How to Retain Customers After the Deal Closes
When a company is acquired, its loyal customers may feel uncertain about the new owners - uncertain enough to take their business elsewhere. It’s important, therefore, to start making customer-retention plans early in the acquisition process to help allay customer fears, thwart predatory competitors, and ensure post-deal profitability.
Even if you don’t have the budget for a large-scale marketing campaign, you can make a good first impression and build a positive relationship with your acquisition’s customers by implementing these simple strategies:
Do Your Research
It’s imperative that you know why customers do business with the company you’re buying. Is it price? Quality? Customer service? And will your combined organization still be able to meet customers’ needs? Conduct adequate research into these customers’ needs in advance of the deal’s close so you can devise a strategy for meeting them.
Keep Key Employees Onboard
What would happen to your acquisition’s customer base if a marketing director, key product developer, or lead salesperson resigned? It could result in the loss of valuable customers. Develop appropriate incentive plans to retain important employees through the transaction and after the deal closes. But be wary of employees who stay onboard physically, but check out mentally. If they have frequent contact with customers, unmotivated and disgruntled employees can undermine your new organization.
Put The Sales Team to Work
Make a plan that details how the combined company’s sales force will promote the new organization and sell its products and services. Implement it as soon as possible after the deal closes - delays provide opportunities for competitors.
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Recycle Bottles, Not Valuations
Often Leads to Misguided Business Decisions
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Valuations are valid only for a specific time and purpose. Typically, a valuator explains the valuation’s scope in an engagement letter and again in the written report. Despite this, business owners sometimes mistakenly think they can save time and money by recycling old valuations for new purposes.
In fact, the unintended use of a valuator’s conclusion can diminish the report’s credibility. It may lead to misinformed business decisions, fiduciary breaches and embarrassing courtroom mishaps.
One wrong turn leads to another
To illustrate the perils of recycled valuations, consider Otto’s Auto Mall, a fictitious private business that reused a valuation three times to save on appraisal fees. Below are the four scenarios under which Otto used the valuation.
Gift scenario. Otto initially sought an appraisal when he gifted 10% of the auto mall to his daughter, Olivia, in 2015. The valuator estimated that the fair market value of the business interest was $68,000, including a 15% minority interest (or lack of control) discount and a 20% lack of marketability discount.
Dissenting shareholder scenario. At about the same time, the value of Otto’s Auto Mall was subject to debate in a lawsuit with a 10% minority shareholder. Without disclosing the fact to his valuator, Otto applied the value from the gift tax return to the dissenting shareholder’s interest.
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How Does One Do an Appraisal Review?
Here is a question that I have been asked, “How Does One Do an Appraisal Review?” Sometimes a client brings another appraiser’s work product to your office and asks for you to review that report, and then to report on your findings. When that happens, it is important to identify exactly what the client is requesting, and why. If your client plans to share your review’s findings with third parties, such as a judge, or the original appraiser, then it may be a good idea to make sure to follow USPAP’s guidance for a report review.
3 Types of Reviews under Standard 3-3 of USPAP
There are three types of reviews one can complete that is described under Standard 3-3 of USPAP.
- The first one listed is where the reviewer will provide an opinion as to whether or not the analyses completed are appropriate and credible within the context of the scope of work for that report.
- This means the reviewer runs through the report, checking the underlying assumptions, the adjustments, and the overall logic followed by the original appraiser to see if the steps that were followed in the writing of that report would be sufficient to provide a credible and reasonable value conclusion. If the reviewer finds areas of the report where the reviewer disagrees with the appropriateness of certain techniques or analyses, the reviewer needs to provide their reasons for the disagreement. For example, if the report under review uses capitalization of earnings method to value a business, yet the appraiser’s own analysis indicates that the future operations of the business may well include a volatile period of growth, then that appraiser may not have used an appropriate method for the appraisal assignment. Please note that in this type of review, the reviewer is NOT providing their own conclusion of value for the subject of the report under review.
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The Trick to Selling Your Business: Think Like an Investor
When Stephen Adele and his four co-founders sold an 80% controlling interest in QuickBox Fulfillment to Pike Street Capital in Seattle, the eight-figure deal with the private equity firm was part of their grand plan.
They had founded QuickBox Fulfillment, a Denver-based firm that does ecommerce fulfillment, in 2017, and grew it to 500 employees and $57.3 million in annual revenue by the time the deal closed in late 2019.
“We had started the company with a very strong mission and strategic vision,” says Adele. “It was that we’re going to build this to sell this. We had a little bit of an advantage that we are going to build this with the end in mind.” But Adele and his co-founders took nothing for granted and kept their fingers on the pulse of the market to make sure they could position the business for a successful transaction. With advice from a merchant banker, they built a strong case for the future financial health of the business in an environment where ecommerce is booming.
“What’s important is to figure out how to substantiate and prove the value of an organization,” says Adele. “What they are looking for is future cash flow, to service their debt or whatever they are doing to buy the company.”
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Turnkey Cannabis Cultivation Facility for Sale in Colorado
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The 144-acre site in Moffat, CO, brand new, state of the art equipment, everything needed is included; all growing and processing equipment, retail cultivation facility – Tier 1 license, highest quality construction greenhouse with polycarbonate roof and four bays, warehouse with two drying rooms, processing site, vault, storage, utility room, offices and restrooms, 7’ chain link fence with barbed wire, modular home on site, currently houses over 1,000 plants.
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VR Located in Miami, FL Sold a Private Aquarium Business for $595,000.00
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The amazing opportunity of this very profitable Aquarium business in Miami. Quality Customer service was number 1! Excellent reviews on google - social media marketing with many followers. Knowledgeable teams in place were very helpful and give the best advice. All 5 employees were on W2. High-end clientele and so many satisfied repeat customers who come from all parts of South Florida. This business offered a complete aquarium package to the most sophisticated clients. They also carry a product line for novice aquarium owners with the best advice from their experts.
For more information contact: raquel@vrmiamicenter.com.
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Thinking of selling your business or looking for an established
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India – The Next Destination For Global Supply
by Mandar Joshi, Chartered Accountant and Consulting Professional at CBA
As the globe is still fighting against the pandemic COVID-19, several countries in the world are facing problems like a downfall in GDP, unemployment, credit crunch, cash crunch, and much more.
But at the same time, it can be looked upon as a paradigm shift or rise of opportunities for developing countries like India to attract investments from foreign companies, large corporations as well as Small and Medium Entities.
With disruptions in China’s manufacturing and production operations and delayed delivery of goods, resulting in non-fulfillment of demand, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, many global MNCs are seeking alternative destinations to diversify their supply chains.
The companies having production/ manufacturing facilities in China are looking for more suitable options. In such times, India has an excellent opportunity to lure global companies in this old land rich in resources, facilities, and culture.
With low labor costs, incentives declared by the Indian government in recent days and regulatory relaxations, especially in labor laws for manufacturing, and most importantly reduced corporate tax rate for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing units, India has emerged as an alternative hub for global manufacturing.
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VR is The Only Remaining Founding Firm of The International Business Brokers Association ("IBBA").
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Have You Ever Considered Selling Businesses?
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