Selling a Discombobulated Business
Kevin Brownlee, Agora Strategic Consultant
While returning home from helping a client in Milwaukee position their company to sell, I noticed a sign just after the airport TSA check area reading “Recombobulation Area”, so I asked the TSA Agent what that was. “It’s an area to gather yourself together after passing through the TSA screening process before going on to your destination” was the reply.
I immediately remembered that morning’s meeting with our client and how their business was in some disarray and needed recombobulating to move forward with their sale. You see, many businesses are in some level of disarray and nearly all businesses “for sale” desperately need help “recombobulating” their company so the “destination” of a successful sale will happen.
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study, only 20% of businesses for sale will actually close! What happens to the other 80%? Well, basically they cease to exist and close their doors…because they were discombobulated and did not hire a capable consultant.
Selling a business is not like selling a house. You do not hire a broker to sell it for you and you only meet the new owners when you hand them the keys. To sell a business, you hire a Transition Consultant to analyze the level of your company’s “discombobulation”, and define a clear strategy for where you want your business to go and what results you want to achieve.
A business that easily sells is organized, thriving, and has minimal risk. It also sells at maximum revenue. A successful sale includes making sure YOU, the current owner, will be able to transfer YOUR values, processes, and hard work on to the next owner. Your legacy (including what your processes, values, and employees) must move forward to the next owner so they can “take it to the next level”. You can only do that with help from a capable Transition Consultant.
Getting to know the potential buyer is another example where selling a business is not like selling a home. You must give ample time and effort to find out as much as you can about them including what their goals, dreams, and successes will look like, and those need match you, and what you’re selling as close as possible. However, you don’t have the time, nor do you know the right questions or how to ask them! You need a Transition Consultant who can do all of that for you, to YOUR satisfaction. To ensure a win-win for you and the buyer…and your employees!
At Agora Strategic Consulting, our Transition Consultants are experts at analyzing and successfully walking through this “recombobulation” process, and have done so with over 400 companies! The process takes a bit of effort on our part, is actually surprisingly affordable, and always ends with a phrase similar to “WOW, my company’s transition was amazing…you folks are AWESOME! It wouldn’t have happened without you!”
Contact us today for a free consultation to see if we can help prepare your company to sell, or at least see how discombobulated you are! You can also download a free guide to selling your business by visiting our web site and clicking on the popup “Selling Your Business With Confidence” at www.agoraconsulting.us
