In this webinar that we co-hosted with Jeremy Furtick of Northstar Mergers & Acquisitions, we dive into the 4 most important actions you can take right now to skyrocket the value of your business and put yourself on the right trajectory for a successful sale.
Watch the full webinar here, or keep scrolling to get a detailed breakdown of everything we covered.
If you’re thinking about selling your business, you’ve probably started digging into ways of increasing your value, of pumping up your multiple so that you get the maximum sales price possible.
In this webinar, we dove into the 4 highest-impact marketing activities that you can put into place today to make your business highly attractive to potential buyers, helping you to ultimately secure a better deal.
1. Creating a Marketing Inventory
A thorough marketing inventory is your first step toward increasing the value of what you’ve built—you can’t make any moves until you know what tools you have to work with in the first place.
Start by cataloging every marketing asset you have, assessing each asset’s effectiveness, and then scoring and categorizing those assets to see if they’re currently useful or if they need an upgrade.
How to Do It
- Audit Your Assets: Start by creating a comprehensive list that includes the following:
- Social media profiles
- Websites
- Logos
- Branding guidelines
- Usernames and passwords
- Print collateral (mailers, brochures, whitepapers)
- Digital collateral (presentations, videos, blog posts)
- Marketing budget and finance information
- Evaluate Each Asset: Assess each item for accuracy, branding alignment, relevance to current and potential target markets, and whether or not you can still use it. This step might reveal outdated materials that need refreshing or repurposing.
- Score and Categorize: Assign a score to each asset based on its condition and relevance. Then, organize assets by the target audience, the product or service they promote, the channels they fit into, and their purpose within your marketing strategy.
2. Setting Your KPIs
Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the heartbeat of your marketing success, providing tangible proof of your business’s viability and growth potential to prospective buyers.
How to Do It
- Identify Crucial Metrics: Focus on metrics that matter most to buyers, like overall marketing ROI, cost per acquisition, repeat purchase rate, and customer lifetime value. For each marketing channel (social media, digital marketing, email, etc.), identify specific KPIs that demonstrate success and growth potential.
- Implement Reporting Tools: Ensure you have comprehensive reporting tools in place, such as Google Analytics, CRM systems, and social listening tools. These instruments are essential for tracking and showcasing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
- Showcase Your Success: Use data from your tools to illustrate a clear picture of your marketing achievements. This transparency is key in building trust and showcasing your business’s value to potential buyers.
3. Creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Your Marketing Activities
Documented SOPs (critical tools we develop for all of our clients’ custom marketing strategies) ensure that your marketing operations are systematic, repeatable, and not reliant on any one individual. This stability is crucial for maintaining business value during and after a sale.
How to Do It
- Document Every Process: Start by outlining step-by-step instructions for each marketing activity, including:
- Required tools
- Login information
- Tracking mechanisms
- Report frequencies
- Benchmarks for success and failure
- Ensure Transferability: Make sure your SOPs are clear and comprehensive enough to be followed by anyone on your marketing team (and even new hires), ensuring continuity and efficiency.
- Invest in Project Management Tools: Utilize project management software like Asana or Trello to manage and maintain these processes, reinforcing their importance and permanence within your business structure.
4. Your Post-Transition Plan
A well-thought-out post-transition plan reassures potential buyers about the future stability and growth trajectory of your business after the sale.
How to Do It
- Outline Expectations and Resources: Detail what the acquirer should expect in terms of business performance and what additional resources might be needed.
- Document Usage of Resources: Provide clear documentation on how any additional resources will be used to maintain or enhance business operations.
- Set Post-Sale KPIs: Establish clear KPIs and expectations for the period following the sale, ensuring that the business continues to thrive under new ownership.
Grab All the Free Marketing Resources We Discussed in the Webinar
Increasing your business’s value before a sale is a strategic process that demands attention to detail and a deep understanding of what potential buyers value. By completing these 4 activities, you not only enhance your business’s appeal but also pave the way for a smoother and more profitable sale.
Grab the resources mentioned in the webinar, including the DealMap, the Marketing Inventory Template, and the Metrics that Matter snapshot.