients choose to sell, so the creation of these documents can serve as a template for continuing to improve value. If our client elects not to sell the company upon completion of these materials and the valuation, we will update the documents each quarter with fresh financials, employee information, etc. Our objectives include assisting our clients: (i) operate their companies with an eye toward the eventual sale, and (ii) to be prepared for the sale when the valuation meets their expectations. Our marketing documents give us the ability to launch the marketing of our clients’ companies immediately, or allow them to wait, while they prepare to sell their business in the best financial climate.
3. Comprehensive Marketing of our Client’s Business
After creating the marketing materials, we produce a comprehensive marketing plan specifically developed for the sale of each client’s business. While the marketing plan of many other business intermediaries often includes just posting the listing information on a few web sites and waiting for the phone to ring, or emails to be received, this plan does not attract the large number of potential buyers required to close a business transition transaction quickly.
Our marketing plan includes up to eight (8) specific steps designed to sell our client companies quickly and confidentially: (i) blind profile sent to over 2,000 pre-qualified buyers and 1,200 private equity/family funds in our database, (ii) inclusion on the SAG web page, (iii) placement in the five largest business-for-sale internet databases, (iv) appropriate media advertisements, (v) announcement in the SAG newsletter, (vi) letters and emails sent to targeted strategic buyers, (vii) telephone follow-ups to those targeted strategic buyers, and (viii) use of national and international associations – all promoting the confidential sale of our client’s company.
4. Professional Services as Intermediary
The professional M&A advisors (aka business brokers) at Summit Acquisitions Group confidentially manage all aspects of the business transition transaction: valuation, analysis, deal structure, marketing, investigation, negotiation, due diligence, financing, and closing. And, we include the financial and legal advisors of our clients in all phases of the sale in an effort to maximize the financial benefits and minimize the risks to our clients.
When the marketing phase begins, all potential buyers are carefully screened. Those buyers who are allowed to meet with our clients will have been fully educated on the company and thoroughly pre-qualified – both financially and operationally. As a professional intermediary, we diligently protect the time of our clients. We want to minimize disruptions to their usual business routine and distractions from their responsibilities to manage the operations of their business during the selling process.
We do not allow prospective buyers to negotiate directly with our clients. As professional business intermediaries, we will provide the anticipated price and terms to prospective buyers. If those terms are unacceptable to them, or if a prospective buyer doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to complete the transaction, our clients will never meet them. And, we give our clients weekly telephone or email updates – keeping them informed of the progress being made with potential buyers.
Additionally, we work with more than one buyer at a time since our marketing process often creates the situation where multiple buyers pass through the process at the same time. This often leads to multiple Letters of Intent, creating a very strong negotiating position for our clients. Taking all these pre-sale steps returns substantial dividends to our clients: (i) Reduced time our clients must spend with potential buyers – so our clients remain focused on running their business; (ii) Reduced sales cycle-time – so our client companies are sold quicker, and (iii) Improved perceived value by buyers – so our client companies are sold at higher prices.
For additional information about this process, please contact the Atlanta or Charlotte office, or fill out the Contact form.
The Summit Acquisitions Group — Business Brokers and M&A Advisors — specializes in the sale, appraisal, and financing of privately owned companies ranging in valuation from $500,000 to $5,000,000. Contact their offices in Atlanta, GA or Charlotte, NC for a free consultation.