Ready to Sell: The Nine Steps to sell your business for more
If you are looking to get the most money possible for your business when you sell it, the time to start is now. Whether you are looking to sell your business in 2 years or 20 years. This course will help you look at your business from the eyes of the buyer. You will take your seller goggles off and put your buyer glasses on. This course explores the steps and methodologies for developing a sustainable business without the business owner being involved in the day-to-day operations. Trainers will work 1-1 with business owners, managers, and key personnel to identify areas of susceptibility if the owner is no longer present and how to address these concerns as an organization and as a team. This training aims to ensure that a business and its employees can continue to operate independently of the business owner and may be presented in person, virtually, or hybrid.
Program Goals
Training will be focused on systems, processes, and procedures to evolve current businesses that rely on the business owner to operate to one that can sustain and grow without the business owner being involved in the day-to-day operations. We will teach a series of activities and actions following a repeatable approach to transforming an organization into a well-oiled machine based on detailed written processes and procedures.
Understanding Value
Value is both global and local in nature. Global value is the value that provides a prospective client with the organization’s marketing, while local value is the value that is realized that is specific to the needs of the prospective client.
Reduce the Owner Reliance
As an organization grows, the organization could put the right people in the right places to make the organization less reliant on the business owner to be engaged in day-to-day operations.
Make Better Decisions
By ensuring that you are using accurate data to decide what to improve, you can greatly increase the possibility that your improvements will be successful the first time rather than several unsuccessful attempts. By using this data to track your progress, you can correct these improvement initiatives before they go “off the rails,” which can save costs and time.
Create Culture
Culture is the foundation of all decisions for the organization. With the identification of the organizational culture, there will be better hiring and retention, and it gives the organization the foundation on to base the decisions they make to be successful.
Engage Your People
Given a choice between working for a company that shows care and concern for staff and one that does not, most people would prefer the first. Engaging your employees to be a part of the solution will allow them to:
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Gain more clarity on what is expected of them as employees.
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Understand leadership involvement and worker participation and how the organization operates.
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Better communication with all participants.
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Align the value provided and objectives with the strategic direction of the organization.
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Be a part of the creation of business processes and procedures for the organization.
Skill Attainment
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Participants will learn to use the elements of a successful organization to make better decisions based on data.
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They will identify where and on what to spend their time.
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They will learn to communicate to ensure an agreed-upon expectation between all parties.
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They will learn how to listen by asking the right questions
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They will create a process for time management
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They will create new job descriptions specific to a need, not a role.
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They will learn what their financials actually say.
Nine Steps to sell your business for more
All sections include a lecture, hands-on demonstration, a review of the previous section, activities, and peer lead discussions.
Current State. What is the current state of your business? What do your financials look like? Where are you stuck? What is working well, and what is not working do well? We will dive into the company from the inside out. You can’t measure what you don’t track. This is the first step to defining where we are going. This is the baseline. When you do the work, the only option is up.
Identifying and defining the culture. It all starts here. Every organization has a culture, whether it is defined or not. Participants will use a systematic approach to identify and limit the company culture, mission, vision statements, and core values. The company culture is the foundation of all businesses and how all decisions are made
The Employee Journey. Sometimes as business owners we forget that our number one customer is our employee. For without our employees, the end-user customer would not be taken care of. We will create an environment for motivation, and a place where your employees fell honored to work.
Processes and Procedures. The last section will identify how to create processes and procedures within the organization to operate in an automated fashion and create an opportunity for cross-training employees.
Value Identification and Articulation. This process identifies and enables the business to articulate the value of their products and/or service providers to their clients and potential clients.
Owner Involvement. The more the owner is involved in a business the less it is worth. Often the identity of the business owner is wrapped up in the business. “No one cares as much as I do”. “This business is my baby”. These are sayings that are detrimental to the highest value of a business. Blood, sweat and tears don’t equal value.
Customer Journey. What does your customer really think about your business? What better way than to ask them. You will identify what the customer thinks and what they want from you. Additionally, we will identify those customers that might make up more than 15% of revenue and how to change that.
Owner Fulfillment. There are several factors that go into selling a business. We will identify the reasons and create pull factors and rid the seller of the push factors when selling a business. When we are done, we will answer the question: What will you do when you are no longer the owner of this business?
Seller Preparation. Help the seller get prepared for the process of selling the business. There are many emotions that come into play with selling a business. This section will prepare the seller for what to expect when going through the process of selling their business. When you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Meet Your One on One Coach
Dane DeSantis
Hello, I'm Dane DeSantis, the driving force behind "Ready To Sell." My journey in the business brokerage arena spans over 18 years, and I'm proud my company is a recognized name in the community and honored as a Business of the Year finalist in 2017 and 2019 by The Venice Area Chamber of Commerce
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As the owner and managing broker of Hallmark Business Brokers, I'm on a heartfelt mission to guide entrepreneurs towards an empowered and beneficial exit. If you're contemplating selling or are eager to elevate the value of your business, I've crafted an 18-month coaching program to optimally position your enterprise for a lucrative departure.
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I strongly believe that my professional ethos mirrors my personal life. Here's what I stand for:
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· Relationships: Earning trust is at the heart of all my interactions.
· Honesty: I'm committed to transparency, ensuring my clients always know where they stand, even in challenging times.
· Respect: I deeply acknowledge and honor the hard work every business owner pours into their venture.
· Education: I’m here to navigate you through each step, simplifying the intricate processes of business preparation and transition
· Reliability: My word is my bond, and my reputation stands as a testament to my unwavering dedication.
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Beyond the confines of business, I'm an enthusiastic sports lover, an avid woodworker, and a devoted father. My aim as a parent is to lead by example and inspire my children every day. Additionally, I'm passionate about giving back and am an active volunteer with several charitable organizations in our community.
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In a nutshell, I'm not just a business broker. I'm your mentor, advisor, and staunch supporter, here to ensure your business transitions smoothly and profitably.
Learn More About Dane
Frequently Asked Questions
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