We are not in a hurry!

We are not in a hurry! (But actually we are)

Let’s talk about time for a minute. How this relates to deal sourcing? It’s explained quite simply. The time factor plays a crucial role in carrying the deal across the finish line. This is true for both the buyer and the seller alike.

I am not in a hurry

The first statement at the end of a conversation with an entrepreneur who is thinking about selling his company is:

“I’m in no hurry. The company is doing great. I have no pressure.”

That’s not surprising, because there’s no worse starting point for negotiations than the buyer’s knowledge that you need to sell quickly. Now this is certainly the worst case scenario, that a company needs to be sold quickly. This usually only happens when fresh money is urgently needed to maintain the liquidity of the company.

This case will hardly ever occur in our initial discussions. After all, we only talk to companies that are doing well, are on the rise and will soon be worth billions *irony off*.

But that is really rather rare that we have a case here that wants to talk to us because the company is economically struggling. We are not the right people to talk to about that. Our customers want to bring well-functioning and profitable companies forward.

That’s why the issue of time is not an obvious one for the seller here. However, at the latest when we deepen the process together with our customers and sift through the first data, the time factor takes on greater significance and grows strongly in the further course.

Most entrepreneurs are well advised not to make the divestment process known to their employees. This has a variety of reasons and is actually worth a separate article. The buyer on the other hand wants to ensure peace in the company. Nothing is worse than a deal that scares the employees because there are rumors in advance.

We are not in a hurry either

But the buy side, our clientele, is also well advised to move quickly and expeditiously through the process once it has begun. For one thing, quick responsiveness indicates to the seller that the buyer has a well-rehearsed and professional process. For another, the market is so large that if the process is slow, the buyer runs the risk that the seller will prefer to talk to another prospective buyer.

Happens even though we usually talk to targets that are not yet on the market and so certainly have few other prospect conversations.

Hurry up!

In summary, we note that the process must be designed for speed even before the first management call.

Dear buyers: a proposed date for a first call in 2 months, does not make a good impression on the potential seller. I just want to have said it, not that someone says afterwards that he had not known that .

Let´s talk!

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