Sales

Another 7 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Company

What’s your business’ value?

Do you want to know how to drastically increase the amount a buyer will pay you?

Here are 7 things your company can work on so that you can do exactly that!

Create a Predictable Cash Flow

Think of revenue and cash flow as the starting point for any buyer. A steady stream of predictable, recurring revenue is ideal. Buyers will pay more for companies with a projected cash flow.

According to Colorado Biz, these are three ways you can effectively improve cash flow predictability:

  • Automating cash flow by automating accounts receivable software
  • Improve forecasting of income and expenses
  • Implementing flexible installment plans for your customers

Make it Scalable

Setup systems that easily help scale without needing more people will definitely increase the value of your company. For a valuable, successful business, efficiency is key.

The easier you can add new customers (like with setup systems that help scale), the more attractive your company will look to a buyer.

Improve Your Company’s Goodwill

Name recognition, customer awareness, and good PR go a long way when attracting a high-paying buyer to your company. Launch a good PR campaign a year out from when the sales process begins to boost goodwill within the marketplace. You won’t regret it!

High Net Promoter Score customer ratings also help drive increased purchase prices of businesses, so make sure you are taking the time to get reviews and ratings from clients/customers.

Learn Its Value

Knowledge has power! Get several independent valuations by reputable firms so that you have a rough idea of what your company might sell for. This is the knowledge that you need to have if you want to sell your company for a lot of money.

Consider additional parts of the company that evaluators may not see and what actions you might be able to take ahead of time to increase the company’s value in 12 months. Small acquisitions and drastic overhead cuts are a great place to start.

Make Things Transparent

Buyers don’t like surprises, so make sure that you operate above board and be prepared to show the value that they might not see right away and explain information that they might question.

“Except for the very occasional surprise party, nobody likes feeling blindsided. In the corporate world, surprises can have especially unfortunate consequences. Sharing information within the organization makes for more stable operations.” – Forbes

Show Your Growth Potential

Documented growth shows that the company’s future is solid, if not predictable. Show your buyers that your company has a ton of upside! Consider acquisition opportunities, additional product lines, untapped markets, sales funnel projections, PR that’s about to come, etc. Basically, anything you can share about your company’s growth potential will add value.

Find a Trustworthy and Fantastic M&A Firm

M&A Firms are a dime a dozen. However, finding one that can create a multiple-bid buyer market for you is what drives up your company’s selling price.

Take the time to research good M&A firms and invest in the best! It’s worth it if you want to sell your company for its highest value.

Your company can be sold for more than you think, but only if you put the work into it!

Have you had any experiences with buying or selling a company? How was it? Let us know in the comments below!

If you have questions or would like more information, I’d be happy to help. Please send an email, and my team will get in touch with you!

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been edited for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Quick Guide: How to Sell Your Company for the Highest Price – Part 1

Businessman hand presenting business idea sketch on palm

If you want to increase the value of your privately held company, it’s not just about profits. While profitability is critical, there are other factors that can elevate your company’s valuation when it comes time to sell. Three years ago, I introduced a CEO to an awesome M&A firm. They helped package his company for sale and found a strategic buyer who paid $50 million more than he ever imagined selling for. Nail these tips now and your company will be positioned to sell for a higher price.

Well-Organized Accounting: Don’t put off getting your accounting in order. Be ready at all times so that you can respond quickly when information is requested. Buyers will see your company as well organized and will be more likely to pay a higher price when they don’t anticipate unforeseen surprises.

Awesome Employees : Tout your company’s talent as an asset! Employees with strong skills add value, particularly when it comes to the sales team, or other key roles that drive revenue, efficiency or innovation within the company. Loyalty is also a distinguishing characteristic to promote – buyers want to know that key employees will stay for the long term.

Office Culture that Feels Amazing: Enlist the help of a designer to “stage” your office so that the physical space looks great and feels like an incredible work place. Freshly painted walls, organized shelves and attractive wall art all add to your company’s image.

Strong Branding & Name Recognition: The stronger your company’s brand recognition, the better. Rollout a stellar PR strategy 12-18 months prior to the start of the sale process to help show that your company is in a growth mode. Refresh website content and other communication materials so that they’re relevant and in alignment with the message you are promoting to buyers.

