Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory

A Neumann & Associates, LLC

November 12, 2020

Getting the Most from a Business Sale

By Jeremy Albelda

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Many small business owners are determined to sell their businesses on their own in order to avoid paying a commission.  That’s understandable – sellers want as much money as possible from the sale of what is likely to be his or her biggest asset.  They think they know one or more individuals that might be interested in buying the business, so all they have to do is talk to them and get a deal in place.

But how do you really maximize what you get as a seller?

The obvious first choice is price.  In many ways, trying to maximize sale price is like playing “The Price Is Right,” the TV game show that’s been with us for nearly 50 years.  In the game, contestants guess the price of an item.  They try to get as close as possible to the item’s price but without going over the actual price.  It’s the same with a business.  Price it too low and the business sells, but the owner leaves money on the table.  Price it too high and nobody buys it.

In order to maximize proceeds, the sale needs to be at the highest achievable price.  The way to find out that price is to have an independent 3rd party valuation company perform an objective assessment of value.  Yes, business valuations do require an up-front investment, but the ability to maximize the asking price is nearly always substantially more beneficial than the cost of the valuation.  An independent business valuation also serves as documentation of how that price was determined.  If buyers don’t want to pay the asking (valuation) price, then it’s incumbent on them to identify what’s wrong with the value calculations.  In our experience, they rarely are able to do so, and as a result, nearly all businesses sell at, or very close to, the asking price.  And the fact that the valuation was performed by an independent, professional, accredited firm lends additional credibility to the results.  (And we actually refund the cost of the valuation at the time of sale, so there really is no cost to the seller.)

No matter how the asking price is determined, it is important for the business not to lose value during the selling process. This can happen in a number of ways.  If customers and employees find out that the owner is working on selling the business, uncertainty about the new owner could cause customers to consider alternate suppliers and employees to consider alternate employers.  Loss of key customers and employees will be noticed by a prospective buyer, who will likely want to renegotiate the price based on the diminished capabilities of the business.

Additionally, owners trying to sell businesses themselves risk neglecting ongoing operations while they try to manage the sale, and wasting time with buyers who don’t even have enough money for the down payment.  This lack of focus can be significantly detrimental to the sales and profitability of a company, with the resultant loss of value.

Many things can go wrong that will lead to a much worse outcome – including no deal at all or compromising the business value in the process – than paying an intermediary to do things correctly.

But what if having an intermediary actually, on average, increases the sale price MORE THAN the cost of paying a broker commission?

“Intuitively, we’ve always believed that we add a substantial amount of value to a transaction,” says Achim Neumann, A Neumann & Associates’ CEO, “but believing it and having evidence to substantiate such a claim are two different things.”

It’s hard to find any study to prove our worth.  You can’t look at the same business with and without an intermediary – it only sells once!  To compare different kinds of businesses might not be statistically valid.  We did find one study, however, conducted by a respected firm, Mercer Capital.

The Mercer Capital study was done on banks, particularly small private banks, because it’s one of the few industries that has both enough available financial information about the banks themselves as well as about the transaction prices – the prices for which the banks were sold.  One might think that an analysis of bank transactions would not apply to them.  Instead, it might apply even mores so.  According to a description of the study by Jay D. Wilson, Jr., published in their Mercer’s “Value Matters” newsletter, “The transaction data analyzed clearly indicates that transaction advisors play a very significant role in helping owners maximize the value received for their banks, despite the increased level of information available.”

How significant?  Controlling for bank size and other factors, says Wilson, “It was found that those sellers who utilized a transaction advisor received substantially higher pricing multiples and were more likely to maximize the value received from their investment.”  Furthermore, “[T]hose banks sold with the assistance of a transaction advisor received a 20% higher price to earnings multiple and a 15% higher price to tangible book multiple.”

For most non-banks, price to tangible book multiples are not very relevant.  But price to earnings multiples are critical.  “What this study says,” comments Gary Herviou, Vice President of A Neumann & Associates, “is that transaction advisors like us add substantially more value – in the form of increased sale prices – than we absorb in success fees.”

So why use an M&A advisor like A. Neumann & Associates, LLC?  Well, we preserve confidentiality while getting the word out to the maximum number of potential buyers.  We qualify buyers to make sure they have the money to do the deal, preventing a business owner away from wasting time on “window shoppers.”  We make sure all due diligence is performed correctly – like orchestrating the business valuation and preparing the marketing documents.  And last but not least: we get actual sale price premiums that significantly exceed our commissions.

