What we discovered is that most business owners really want the following: Legacy Continuation - This is a blanket concept that means they want their business to be a better version of itself post-sale and all the people involved with the business to be taken care of. Many Sellers do not emphasize this initially when we meet them as they purport to be all about the money but we found in almost all cases ‘legacy’ turned out to be as or even more important than monetary considerations. Most business owners are successful because they have taken care of people and built loyal employees and customers, so this energy and inclination continues even during a business sale. Legacy means their employees are taken care of, customers are served well, other relationship commitments are honoured, their brand increases in credibility (as it will always be attached to their name), etc. This means when we are running a sale process, addressing an area we call ‘cultural fit’ when it comes to Buyers and Sellers is critical. If people ‘vibe’ each other and the Buyer is a good fit for the business, this creates a scenario with the highest chance of the deal getting closed and a good result after the fact. Money and Lower Risk - This is the obvious one as, of course, business owners want as much as they can get with the least risk. Part of this is about the money itself, as they may need it for retirement or something else. But often, our business Sellers are already wealthy, so the money becomes a testament to the value they have built. It is important to understand which of these is in play when deal creating structures. Also, everyone wants less risk but there are many tradeoffs to risk and understanding the implications for each Buyer is critical. It should go without saying that no one likes the feeling of being ‘ripped off’ or selling something at a lower price than they think they should have got. It is embarrassing, it doesn’t feel good. This is important to
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