Visiting a new facility / Meeting with an Owner

January 23, 2024

by a searcher in Delaware, EE. UU.

Tomorrow I will be visiting a new facility.

Everytime i have a meeting with a family or a business owner to evaluate if it will be a good company to acquire this is the most important thing i ALWAYS keep in my mind (see video).

https://www.selffundedroom.com/intros

I don´t like to approach these meetings in a transactional way. I have heard some stories from other searchers that operate as DOOR to DOOR Sales People. I go there to know their life story, to meet the person behind the business owner, to understand the culture and have fun...

It's just like DATING.

Would you go on a first date trying to evalue if you will marry her/him or just to have fun and share? Of course, if you both go on a date it is probably because you want a relationship/sex/romance (sell & acquire)... but I have never met a good seducer that makes his intentions explicit.

It is in the air.

Let me know how you approach your first meetings with potential sellers.

Reply by a professional
in Boca Raton, FL, USA

Certainly parts of this are true, but for many owner operators who will be exiting and don't have a deep tie to their business' future; meaning those who do not have the perpetuation of their legacy as being top of the list, price and terms win the deal. This is not to discount the human element - it is a massive part and specifically related to a buyer that impresses them as being THE person that will carry on their legacy and addresses their 'hot buttons'. The one that impresses them and can effectively demonstrate they can get the deal done, gets the best deal terms. Of course, likability is really important and so important that it is the key component that keeps the conversation going beyond the first interaction. The agenda is to have a meaningful conversation from the onset, but sellers want the buyer who will get to the finish line. Regarding the note about a "few key questions" - there are 36 critical ones to be addressed.

Reply by a searcher
from University of Missouri in Dallas, TX, USA

^redacted‌- this is the approach I use as well. I first try to make a human connection and get to know the person on the other side. That being said, I also make my intentions clear that I want to buy their business and always have a few key questions I want answered.

The key is to keep everything very conversational. There is a saying in sales that states, “people buy from people they like.” For small business acquisitions, I think a similar saying is true, “owners sell to people they like.”

+1 more reply.

Join the discussion