Recurring & Diversified Revenue: All revenue is not equal. Buyers will – and do – pay a premium for booked reoccurring revenue. This means ongoing contracts with customers and a track record of predictable growth. Diversified revenue is also a must. Broaden your revenue base so that no more than 10-15% is based on one single customer.

The Company Runs Without YOU: Businesses that rely less on the owner go for a higher selling price. Take steps now to increase your company’s independence and ability to remain productive during an ownership transition.

Share an Inspiring Vivid Vision: When you have a clear vision, ideally a Vivid Vision document, it will excite and inspire the buyer about the company’s future and abundant potential. This also helps with demonstrating the alignment between you and your employees.

Trustworthy & Fantastic M&A Firm – M&A Firms are a dime a dozen. However, finding one that can create a multiple-bid buyer market for you is what drives up your company’s selling price. Over the past eight years, I’ve finally found a few that I introduce companies to all the time.

Email me if you’d like an introduction to help you sell your company – Cameron@CameronHerold.com.

The Keys to Building an In-House PR Team

49bIf  you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested in performing PR functions yourself, or in hiring team members to do so (or both). It will help you find the right people to execute the PR sales role in your organization, and secure free publicity for your company.Even though this falls under the category of public relations, what you’re really hiring for is a person who likes to do telephone sales.  You’re looking for someone who loves to pitch people, and is technically savvy enough to compile resources online and monitor the media response to your campaign. The first rule –

Don’t hire anyone with a PR background. People with traditional backgrounds in PR will want to write newswires and press releases all day.  Typically people in PR are writers (or they wanted to be), and there’s nothing wrong with that, but what you want—and need—is someone who can deliver a persuasive sales pitch, and follow-up with everyone they contact. It seems simple, but it’s not. That’s why I’ve included the list below.

Here’s what skills and characteristics you’ll want your team members to have:

  • They must love to sell. Candidates will need to the ability to “get past the gatekeeper” in order to pitch. They should be able to raise and handle objections, track their own sales leads, and love to sell.
  • They can handle rejection. Do they realize that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes”?
  • They’re enthusiastic junior players. I like junior sales people, around their mid-twenties and enthusiastic. Remember, you’re not looking for people who can sell to VPs or CEOs.
  • They need to be able to listen. The ability to understand what the writer wants to write about is crucial. It’s the only way to know why an approach isn’t working, and how to change it.
  • They’re “glass-half-full” people. Find someone optimistic so their excitement and energy transfers to everyone they talk to, especially the writers over the phone.
  • They’ve got a great “phone voice.” A great phone voice is important so writers can understand them.  They may be pitching you to writers in different regions too, so hire people with accents that match your market, or have voices that are clear enough to people throughout North America.
  • They need to know how to write. Your PR people won’t be writing press releases, but they will be doing tons of follow up via email.  They’ll have to be able to create excitement and get their point across succinctly.
  • They’ll have to be tech savvy. This role will require the use of a computer and the Internet constantly, since most their resources will be online.
  • They need to be smart. The fact that this is last doesn’t make it any less important than the others. The people you hire to do this work need to be information agregators, and intelligent enough to draw connections within the vast expanse of information they collect. Their research must be accurate, appropriate, and timely. They should love reading blogs, know how to use RSS, and gather info from Twitter. Information like this is crucial so they can stay current on trends, and include them in pitches to writers.

For more information on this topic, check out: Generating Free PR.

Cancel the Reservations & Tee Times? Yes.

67bTaking a client or prospect out to dinner is pretty standard business.  If you want to grow business, you need to wine and dine clients, right?  Nothing radical about that concept.

How could anyone poke holes in this centuries old business practice?  Well, a friend of mine recently challenged me on this and asked me a question that I hadn’t really considered and based upon my experience, most in business haven’t considered either.

His question was simple: Why do most companies take their clients out to expensive dinners or rounds of golf that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and then when it comes time to send them a gift, those same executives get wigged out over a gift that costs a couple hundred dollars?

He went on to explain that the meal is consumable and gone the same day, and although there is a memory created, most clients have that same experience with dozens of vendors each year and the memory fades quickly. Why is your dining or social experience any better than the next guy? Doesn’t it make sense to instead surprise your best clients with a gift that is best in class, practical, unique and that every time they use it they think of you for decades after?

