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Buying a business for MSPs, Chapter 5, Finding, Part B.

Targets for directing your communications: competitors, accountants, commercial solicitors, business brokers, administrators, financial advisors, other deal makers. We’re talking about essentially putting up a sign that says Sell us your business and while your ideal vendors could be anywhere, you should ideally advertise where your target market will be lurking so you get the most bang for your buck. This can mean industry magazines or websites or indeed any of the channels mentioned earlier. As well as advertising the fact you’re an investor looking to acquire a business, you should also read those same publications and websites as they may well have listings for sale.

Walking around trade shows can be a rich source of pickings as you’ll often be talking directly with people you need to deal with. Remember, whether you meet people at a trade show or conference or whatever, you’re playing the long game. It’s likely the people you talk with may not have thought about selling and so it’s important to retain their contact information so that you can maintain communications over time. Also, remember to ask the question, Do you know anyone else that might be interested in selling? because you’ll address a wider audience and, in conjunction with your follow-up communications, you’ll be giving people the chance to let the ideas sink in and harness their network of other potential business vendors. Plus, if there’s a commission in it for them, they may be more predisposed to develop keener ears to listen out for opportunities for you.

Your word of mouth, marketing and social media activity will be enhanced when you make it apparent in the first place and then reiterate that you’re an investor looking for opportunities in X industry, and that you’ll reward people for passing opportunities your way. Let’s take a moment to look at some simple outbound communications by means of identifying a list of suitable people to approach and then contacting them, which can be a very successful strategy endorsed by a number of successful serial entrepreneurs. You can start by simply writing a letter, yes, an old-fashioned printed letter. to a target list and ask them if they’d consider selling their business. Tell them you’re looking to invest in their business and that you’d like to discuss it with them. When contacting people for the first time, it’s essential to remember to sell the idea of having an initial phone call. Keep the outbound message short, simple, and to the point. Keep it respectful, remembering to ask if they know anyone else that might be interested in selling, and ever so slightly humble. highlights the fact that you’re an individual rather than a corporate purchaser, and that you’re in a position to move quickly and would love to have a chat to explore options. Much like the direct marketing covered elsewhere in this book, your results will be improved when you follow up with a phone call or another direct mail piece. It not only shows that you’re serious, but, once again, it’ll give the idea some time to sink in.

While you can get a list of businesses from reputable list brokers, I have found that very often they don’t list many of the businesses that I’d have expected to find there. For that reason, you may wish to augment their data with lists you’ve compiled from train directories, chambers of commerce, web listings, LinkedIn, and good old Google. It’s important that you’re writing to the correct person, i.e. the owner, and that you write personally rather than in an overly corporate style. Frankly, I’d spend the most time on this strategy because it directly communicates with the people you’d want to speak with. Technically, they’re your competitors, assuming you’re acquiring the same vertical. You could take the view that passing any business to a competitor is strengthening them against you.

I take a different stance. Even if passing a lead across doesn’t result in an outright business sale, I believe it’s good to establish and maintain a healthy, patent dialogue with your competitors, because it’s entirely possible to conduct profitable business with them, rather than blindly slugging it out for the same clients. and it can be a lot more beneficial to try and work with your competition. You can pass sales leads between each other on the occasions that the business isn’t quite right for one party, but ideal for the other. For example, sometimes, no matter how hard you try, a potential client simply won’t buy from you, passing it along, and at least one of you gets something from the sale. Furthermore, they may well be products and services that you offer or need that the competitor wants or needs that you can do a deal on. Plus, if either of you changes your mind about selling or buying the other’s business at any stage in the future, you will be a lot more kindly disposed towards the other party if you’ve maintained good relations.

Other potential sources. Business doesn’t operate in a vacuum and there are plenty of other people that are directly connected with companies that you may be interested in acquiring. So ask for their help. Having already mentioned to your own sphere of influence that you’re looking to invest, clients, suppliers, competitors and the like, You can now start to enlist an army of other strategic partners, such as solicitors, accountants, business advisors, consultants, IFAs, insolvency practitioners, retirement specialists, i.e. anyone who’s likely in contact with your potential vendors. By joining some of the various business buyers clubs, you’ll likely meet other deal makers, and it can be a good strategy to swap leads, pool resources, and even share stories with them, as they may have exactly the deal you’re looking for. At the very least, you can learn from each other. To this end, there are various Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups and websites you can join, often for free, and a quick search will prove invaluable.

MSP marketing in bite-sized bits. It’s easier than you think with MKLink. To get more of MKLINK’s MSP MBA Marketing and IT training resources, make sure that you’ve registered for your account for free now at www..mklink.org.