Going through the due diligence process as a seller, or even as a buyer, is not easy. It often feels like everything is happening at once, at a time when you have to make big decisions for your business.
Staying focused on the tasks ahead can help make navigating the selling process less stressful, leading to a greater outcome. But to be successful, the focus needs to come from the entire team, not just the owner or management team. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind throughout the due diligence process.
Focus
As you go through the due diligence process, you might feel like you have a second job. It’s time consuming to put together the materials needed for presentations, the confidential memorandum, and prepare the books. However, you also need to continue to make regular business calls, talk to customers, and ensure your employees are happy even though you have this behind-the-scenes project going on. Address all the internal happenings on a daily basis. Losing track of these details may cause a major dip in sales for your company which can hurt the potential sale. Keep your foot on the gas and never settle. Your advisors can only do so much for your company if you don’t keep your head on your shoulders and remember that running and maintaining your business is a top priority.
Emotions
This might be the first and only time you go through this type of transaction. Selling a business can be very emotional, and those emotions can often take you by surprise. This is a hectic period but keep reminding yourself that you will get through it. Making a plan to help ease the constant workload, creating milestone charts, assigning tasks, and scheduling meetings are all things that can be done to avoid stress. Business deals are time-consuming and demanding, but doable. Your emotional stability is a reflection of your focus and dedication not only for you, but for your entire team.
Transparency
Lack of transparency throughout this process will only hurt you in the long run. If your employees were to be blind-sided by the huge decision to sell the business, they’ll begin asking questions like: What’s going to happen to me? Do I have a job? Is my title going to change? Am I valued? As a business owner, it’s critical to be as transparent as possible with your team so that their job performance doesn’t waver. Let them know that you are dedicated to finding the right buyer that fits everyone’s needs and that this buyer will bring additional capital for future growth. You can even incentivize; perhaps there’s an opportunity to keep employees motivated with a bonus once the deal is closed. Without transparency, your team may lose focus, and next thing you know, you lose yours.
At the end of the day, you aren’t in this alone. Regardless of how difficult things may be to overcome, always remember that your team has your back. Focusing on one thing at a time will make everything run smoothly. It’s a simple mindset that can cause a huge difference in the outcome of a deal.
Osage Advisors provides a lot of guidance in the M&A market here on our blog and on our YouTube channel and Podcast.