I was stunned by the simplicity of the concept and it dawned on me that he may be on to something. We as business owners have been programmed to do the same things our competition is doing and think we are making an impact or truly deepening a relationship for the long term. We take people out to a nice three hour dinner with great food and drink or spend hundreds of dollars on a five hour round of golf, only to leave the client without a tangible and physical memory point to be reminded of our relationship.

At best we leave them with some promotional trinket from China. I decided to test his line of thinking and ordered 15 of his best-selling gifts which was from his exclusive Cutco cutlery line. Many of you are likely familiar with the brand as it’s the Rolex and Tiffany of cutlery but what most don’t know is that this friend of mine, John Ruhlin, invented their corporate engraving business and has built a much of his strategic gifting company around this one product. He is also the guy that gave me the unbelievable Brooks Brothers experience that I wrote about last year. Very inspiring and worth a read as well.

John’s team had each of the two piece cutlery gift sets custom engraved into the steel blade my logo and each client’s name (gotta love personalization!) along with a handwritten note to each person. The cost was a couple hundred dollars a gift all in. They were sent in February so the client was not expecting anything and the basic premise was to thank them for “carving out room” for us to work together. The gifts were mailed off and I waited anxiously to see if I would get a response or if people would be too busy to even mention the gesture. It did not take long and the response was beyond my already high expectations!!

My clients loved not just the product (the brand of Cutco carried some nice weight) but went on and on about the handwritten note and the fact that a high end product like Cutco was custom engraved with their name on it. They felt special and their spouses also loved being included for once in an business appreciation experience. Big brownie points for me with the spouse…huge! The cool thing I realized is that unlike the dining experience that wears off in the weeks following, with a special gift like this, for the next 10-20 years my most cherished business relationships will be reminded of me a couple times a week and the fact that I took the time to say thank you in a special way. It will be with them when they host clients and friends at their home for business functions and for holidays for decades to come. While there is nothing wrong with social experiences, that cannot be said for the dinners I have had or the golf rounds I have played. Like most of the powerful concepts in business, giving a special gift like this is not rocket science but most of us are too caught up in email or the next deal to take a few minutes to think strategically about how we are going to leverage and impact our most important relationships.

The Reverse Sell

salesmanWhen interviewing job candidates, use what I call ‘The Reverse Sell.’

It involves being in a position of power throughout the interview and getting the candidate to sell themselves on the company and also on their skills in handling the job. When the interview is over, if the candidate is more excited than ever and really knows they can do the job and that you’ve raked them over the coals and might not offer them, then you’ve done your job.

Ensure any fears the candidate has are addressed during the interview.  Don’t handle them as they come up – instead, jot down their concerns or fears until later in the interview for just the right moment. This ensures you will handle them so the candidate isn’t worried about them and sees a few reasons within your system to minimize them.  “So, about an hour ago you asked about…”

Reverse selling occurs by emphasizing how hard a position will be and getting the candidate to sell you on why he or she is right for the job.

In addition, ‘reverse selling’ also occurs by stating the concerns you might have about a candidate’s weaknesses. For example, you might say, “It appears your computer skills are very poor and will hurt you. Can you address that with me?”

And all of your questions should be asked by the end of the interview. Leave no stone unturned.

Regardless of what department you’re hiring for, if someone can’t passionately sell themselves to you on why they’re what you’re looking for, walk away.  You’re doing them a disservice if you hire them.

By the way, this works in franchising too – don’t sell franchises, award them to qualified candidates who really sell you on their skills.

Recession Tip: Hire Sales People

While all of your competitors complain about the economy, and spend their time reading every article that confirms their fears, go in the opposite direction.

When companies start laying people off, the great employees fear for their jobs. If you’re hiring salespeople when everyone is laying them off, the positive buzz that you’re still hiring will start to spread – even to customers.

What’s even better? Imagine if you hired one of your competitors best salespeoplewhat would happen then? It would impact both of your companies in precisely the way you want to in a competitive world.

I know it seems odd that while in the middle of a recession you’d want to hire more people, but the people you are hiring are the rainmakers.  You’re hiring people to increase sales, add money to your gross margin, and increase buzz about your company and brands.

pic Search Engine Genie

Recession Tip: Start Stealing – Legally

Look at this massive BMW ad right over top of an Audi dealership in Hong Kong

During recessions, consumers are extremely cost and service conscious.  Customers will switch from your competitors right now for the smallest discounts or friendly nod in their direction.

