5. Admit that you don't know what you are doing, are new to this, etc - People are very nervous about selling their businesses and the last thing anyone wants to do is work with someone that doesn't really know what they are doing. The good thing is, most business owners don't know the detail about many aspects of their business (like doing accounts) but know how to manage the process and have employed the appropriate professionals to assist them. So assure them you do have a plan, resources, a strategy and the right people to get a fair deal for everyone (including their staff) done in a peaceful, timely manner. And of course, you have a qualified M&A Advisor who will make sure everything goes smoothly. 6. Push or be rushed in any way - Give them a feeling this will go at a natural pace that will be good for them and their business and do no harm. Remember, this is the biggest thing most people do next to getting married and having kids so there is a lot of fear and anxiety. The more you can calm and reassure them, the better it will go. 7. Winging It by trying to do more of the process after the first meeting without help - A good M&A advisor has training, processes, systems and extensive transaction experience. They navigate all the twists and turns of business sales on a daily basis and know where the land mines are. This is no different than any other profession where most people don’t have extensive experience and end up learning by trial and error. This approach may be ok for some activities but in the M&A world mistakes can easily be made and tend to be significantly more costly than in most other areas of our lives.
50
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online