21 Mar How to Close More Deals with Less Work
This is the second article in our look at Morgan Tate’s recent info-packed webinar, “How to Close More Deals with Less Work.” You can also check out our previous article “How to Leverage Technology to Achieve More” to learn more about this topic.
Tate is the Co-Founder of DealBuilder, which is a business brokerage platform. He’s also a partner at Chinook Business Advisory. In our previous article, we covered some of his thoughts about how technologies can help business brokers and M&A advisors achieve more while working fewer hours. In this article we will continue to examine his strategies. He clearly demonstrates that there are now techniques that business brokers and M&A advisors can utilize to get more done in less time.
Pre-Screening Clients
In terms of saving time, Tate has some novel but very logical approaches. One key approach is to use the valuations process as a sort of de facto client pre-screening process. While he provides free valuations, he uses this experience to vet his clients. Through the valuation process, it is possible to learn how organized clients are. For example, if the valuation process takes a very long time, then it is clear that the client is not well organized and that could spell trouble.
Bring in Accountants Early
Another prudent strategy that Tate uses is he gets the client’s accountant involved very early in the process. He notes that it is essential to remember that bringing in the client’s accountant at the last minute can sometimes completely kill a deal. Tate feels that it is critical that a client’s accountant is involved early in the process, as they can provide all the necessary documentation and help establish an appropriate ballpark asking price.
Streamline Valuations
A third practical and timesaving approach is to use DealBuilder, as it has built-in valuation software and to also consider using a valuation specialist or platform that has a dedicated appraisal team. An appraisal team can do a deep dive and generate reports for you. It is one less thing for you to have to worry about finishing. Plus, you can show clients that the appraisal was done by a third party.
Boost Buyer Communication
Tate definitely has valuable strategies for interacting with prospective buyers as well. He strongly believes that emails should be highly specific and targeted. In short, prospective buyers shouldn’t receive businesses that don’t relate to them. Instead, they should receive targeted info about businesses that they would logically be interested in. Otherwise, as Tate notes, “There’s nothing proprietary. They don’t feel like there’s a relationship between them and the broker.”
Automation Software
He also believes in using automated software for NDAs. In particular DealBuilder has a system where when a buyer submits an offer, the system notifies every other buyer under the NDA. This let’s all interested buyers know that there has been an offer, without revealing any details. Tate commented, “What we’ve found is it will actually drive a lot of buyers who were probably quite interested but are busy with work or other commitments.”
Ultimately, Tate feels that every deal is a prospecting opportunity for both buyers and sellers. He points to a range of low-costs and free tools by which business brokers and M&A advisors can easily find and reach out to prospective buyers and sellers. His strategy is to use valuations as a means to vet clients and believes that it is critical to get a client’s accountant involved as soon as possible. Tate’s approach showcases the possibility of achieving more in less time when utilizing the proper strategies.