You can’t go so far as predatory pricing, but in a slowdown, virtually everyone is looking to save a buck.  So target your competitors’ customers and start offering them what it takes to get them to move to you.

Cable and phone companies do this ALL the time, so don’t think this is something new.

Go ahead – steal them away.

pic Jalopnik

Fire Some of Your Customers

Eighty percent of your results come from twenty percent of your clients – as a business coach, I always advise CEO’s to at least fire the bottom twenty percent of your clients (they’re sucking up eighty percent of your time).

Feels odd to be thinking about getting rid of some of your revenues at any time, let alone during an economic downturn, but these clients likely generate very little revenue, and perhaps even cost you money.  So get rid of them.

Your bottom 20% also take up more of your time and energy too.

When cutting these bottom twenty percent clients, you can also eliminate some of the waste or overhead you have in supporting them.  You’ll free up time in all areas of your business especially shipping, customer service and accounting.  You’ll save time in your sales meetings by not talking about these clients.

Fire the bottom twenty percent: clients who take up time, suck up energy or don’t pay their bills. You’ll free up more time for your profitable clients and get more business from new, better ones.

Who would you rather spend time with?  Your Top 5% or your Bottom 20%?  Where are you spending it now?

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Meetings Suck: Turning One Of The Most Loathed Elements Of Business Into One Of The Most Valuable

We all know that meetings suck, right?

You hear it all the time. It’s the one thing that almost everyone in business can agree on.

Except it’s not actually true… 

Meetings don’t suck.

We just suck at running meetings.   

When done right, meetings not only work, they make people and companies better.

In Meetings Suck, world renowned business expert and growth guru Cameron Herold teaches you how to use focused, time effective meetings to help you and your company soar.

This book shows you immediately actionable, step-by-step systems that ensure that you and everyone in your organization improves your meetings, right away.

In the process, you’ll turn meetings that suck into meetings that work. 

In life, we always hear about people who’ve made huge decisions from their gut – without data.Today, I want you to make a decision, not only from your gut, but also from some data.  A decision that is only $12 per employee but will be priceless for your business.

Right now, your gut is telling you something is wrong with your company’s meetings.  You KNOW everyone complains about meetings.

People HATE going to them, they HATE running them, and they really have NO idea which meetings are truly necessary but they hold meetings simply because they think that is what they SHOULD do.

Even some of the smartest CEOs in the world complain about meetings – Elon Musk publicly told employees at Tesla & SpaceX to walk out of meetings if they weren’t being run properly.

I sent Elon a message saying that wasn’t going to fix anything – the key is to fix the root of the problem – NOT continue to ignore why meetings suck.

A Meeting is – Any phone call, video call or occasion where 2 or more people meet to discuss or work-through office topics.

Most employees on average spend 1-2 hours per day in meetings.

And likely, none of those employees – front-line staff or leaders – have had any training on how to attend meetings or participate in them, LET ALONE How to RUN THEM.

Consider this…

If the Average employee spends just 1 Hour per day in meetings – that’s 1/8th of their time.

If the Average employee earns $50,000 per year.

And they’re spending 1/8th of their time in meetings, that means you’re paying $6,250 dollars per year for just ONE employee to attend meetings.

The reality is, employees spend 1/8th of their time – and 1/8th of your company’s payroll – doing something they have literally NO idea how to do.

The Reality is…

95% of employees are booking & leading meetings – and they have NEVER been trained on how to run them.

95% of employees have had NO training on how to show up and participate in the meetings they attend daily.

And 95% of employees and companies have no idea what meetings are even necessary to hold.

Meetings CAN be hugely effective – IF you know how to run them

Meetings don’t SUCK, we just SUCK at running meetings. 

Investing $15 per employee – to help ensure the $50,000 a year you spend on them is an obvious and easy choice.

This could be the most impactful $15 you’ll ever spend and will save the company’s money, time and resources instantly.

Buying a copy of Meetings Suck for 100% of your employees and having them read it this month will have a huge impact on your company’s success.

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Free PR: How To Get Chased By The Press Without Hiring A PR Firm

Public relations has always been an essential part of doing business which is probably why you’re shelling out big money to an outside PR firm. But the truth is that you don’t need them. You already have all the necessary tools in-house to do as good a job as the so-called experts. 

Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic have taught thousands of company execs how to exploit free media coverage and ditch these expensive, often ineffective outsiders. 

Cameron & Adrian have also built in-house PR teams, spent decades learning how to generate Free PR and how to leverage public relations to complement their sales and marketing strategy. 

In Free PR, you’ll learn how the media world operates while you gain invaluable insider knowledge and actionable advice on how to: 

  • Build your own in-house PR team
  • Provide effective interviews
  • Score great media coverage for free with just a few easy steps 

Landing public relations coverage for yourself and your company is a powerful tool to help elevate your personal brand. PR is easier to generate than marketing, PR is easier to leverage than marketing and PR is more cost effective than marketing. In other words, Public Relations is more critical than ever in growing your brand and your business. 

You’ve got more passion, commitment, a larger stake, and a deeper understanding of your business than any outside PR firm could ever have. So stop wasting money and take the reins yourself.  Learn the secrets to landing TONS of Free PR for your company.

What they’re saying:

“I think PR is the core for promoting any business. Public relations acquires customers! That’s what’s cool about this book.”

– Kevin O’Leary,  Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank

“The ultimate guidebook for those looking to get press, grow their brand, and get in front of the masses. Free PR is the roadmap you’ve been looking for.”

– Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

“Adrian and Cameron will show you the secrets of getting massive exposure for your business. This book is packed with actionable insights from two guys that actually know how to to do it.”

– Dan Martell,  Serial Entrepreneur & Investor (Intercom.io, Unbounce)

“I told Cameron to write the book on generating free PR. I’m excited to see that he’s finally sharing his secrets with the world. This is a must read for any entrepreneurial company and marketing team.”

– Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

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Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future

Many corporations have slick, flashy mission statements that ultimately do little to motivate employees and less to impress customers, investors, and partners. 

But there is a way to share your excitement for the future of your company in a clear, compelling, and powerful way and entrepreneur and business growth expert Cameron Herold can show you how. 

Vivid Vision is a revolutionary tool that will help owners, CEOs, and senior managers create inspirational, detailed, and actionable three-year mission statements for their companies. In this easy-to-follow guide, Herold walks organization leaders through the simple steps to creating their own Vivid Vision, from brainstorming to sharing the ideas to using the document to drive progress in the years to come. 

By focusing on mapping out how you see your company looking and feeling in every category of business, without getting bogged down by data and numbers or how it will happen, Vivid Vision creates a holistic road map to success that will get all of your teammates passionate about the big picture. 

Your company is your dream, one that you want to share with your staff, clients, and stakeholders. Vivid Vision is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.

miracle-morning

The Miracle Morning for
Entrepreneurs: Elevate Your SELF to
Elevate Your BUSINESS

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Hal Elrod’sThe Miracle Morning has helped redefine the mornings and the lives of millions of readers since 2012. Since then, careers have been launched, goals have been met, and dreams have been realized, all through the power of the Miracle Morning’s six Life S.A.V.E.R.S.

THESE SIX DAILY PRACTICES WILL FUEL YOUR EFFORTS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.

Now The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs brings you these principles in a whole new light—alongside the Entrepreneurial Elevation Principles and the Entrepreneur’s Elevation Skills. These are essential skills that you need to create a successful business and personal life. Cameron Herold— Bestselling Author and a widely-respected expert on entrepreneurial mindset—brings his wisdom and insight to you using Hal Elrod’s powerful Miracle Morning framework.

DEVELOP A VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND BECOME THE INFLUENTIAL AND INSPIRING LEADER YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE.

The principles and skills you’ll find in this book will help you to channel your passion and achieve balance in a remarkable new way. – Learn why mornings matter more than you think – Learn how to master your own self-leadership and accelerate your personal development – Learn how to manage your energy—physical, mental, and emotional – Learn how to implement Hal Elrod’s invaluable Life S.A.V.E.R.S. in your daily routine – And much more… You’re already an entrepreneur. Now discover how to take your success to the next level by first taking yourself to the next level. The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs is your roadmap to masterfully building an empire with a powerful vision, utilizing your areas of personal genius, with the right team at your side.

Start giving your business and your life the very best opportunities for success, right now.

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.