The possibilities may be endless, but your resources are not. For many business owners with limited time and money, deciding which ideas to pursue can be a challenge. Here are three ways to prioritize your options for growth: 1. Start with your company vision The best way to make sure you’re moving in the right direction …
Tag: Prospect Criteria
How Many Companies Should You Look at to Close One Deal?
How many companies do you need to look at to do a deal? This is a common question we get from clients. Experience tells us you need to look at about 100 companies in order to execute one deal. That doesn’t mean you go through formal due diligence with 100 companies, but you do need …
How to Avoid Irrational Decision-Making in M&A
Most people tend to go with their “gut” when making decisions rather than relying on the accurate data. You might think you’re the exception, but studies conducted by psychologists Daniel Kahnerman and Amos Tversky show that “when it comes to decision-making, humans are predisposed to irrationality.” No one likes to think of themselves in this …
Why Disagreeing With Your M&A Team Is Good
You may be surprised I’m saying this, but vigorous arguments in your acquisition team can be a good thing. In fact, I would be alarmed if there was never any disagreement over a prospective purchase. Either someone is lying or afraid to speak up, unless your entire team is quite exceptionally in sync. Dissent can …
Is a Company Good or Bad? Evaluating Your Acquisition Prospects
How can you tell a good company from a bad company? A lot of CEOs say that they trust their gut when it comes to acquisition targets, but unfortunately instincts and opinions aren’t enough. We need facts and metrics. We need real tools to generate quantifiable data about the companies we’re considering. M&A is a massive …
Getting from A to B – Harness Your Ideas to Grow Your Company
Entrepreneurs rarely face the challenge of having too few ideas. In fact, like most entrepreneurs and business leaders you probably have a multitude of great ideas for growing your own business. Your biggest challenge may be figuring out which of all the alternatives is the best way to get from where you are now to …
Six Ways to Reduce Stress During Due Diligence
Pursuing M&A is a passionate process. Emotions run the gambit from excitement in finding a new deal to anxiety about risks uncovered during the acquisition. I’ve found due diligence and negotiations to be among the most stressful times during mergers and acquisitions. Here are six ways to help everyone keep their cool during these critical …
How to find the Perfect Acquisition Target
Acquiring the right company is the key to acquisition success. Your target should fit into your company’s overall strategic vision and add value to your business. To determine what this company looks like and to find it, develop prospect criteria. Keeping in mind your business strategy, sit down with your acquisition team and write your …
Researching “Brother-in-Law Companies”
As I head off to celebrate July 4th with my family and friends, I’m reminded of what we call “brother-in-law” companies. In some ways, the close relationship between family members can resemble the relationship between a buyer and an acquisition prospect. These “brother-in-law companies” are prospects that a CEO believes are a great deal because …
Developing Prospect Criteria
As I’ve stressed in an earlier post, I recommend including not-for-sale companies in your acquisition search. This will significantly expand your universe of potential acquisition prospects. However, with such a large pool, you must develop criteria through which to filter the prospects in order to narrow your options. The first step in establishing your criteria for prospects …
