Ask any seasoned broker who does deals in volume “What causes deals to die?” and they will tell you over and over again advisors.
Advisors take on all shapes and sizes. They include: attorneys, accountants, wives, husbands, brothers, bartenders, banks, friends, anonymous folks on chat boards and a whole litany of characters.
When conducting a business sale you should solicit advice and counsel. Just make sure that the counsel and support of the professionals you engage meet the needs of your engagement and more importantly fit within the team of folks you are using to consummate the deal. What does that mean exactly?
Although cliche’ your advisors must function as a team and work in concert together withing their specific roles and at a tempo necessary to get a deal done. Often times (like right now) I see buyers engage accountants or CPA’s whose sense of urgency to perform work within a timeline is lacking. This is critical …..”Time Kills Deals” and when accountants and attorneys dray deals out or fail to respond in a timely manner to issues within the construct of a deal emotions escalate and minor issues become bigger issues.
So what to do? The story of the Oakland A’s in the movie moneyball and their revolutionary method they used to build a winning team is a great example of how buyers and sellers should choose the “Team” of advisors working to close a deal. Look at the talents, skills, core competencies, and record when putting the team together. Believe me it matters. The dead deal pile is full of deals that died because of an accountant going out of town, or attorney not responding in 48 hours, or going on vacation (believe me it happens). You are the General Manager, you decide who plays and who does not. Do not relinquish control, be in charge and close the deal with the right team.
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