Sell Side Engagements:
1) Initial Consultation
- Get to know your Company, your story, your pain points, your needs & what's prompting this conversation.
- Secure initial financial/operational profile & general Q&A
- Provide ballpark valuation
2) Draft Representation Agreement
- We define purchase price & terms or go to market via an open ended (no asking price) competitive auction.
- If a defined purchase price - you're priced at the highest realistic sales price, with strategic price reductions built in over time. We need 90 days at the price we KNOW the Company should attract multiple bids at.
- If a competitive auction - we set a defined end date in the Confidential Information Memorandum to entice activity from all Buyers.
- Engagement terms range from 3 months (rare), 6-12 months (typical), to 18 months (rare - only if we disagree materially on valuation).
3) Compile Due Diligence Material
- Once hired formally, we provide a checklist of due diligence items that we will require to effectively close your deal at the highest possible #.
- We consult with your advisers, CPA's, legal counsel, employees (if you direct us to), and any team members that help us tell the best & most comprehensive story about your Company.
- We craft an initial first round due diligence package or Confidential Information Memorandum.
- We build a data room and tuck away sensitive financial and all related documents that we release only to the one qualified lead that makes an offer to purchase or submits a Letter of Intent that you accept.
4) Craft Compelling Ad Copy
- We consult with you and you approve engaging content that we blast out everywhere anyone is looking for acquisitions in your geography, industry, historical gross & net revenue thresholds, and all related keywords that apply to your Company.
5) Email Blast Our Internal Database
- We have every lead we've talked to that has inquired about purchasing a business categorized by SIC code going back over a decade.
6) Search Proprietary Databases for Strategics & Contact Them
- We have subscriptions to numerous lead generation sites that provide us the contact information for other company CEO's and Owners in your same space.
- We harvest those leads and create an email blast to them (if you want us to only - sometimes Sellers opt out of this stage for confidentiality reasons).
7) Publish Ad Copy & Pay for Upgraded Advertising
- We create custom landing pages and keyword rich content on our site to increase engagement on the Ace Business Brokers website.
- We have premium/platinum/etc...memberships on nearly all of the decently trafficked business for sale listing exchanges, and often pay extra out of pocket to ensure our opportunities are displayed above the rest of the riff raff for sale.
8) Qualify and Secure Confidentiality Agreements from Buyers
- We have a full time person that follows up with all Buyer inquiries during normal business hours within minutes of receipt.
- We have an online form on this site and on a googledocs platform to encourage compliance and submission - it takes less than one minute to complete.
- We review all submissions for characteristics that would highlight a qualified Buyer v. a poor candidate, often times a personal phone call is mandatory prior to releasing the initial Buyer package on file with Ace Business Brokers.
9) Babysit Buyers
- Often times Buyers are shopping a ton of opportunities from a ton of Brokers, so we have 3 separate points of contact with them after they secure the initial package from our firm.
- Either they want to buy, they are a "pass", or just like baseball after 3 strikes with no reply, they are out as an active prospect!
10) Facilitate Initial Conference Calls or Site Visits
- With a world wide Buyer pool, often times the Buyer that will pay the most may not necessarily be in your backyard. So whatever means we can we set up a conference call on our bridge, or coordinate with you and shepherd the first Buyer/Seller meeting personally.
11) Babysit Buyers, Again.
- We make sure that all prospects that take up your time get extra attention and ensure they give us a final answer of a yes or no-go within a reasonable period of time after the first meeting.
12) Draft the Asset Purchase Agreement, Letter of Intent, or Indication of Interest
- Assuming the Buyer wishes to proceeds we prefer to secure a signed Asset Purchase Agreement, but are comfortable drafting an LOI or IOI per Buyer preference.
13) Share Confidential Secondary Due Diligence Documentation
- Prior to the official marketing campaign launch we populate our secure Data Room with your tax returns, recent bank statements, lease(s) (if applicable, and other relevant documents.
14) Remove Buyer Conditions to (Close the Transaction - Preferred) or Open Escrow
- Depending on the size and complexity of the transaction, we either draft closing documents if appopriate and we satisfy all of the Buyer's Due Diligence requirements.
- For larger transactions or those involving third party financing we would have the Buyer submit a 10% (or more) deposit to open escrow from one of our team of escrow companies we've used throughout the country.
15) Remove Escrow Conditions to Close the Transaction
- Since every deal is different ~ we basically run ragged doing whatever it is that needs to be done so you get paid. Because if you don't get paid, we don't see a dime!
16) Celebrate!
- Closing dinner is always on the Ace Business Brokers corporate card! We work hard and love to play hard. It's an arduous journey, but a fruitful one, so we appreciate everything our clients go through to get to the finish line with us as your guide!
Buy Side Engagements
1) Initial Consultation
- Get to know your Company, your story, your needs & what makes up the perfect acquisition target for you.
2) Draft Buy-Side Engagement Agreement
- We define terms together explicitly on a per lead basis. You have right of first refusal on ALL Seller that arise from the campaign that you bankroll.
- For telemarketing campaigns - $1.25 per lead. 2 outbound calls minimum.
- For direct mail campaigns - $1.00 per lead. 1 letter sent & 1 follow up call.
- For email campaigns - $0.75 per lead. 2 emails sent - 60 days apart.
- You own all the data.
- Full transparency - we set up a googledoc so you can monitor all aspects of our campaign together. We complete all campaigns within 60 days of down payment receipt.
3) Data Mine Leads that Match Your Search Parameters
- Using our proprietary lead sources we uncover as many targets as we can within the SIC code, revenue profile, geography, or any number of other parameters you so desire.
- We finalize our lead count together.
4) Secure payment for services
- All Buy-side campaigns are paid in advance.
5) Accountability Controls
- Once payment clears, the 60 day clock starts.
- We set up your custom Googledoc that has all of your leads and their corresponding "Next Action" and "Last Action" updates.
6) Positive Lead Introduction
- When we get a hit, we'll hit you up immediately to detail the prospect and figure out if it's something you wish to pursue.
- Leads that are declined are processed as any other Seller. If a closing occurs (with whomever) we reimburse 50% of your campaign costs as our way of saying Thank You!
7) Facilitate a Successful Transaction
- We provide all the same services on a Buy Side Engagement that we do on our Sell-side engagement above and guide the transaction to the finish line for you. We advise the Seller that we are to be compensated only for a successful transaction only.