24 Mar Lead Generation for Business Brokers and M&A Advisors
In this week’s webinar, we were joined by Greg Kells, M&AMI and CBI. Mr. Kells is the President of Sunbelt Business Brokers Inc., under which Kells has emerged as the premiere business brokerage in Canada. This informative webinar explored how business brokers can increase their lead generation results. It can be accessed here.
Mr. Kells has extensive business development as well as marketing and management experience. Since Kells began the Canadian operations of Sunbelt Business Brokers in 2002, the brokerage has grown considerably opening 27 offices across Canada. Currently, Sunbelt Business Brokers is developing business brokerages in 10 additional countries. Over the years, Mr. Kells has served as the president or chairman of companies in a wide array of industries from high-technology ventures and manufacturing to television production and more. He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, Yale and Duke universities as well as several Canadian colleges. Additionally, Mr. Kells is Chair of the Canadian Institute of Nature and the founding Chair of the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution.
Focus on Your Inventory
First of all, it is critical to have a good inventory of quality businesses for sale. For as Kells notes, “if you have good businesses, the buyers will find you. You don’t have to focus your marketing on buyers.” Instead, Kells wants you to know that you should be focusing your efforts on boosting and maintaining the quality of your inventory.
The Power of Webinars
Additionally, Kells feels that one of the best ways to attract sellers is through the powerful tool of webinars. During the pandemic, Mr. Kells has been able to successfully utilize this tool to achieve impressive results. He believes that many in the brokerage industry do not realize that webinars are a versatile tool.
Kells notes that he does not create a new presentation for every webinar. The webinar is posted in a range of online locations, such as social media platforms, where they are likely to attract interest. These presentations are aimed at attracting more sellers. When promoted effectively, webinars can achieve impressive results.
Cultivating Referrals
Mr. Kells also notes the importance of referrals. He noted that delivering presentations to the Bar Association is a consistent winner. Lawyers can refer clients and drive business in a variety of ways. In the area of referrals, Kells lists past clients, lawyers, accountants and wealth planners as all good sources of referrals.
While there is no doubt that some industries, such as businesses related to home improvement, are having exceptional years, there are many businesses that are suffering and may close. There has been a fundamental shift in the thinking of many business owners, especially older business owners, who realize that they may need two or three years (or even longer) to rebuild.
In short, many business owners are realizing that now is the time to sell. Yet, due to a degree of chaos and uncertainty fueled by the pandemic, a large number of buyers are nervous. Many are fixating on cash flow issues. Buyers know they have to turn a business around in a post-pandemic world and this is driving prices lower. All of this points to the fact that your valuable services are needed now more than ever before.
