Your business’ performance, current market conditions and your personal goals all influence the right time to sell. The reality is there’s never a perfect time to sell. Why not? Two simple reasons would be, 1) market and economic factors of your industry – you want to sell on an upward trend, and 2) your business is never perfect financially or operationally. These answers lead you to two more distinctions:
If you continually wait for your company to be just a little more profitable, to grow a little more, you’ll never sell.
If you don’t have an attractive opportunity for a buyer to come along, recognize your future potential and make a reasonable offer, you’ll never sell.
What’s the answer? There are reams of information at your fingertips on the world wide web. Information is nothing if there’s no action taken from it. What we see too often from buyers is fatigue and analysis paralysis. This shotgun response from successful businesspeople perpetuates a habit of procrastination due to how overwhelming the process of preparing to sell their life’s work can be. We take the paralysis away and inject peace of mind with our proven four-step methodology.
We understand selling your business can be a complex, overwhelming, stressful and time-draining process. A sale is the pinnacle for years of sweat equity, and it needs to be successful! With so much at stake, preparing for an eventual sale requires time, effort and energy to take one step each day towards the realization of a worthwhile goal. We simplify the process!
Where Do I Start?
Who do you know or have that is currently standing in the gap with you? If you have someone, great! We hope they provide valuable insight and expertise on each step with you. If you don’t, then here’s why we will come alongside you to:
• Provide support and insight for the best possible offer at a great value realizing the goals and objectives for you, your family and your employees.
• Create competitive friction within the universe of buyers to realize your goals and objectives
• Ensure a secure and confidential process produces the win you must have
At JSP, we believe there are three pillars guiding our clients in crystallizing their vision of a sale. The first one is having a partner and a plan for what you want or are considering for your future – personal, professional, financial, emotional, mental, etc. Having a confidential conversation with someone you trust is your best first step. For us, we must earn your trust and then earn the right to advance with you. The only way we can establish trust is by having a conversation and maybe that conversation has nothing to do with business. If you’ve spent any time going through our background, then you know the value we place on integrity and relationships.
We seek clients who believe what we believe in – the free enterprise system, that relationships are priceless, and time is our greatest currency. We’re not going to waste time with people we don’t like or cannot trust, and neither should you. Frankly, we don’t have a dog in this fight, yet. You’ll quickly learn if we have your back, then nothing will stop us from realizing the goals and objectives you desire. Find someone who listens to you and does what they say they will do!
Laws, Principles and Preferences
We believe the second pillar in this endeavor is to help you define what a sale will do for you and your family financially. We’ve found when we work backwards financially with our clients, discussions uncover potential directions for you to take in preparation for a sale. There certainly are specific decisions along the way you need to consider; let’s call them laws that you must follow. There certainly are operational and financial disciplines you will want to establish or tighten; let’s call them principles that make your business an attractive opportunity. Finally, there are an infinite number of preferences or how you go about implementing and executing those principles. Laws, principles and preferences set the framework for the directions, decisions and results you’re about to undertake. What else?
The demands from potential buyers on your time will be intense. It’s one of the more difficult dimensions of a sales preparation process. This third pillar may have you frustrated, angry, mentally drained and pissed off at everyone. We’ve had seller clients who wanted us within arm’s reach and some who wanted us to handle it all. Somewhere in there is what’s right for you. Selling your life’s work is a complicated and nuanced process. We make the process simple!
You solved a problem back in the day creating a business monetizing that solution! Reframing that mindset to that of a business seller is quite different as you’re no longer selling to a customer. You’ve invested years working IN your business. The hope is you have people employed working ON your business. If not, then that’s where we come in to add value for you – show what buyers are looking for and what they avoid.
At JSP, we’ve combined a simple, practical and powerful process on planning for a successful sale. Our four-step methodology was conceived, developed and refined over three decades and nearly 100 cases like yours. Each one has been different, and each one is unique just like your business is unique. The goal – our goal for you – is to achieve the result you must have while maximizing your price and minimizing your risk! Learn more about our proven process.
Get in Touch
Complimentary and Confidential Consultation
Maybe it’s time to consider taking some chips off the table! Maybe you have some tread left on your cleats and you’d like to play a few more games or not. Let’s talk about it – an unbiased conversation regarding where you are today and what tomorrow’s goals and objectives may look like. Explore what options are in play whether you choose us or not, insight and wise counsel is never a bad thing.