Deal Maker's Resource Center  
To Help You Find, Analyze, Value, Buy or Sell  a Business

Sell a Business 

Business Broker 
Training and Education

If you are considering becoming a Business Broker or Business Intermediary you need to know the sobering facts that the typical approach to selling businesses produces less than satisfactory results. 

To summarize success in selling businesses by those doing the selling:

Using our Business Selling System brokers typically sell 9 of every 10 listings .   

How can our Business Selling system be so superior to those employed by the majority of business brokers and essentially all Business Brokerage Franchisors  (The short version)

Our Merger and Acquisition (M&A) division manager came to us from Merrill Lynch where he was vice president in charge of M&A activities for Private companies.  What we did was essentially modify the Wall Street process (where they satisfy essentially all of their clients) to one that was appropriate for selling smaller private companies.  The result is what we now call "The Business Selling System."  

The process employed by essentially everyone attempting to sell a business is based upon a Real Estate Model i.e.:   

The secret to the Business Selling System's success is that it is based upon a Wall Street Model i.e.:

Our Broker Training and Education Resources are divided into four categories: 

1. Background, foundational information and materials, 

2. Step by step "How to" instruction regarding process and procedure, 

3. Software to produce: valuations, marketing materials, Confidential Business Reviews, Financing or SBA Loan Proposals, 

4. Office setup materials and procedure info i.e.: Office Policy, Code of Ethics, Independent Contractor Agreements, Letters, contracts and forms required in the transfer of businesses 

Business Selling System 101

Required reading:

"In & Out of Business. . . Happily" Outlines the previously unwritten rules for Valuing, Buying and Selling a business at the right price. Describes the types of buyers in the marketplace for small and mid size businesses and how their thinking translates into value illustrating why different buyers will pay different prices.

Interpreting Financial Statements for Business Acquisitions -- A Layman's Guide
Obtain a clear and concise understanding of any company's financial strengths and weaknesses quickly.  It is created for non-financial professionals and is written in clear, plain, shirt sleeve English and not accounting jargon or code that is understood only by members of the "Financial Circle."  

Business Selling System 201

Step by step instruction:

How to Sell a Business for the Most Money, without anyone knowing it's for sale 

Identification of proper buyer candidates 

Learn the secrets to writing compelling ads designed to attract your ideal buyer 

Identify the best advertising mediums

Employ process designed to assured to maintain confidentiality 

Fielding inquiries, internet - telephone

Interviewing techniques used by the pros

How to insure you know all about your candidate before they know the identity of your client

How to facilitate a non-binding offer without the deal going "legal" prematurely 

The proper sequence of the release of sensitive business records and information 

How to handle your buyer's request to interview customers, vendors, lenders and employees and much more

How to Become the Best Business Broker in Town 232 pages of step by step instruction and examples to facilitate your  transition to becoming more effective selling businesses. Most importantly you will gain an understanding of why your collecting a retainer is in your client's best interest.  
Listing Presentation:  The book includes a word for word transcript of an actual presentation that results in prospective clients asking "How much will this service cost?"  That's right - you may never have to ask for a fee to obtain one.

Buying a Business Made Easier  A practical step by step approach to the Safe Purchase of a business.  This book is essentially the "Buyer Education" training module we developed for the use by our brokers.  The results? Our effectiveness in placing buyer candidates into a business became four times better than the Business Brokerage's industry average using the steps outlined in this book. Case study examples drawn from actual sales experiences illustrate every major point.

Business Selling System 301

Software:

Professional Advantage Report Writer is the exact same software we developed and refined over a twenty year period especially for our fee based practice. Buyer Identification and Summary of Business Values - This program has been designed to be used by the Non-Financial Professional and is very easy to use.  The books provide you with the different buyers' rationales as to value and their motivations to buy. The software will crunch the numbers the same way the different buyers of small and mid size businesses will.  Simply enter numbers into a template and the software will automatically: 

• Illustrate the price and terms different types of buyers would be willing to pay today and why

• Show how much financing your seller would be expected to provide and, if they were to insist upon a cash price, what an all cash price might be  

• Identify the best type of buyer to attract as well as the type(s) of buyers you should avoid.  

• Transaction Structuring Model – Allows you to compute “what if” scenarios by changing down payments, interest rates or terms etc and calculate your ROI and Fairness Testing so you can get back to the negotiating table quickly

• Develop a comprehensive financial analysis of the business designed to give you a view of your client's company from the outside in   (An accountant would have to charge much more than the cost of our program for this feature alone)

• Don't let the ease of use fool you.  This is very powerful software and an exceptional tool that is highly valued and used by MBAs, CPAs and other financial professionals all over the world. With our software you'll be able to present your client's business in a most professional way.  The professional and comprehensive materials and reports you produce representing your client company increase a buyer's confidence.  Increased confidence leads to reduction in a buyer's perception of the risk involved.  The lower the perceived risk the higher the perceived value. 

Deal Master 4.0  We originally produced and assembled this book and software especially for first time business buyers but many financial professionals, business brokers, intermediaries and advisors to entrepreneurs have purchased the program and found it of benefit in their practices.  I made sure, however, that the Deal Master software could be used by non-financial and financial professionals alike to assure the program would benefit the most people.  Deal Master 4.0, consists of  several interactive components that cover the entire acquisition process from start to finish. 

Business Selling System 401

Office setup materials and documentation designed for use with our unique Business Selling System.  Typical listing agreements etc. simply do not fit  and are counter productive to successful deal making.  In fact, typical Real Estate based Business Brokerage forms etc do not work with our more effective Wall Street based approach.

Deal Maker docs The ONLY product of its kind  The program reflects experience gained in  THOUSANDS of  negotiations and more than twenty years of use.  Thousands of hours have been invested in development so that you will have the right document, wording, condition or contingency at your fingertips in minutes.  Imagine just how long it would take you to create just one of the contracts from scratch or imagine how much your attorney would have to charge you to do it for you.

• Entering Business Brokerage - In addition to all the forms and contracts you will ever need to sell a business, the CD-ROM also contains - an Office Policy Manual, Independent Contractors Agreement, Co-Broke Agreement and the Business Brokerage Code of Ethics.

• Upgrading to Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) - DealMaker docs has all the paperwork you require to do the larger deal using  M&A language and protocol. 

• Contingencies and Special Wordings alone are worth the entire price.  Unique situations often necessitate special language. Perhaps the agreement with the business owner should be modified with special language to assure your being paid.  The sale of a business in bankruptcy or where proceeds will not satisfy secured creditors are examples.  Contingencies regarding license transfers, timing the release of sensitive information, presenting multiple offers simultaneously are but a few examples.  It is really nice to have ready made, time tested language at your finger tips in the pressure packed environment called "deal-making."