Four Important Steps to the Ideal Exit™
Four Important Steps to the Ideal Exit™
Does this sound like you? You've built something of value, but you're not certain how you're going to get that value into your actual bank account, or you're aware of activity in the marketplace, but you're starting to wonder if you're going to miss or have missed your window of opportunity?
Perhaps you've told your loved ones, “Someday soon I'm going to slow down working”. Maybe you've heard that the process of selling a business can be overwhelming. Maybe you even hired a business broker, and that process was disruptive, and you didn't get a qualified buyer.
What is the Ideal Exit™?
An Ideal Exit has two components:
- Maximize the sale price of your business.
- Set your team up for success.
Step 1: Value. What is your business worth?
Knowledge is power, so you must know what your business is worth. Cathedral uses a process that helps us understand where we calculate the value for your business using a combination of what is happening in the marketplace, and very specifically look at your business to accurately rationalize its value. This way, we avoid wasting time by either overshooting what the market will respond to or engaging with companies that can't execute.
Step 2: Craft your Unique Story
The second step towards the Ideal Exit is crafting your unique story, one that clearly shares your value. This story should show how your business makes money, making its value identifiable. It should also convince the buyer that the business will grow and succeed after your departure, as most sellers eventually leave. This means your story must present identifiable and transferable value, told through narrative form and supported by detailed financial projections.
Step 3: Attract the Right Buyers
Next, you need to hunt where the ducks are, which means attracting the right buyers. You have to know:
- Who’s who in the market.
- Who’s doing what.
- Who might be looking for a company like yours.
Attracting the right buyers creates competition, which typically drives up the price and brings you closer to an Ideal Exit.
Step 4: Focus on Execution to the END
Finally, you’ve got to run through the tape. Entering a process like this is very disruptive. It’s not easy—it's emotionally challenging, and you won’t fully understand this until you’ve been through it. Having been through it, I can assure you it’s quite disruptive. That’s one of the reasons why you need an M&A advisor. An M&A advisor can handle the heavy lifting, play the necessary “bad cop” role, and allow you to focus on running your business.
It’s crucial in the sale process that you meet the projections you’ve given to prospective buyers. Missing these projections can make it seem like you don’t understand your business, or worse, it may indicate a downward trend, creating downward pressure on the sales price. So, staying focused on execution during the process and hitting those financial projections right on target is essential.
Bonus Step: Working with Advisors who Have your Best Interest at Heart
If any of this resonated with you, if you're thinking about selling, or if you just have questions, reach out to us to schedule an “Ideal Exit Discovery Call”. It’s a pitch-free call where we’d love to get to know you, learn more about your business, and discuss our ideas.
Who is Cathedral Consulting?
At Cathedral Consulting, we exist to help our clients build strong, growing, and valuable enterprises that is both identifiable and transferable upon an Ideal Exit ™. Everyone needs outside insights to achieve their best. Our team would be honored to walk alongside you as you reach for your potential and build a winning organization with enduring value.
We hope you'll reach out, and we look forward to talking to you soon.
