Business outreach success rate

Member resources:

Frequent asked questions:

What is Searchfunder.com?

Searchfunder.com is an online community of searchers, investors, lenders, brokers and other professionals. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder account to help them network, hire, and mentor others.

What are the benefits of membership?

In addition to accessing the most active online network of business buyers, Searchfunder licenses research that is simply not cost effective for individuals. Access over 15,000 industry reports and 50,000 transaction financials. You also get monthly credits for contact information for your company sourcing campaign with the option to purchase more at drastically discounted rates. Searchfunder has pre-purchased access from these data providers in order to empower individual buyers and to help searchers level the playing field versus private equity.

Do you have deals?

While we are primarily a buy-side network, we do have hundreds of brokers that regularly post deals to the community.

Can I find an internship on Searchfunder?

Absolutely! We have the industry's largest intern job board. If you are considering a search, the first step is to help another business buyer so you can hit the ground running.

What does it cost?

Searchfunder is a subscription service. We offer flexible monthly, annual and lifetime memberships.

Monthly

$79 / month

Annual

$19 / month

Lifetime

$432 / once

Those who maintain an account with us for over 4 continuous years are permanently added to the community without the need for a membership.

Do I need an MBA to join?

While a large number of our members come from dedicated programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, and other top programs, searching is no longer reserved for the elite. With the current abundance of dry powder in private equity, and an increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, good deals rarely go unfunded.

Post a question, deal, job, etc...

Make a post...

Complete registration to post.

by a searcher from Northwestern University
in Melbourne, FL, USA

5yrs ago

Business outreach success rate

What is your success rate in terms of getting to the owner and having a dialogue? What do you say during the conversation?

5 Likes

306 Views

reply by a lender 5yrs ago
from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA

direct outreach is difficult and requires a lot of persistence. most business owners have been called on before by brokers or investment bankers, so the message you present when you do get the chance to make your elevator pitch is really important. quality presentation materials are also important, but should be geared towards the specific deal. you've got to make yourself stand out from the pack. track your interactions with sellers and follow up accordingly. rule of thumb is you will look at 100 deals to do just 1, so dont be discouraged, but be focused

reply by a searcher 5yrs ago
from New York Institute of Technology in Plano, TX, USA

Ryan, if you're looking for a good resource, I suggest you read Buy then Build. The question of business outreach comes up and when dealing with a broker it gives you insights into being a "good buyer". Additionally, questions that you might want to ask a business owner are in there. Finally, if you're reaching out cold to a business owner that isn't actively selling their business you might find their idea of the company's valuation to be prohibitively high. Buy then Build addresses this as well.