What could be better?

About A Neumann & Associates, LLC

A Neumann & Associates, LLC is a professional mergers & acquisitions and business brokerage firm having assisted business owners and buyers in the business valuation and business transfer process through its affiliations for the past 30 years. With an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, the company has senior trusted professionals with a deep knowledge based in multiple field offices along the East Coast and has performed hundreds of business valuations in its history. The firm’s competitive transaction fees are based on successfully completing transactions. For more information, please contact A Neumann & Associates at 732-872-6777 or info@neumannassociates.com

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Client Testimonials

“ I appreciate your diligent approach to screening buyers and sellers as well as the high quality CIM that you produce.”

Andrey O, Investor

“Finally enjoying retirement after recently selling my business using the services of A Neumann & Associates. Joe Oddo provided the conduit to a successful transaction. Joe knew when to inject input and when to simply listen and allow the buyers to vent, step back and regroup. The outcome met our expectations and got us to the finish line, which included my staying with the company six months in order for the buyers to get their footing and keep our workforce in the loop. He helped at every step by providing his expert guidance & resources. Thank you!”

Emily Parker Myers, Co-Owner - Myers McRae

“I had been in touch with Karin and Gary from A Neumann & Associates regarding some opportunities and was looking forward to meeting with them. Hence, when they organized a seminar in Princeton, NJ, I was quick to sign up. The seminar was very informative as the team walked the attendees through various scenarios and referenced real life buying/selling situations they had been through. The sessions by Gary, Karin and Achim were crisp and focused and brought clarity to potential seller and buyers. I strongly recommend the team and look forward to continue working with them.”

Gaurav Tyagi

“Thank you for your Event on "How to value, Sell, and Buy A Business for Maximum Profit" and the insight into ANA’s approach on what is involved in the Business Exit for sellers. Garys Hervieiou's "Business Valuation", Achim's "Deal structure" presentation and Karin’s "Preparing the Package" are real street knowledge shared. They answered attendees questions which makes it more interesting for learning from others. Great for small businesses like us. The presentations were totally worth our time and travel for the event to Princeton, NJ from Rockville MD. Ravi Bhutani, President, CIPS”

Ravi Bhutani

“Gary, this is to thank you for an excellent job done in selling our business. We could never have done it without your professional expertise, dedication and time put in without reservation to make it happen. We will gladly and highly recommend you to anybody in our position.  It was a pleasure to work with you.”

Pat Iammatteo, Owner

“Your vetting is simply outstanding, among the best I've seen from a broker.”

Eric H., Investor

“I recently contacted A. Neumann and Associates about getting a valuation of my business done. I spoke with Marc, who explained the process in detail. After meeting with Marc in order to get a clear understanding of my business, and what I was hoping to accomplish. His patience in answering all my questions and his knowledge of the proper way to market my business gave me great confidence that this is the firm I will be using to sell my business for max value. Working with Marc at A Neumann & Associates was very easy and professional. I did not know all that was going to be involved in selling my business but they helped me through the process. What I thought was going to be a just another one of those pushy sales companies was just the opposite. Polite, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to and deal with. I highly recommend this firm to anybody who wants to sell now or down the road. Marc not only knows his stuff, but actually is a real nice guy.”

Double Diamond

“Used A Neumann & Associates to sale my business. could not imagine having done it with out the patience and experience Gary provided. Thanks Gary,”

Dennis Frazier

“Working with Marc and his company was a pleasure. What I thought was going to be a just another one of those pushy sales companies was just the opposite. Polite, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to and deal with. Marc handled most of the interaction and he has one of the greatest demeanors. Again, it was a pleasure working with him and his firm.”

Douglas DiCeglio

“I recently completed an acquisition using A Neumann & Associates. Tony Valentino was very helpful and accessible during the entire process. They do a thorough job vetting both parties and got us to the finish line.”

Srini Mudambi
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Contact A Neumann & Associates, LLC

If you are considering selling your business, please contact us to learn more about our comprehensive service spectrum. Our experienced professionals will answer all your questions about selling a privately held business in complete confidentiality. Please fill out our contact form, or call us at 732-872-6777. We will contact you directly and will never identify ourselves to your employees.

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