Wednesday, April 18, 2012
- Searching for a business is sales; it's the same as a business prospecting for customers. Have a proven search plan and implement it properly.
- Cash is king (and so is cash flow).
- The queen is relationships and like in chess the queen is the most powerful piece in the game. It's a relationship game and don't forget it; nobody buys from or sells to someone they don't like.
- You won't, "Know it when you see it." You must define your criteria.
- Correspondingly (to the previous rule), when you see where you can add real value you will get excited and want to take action (buy that particular company).
- You must show confidence, speed and creativity.
- Growth hides a lot of operational warts and those warts tend to work their way out.
- Don't fall in love with the product. Fall in love with the business model and its value proposition. This means you want a business with a defensible competitive advantage.
- The bigger the spreadsheet the less chance of a deal.
- There are no perfect businesses and no perfect deals.
Over the last 15 years Mr. Martinka has written over 200 articles, authored a workbook, assisted on over 100 buy-sell transactions and spoken to thousands of people on the subjects of buying, selling or growing small to mid-sized businesses. Some of his related articles and speeches include:
• The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Buying
• Non-Financial Factors Influence a Company's Value
• How to Sell Your Business for What you Thought When Other People Can't
• Growth by Acquisition is the Fastest, Least Painful Way to Grow
• An ACTION? Plan to Sell Your Business
Mr. Martinka can be reached at 425-576-1814 or at
john@johnmartinka.com. Please follow him on his website at www.partneroncall.com/johnmartinka, his blog www.johnmartinka.com, and via Twitter at
http://twitter.com/johnmartinka He is available to speak to groups of business people and to write articles for all varieties of media.
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