Why we came up with the concept of Seller Incubation

You wouldn’t run a marathon without training (as Lion People Global CEO Annette Lawlor can attest to), yet many business owners often fail to take the necessary steps when preparing for an exit.

And selling your company is most certainly a marathon, typically taking anywhere from 18-to-30 months to close a deal.

This is why it is vital that business owners consider taking on outside help to guide them through the process and get over that finish line.

Some companies may require assistance formulating and executing a growth strategy to help them reach a level where their business is attractive to potential buyers.

But for companies who are already performing at a high level, LPG’s M&A partner Olga Blasco says there are still a number of reasons why they should seek out professional support.

“Even if these business owners have already figured out the key to their success and they have surrounded themselves with extremely talented people and they can win clients and gain market share ahead of competitors and they come up with solutions that are very hard to replicate… Sometimes it still takes that extra external support – consultants, key hires or whatever – to bring it to the finishing line with the expertise and the bandwidth to get the final push.”

‘Bandwidth’ is an important consideration for these business owners because if they are still running the business-as-usual, sometimes it’s very hard to see what is coming around the corner, so bringing in external support is important to keep the deal moving forward.

“The reason we came up with this concept of seller incubation is that regardless of whether you want to exit soon, whatever soon means to you, or in a few years from now, the bottom line is that you’re going to have to get ready for that,” Olga says.

“And in order to get ready for that, you’re going to have to decide that you want to get ready for that and be intentional about it.

“So think about the value you want and ensure that all your efforts are towards that, to make sure you end up in a situation where you have the right negotiating power for the deal structure that suits you.”

‘Getting ready’ requires putting in place professional support mechanisms, like consultants, that you need in order to reach your desirable exit state.

“Consultants can include the right legal advice, the right financial advisor, a growth strategy consultant, sales consultants, or key hires,” Olga says.

“And with the help of these professionals, whether they are hired, whether they are contractors, whether they are consultants, or whatever else, you create an incubation for your business to help you meet your exit goals.”

If you want to know more about this area, visit Lion People Global’s website where you can watch back our M&A Talks series of videos and fill out a questionnaire that entitles you to one hour’s free consultation on getting a LSP or language tech business ready for sale.