Deal flow can look chaotic from the outside. Tracking deal movement requires the ability to react quickly. Facilitating connections requires a heightened sense of where the opportunities are.
As I wrote about in Label & Narrow Web magazine, opening pathways and unraveling the complexities of the deal for my clients are a key part of the game.
Many of you know that I grew up on the ice. When you’re a kid in Minnesota, you play hockey. You learn to hit the ice at full skate, whether you’re entering the game for the first time or returning from the penalty box.
Hockey waits for no one.
Similarly, deals wait for no one. Windows of opportunity open and close. Buyers have access to money – and then they don’t. Sellers change their minds or get cold feet. Players flow in and flow out.
Every gain is hard-won.
I’ve watched hockey, played hockey, and coached hockey. I’ve thought a lot about how it affects the way I work and compete. Success comes from passing and moving and keeping your eye on the target.
As with hockey, I make my progress for my team and my clients through daily hard work. I take nothing for granted. I track the players, the skirmishes, the power plays, and the long strategies.
In my discussions with owners who are thinking about selling, here’s what I’m noticing in the buy-sell arena:
- Profitable packaging and label businesses will continue to be in favor as buying targets, especially in niche and specialty sectors.
- Strategic buyers want fast, fair deals with maximum synergy.
- Platform builders in every industry are acquiring segments in the supply chain.
- Earn-outs are back in fashion as exit strategies.
Buyers of smaller specialty operations are looking at:
- Modest graphic arts businesses with loyal customers.
- Businesses with sales and marketing talent.
- A geographic advantage.
Buyers want to be sure the seller’s employment situation is stable:
- Employment is unpredictable. Some workers are calling time out, leaving businesses in a precarious position. Sellers should focus on retention.
- Recruitment and attractive compensation packages are top priorities for attracting new talent.
Asking prices and multiples:
- Sellers with strong financial, strategic, or operational advantages have sold at high levels with record multiples,
- An influx of fresh sellers is keeping buyer enthusiasm in a frenzy.
If you’re thinking of selling, be aware that there’s a glut of sellers out there. Some are well prepared and positioned correctly. Some are a mess.
I strongly recommend you read my free guide Code Red: 12 Seller Mistakes, which will help you avoid some of the pitfalls on the seller side.
At LaManna Consulting Group, we’re connecting buyers and sellers like never before. We’re facilitating executive placements and referring industry experts to meet overwhelming demand. We’re making introductions between entities whose sole purpose is to grow and consistently make money.
The game is flowing in unexpected ways. Energy is at a fever pitch. The crowd is roaring. The boards are humming.
The buy-sell arena is vibrating, and we’re hitting the ice running.