Essential Meeting Tips for Buyers & Sellers
The buyer-seller meeting is quite often a “make or break” meeting. Your business broker or M&顾问将尽一切可能确保这次会议顺利进行.
重要的是要意识到在买家和卖家真正见面之前很少有报价. 最重要的提议通常会在最重要的会议之后直接提出. 因此，您希望确保会议尽可能积极和富有成效.
买家需要了解出售业务的过程是如何运作的，以及在这个过程中对他们的期望是什么. 买家还需要明白，听从经纪人的建议将增加成功365备用的机会.
Sellers should be ready to be honest and forthcoming during the meeting. 他们还希望确保自己的言行不被认为是强硬的销售策略.
Asking the Right Questions
If you are a buyer preparing to meet a business owner for the first time, you’ll want to make sure any questions you ask are appropriate and logical. It is important for buyers to place themselves in the shoes of the other party.
买方也不应该在没有做足功课的情况下出席买方-卖方会议. 所以，一定要提前做一些计划，这样你就可以提出一些很好的问题，表明你了解公司的业务.
Building a Positive Relationship
Buyers should, of course, plan to be polite and respectful. They should also be prepared to avoid discussing politics and religion, which often can be flashpoints for confrontation. When sellers don’t like prospective buyers, then the odds are good that they will also not place trust in them.
For most sellers, their business is a legacy. It quite often represents years, or even decades, of hard work. Needless to say, sellers value their businesses. 许多人会觉得，至少在某种程度上，这反映了他们个人的感受. Buyers should keep these facts in mind when dealing with sellers. 不遵循这些指导方针可能会导致买卖双方之间的敌意，并对成功的机会产生负面影响.
Sellers Should Be Truthful
Sellers also have a significant role in the process. While it is true that sellers are trying to sell their business, they don’t want to come across as a salesperson. Instead, sellers should try to be as real and honest as possible.
Every business has some level of competition. With this in mind, sellers should not pretend that there is zero competition. 一个精明的买家将超过有点怀疑.
The key to a successful outcome is for business brokers and M&顾问要提前与他们的买家和卖家合作，确保他们了解预期的内容，以及如何最好地接近买家和卖家的会议. With the right preparation, the odds of success will skyrocket.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Negotiating the Price Gap Between Buyers and Sellers
Sellers generally desire all-cash transactions; however, 在典型的中间市场公司365备用中，部分卖方融资通常是必要的. Furthermore, 要求全现金365备用的卖家通常得到的购买价格低于如果365备用结构不同的话得到的价格.
Although buyers may be able to pay all-cash at closing, 他们经常想要在卖方留下一部分价格的情况下进行365备用, either in the form of a note or an earnout. 将所有者的部分报酬从365备用中推迟，将在所有者对业务进行虚假陈述的情况下提供杠杆作用. An earnout is a mechanism to provide payment based on future performance. Acquirers like to suggest that, if the business is as it is represented, there should be no problem with this type of payout. 业主的反驳是，他或她知道在他或她的管理下，企业是稳健的，但不知道买家是否会在经营企业方面同样成功.
Moreover, the owner has taken the business risk while owning the business; why would he or she continue to be at risk with someone else at the helm? Nevertheless, 在某些情况下，盈利能力在确认全部价值和完成365备用方面是非常有用的. For example, 假设一家公司花了三年时间和大量资金开发一种新产品，并且在销售时刚刚推出该产品. A certain value could be arrived at for the current business, 如果新产品的销售实现，盈利能力可以用来补偿所有者开发新产品所付出的努力和花费. Under this scenario, everyone wins.
365备用条款对365备用双方都非常重要. Many times the buyers and sellers, and their advisors, are in agreement with all the terms of the transaction, except for the price. Although the variance on price may seem to be a “deal killer,价差往往可以得到解决，这样双方就可以继续前进，完成365备用.
Listed below are some suggestions on how to bridge the price gap:
- If the real estate was originally included in the deal, 卖方可以选择将房屋租给收购方，而不是直接出售. 这将通过房地产的价值来降低365备用价格. 买方也可能选择支付更高的租金，以减少销售中的“商誉”部分. 卖方可以选择保留某些机器和设备的所有权，并将其租给买方.
- 买方最初可以收购该公司不超过100%的股份，并有权在未来购买剩余的权益. For example, 买方可以购买卖方70%的股票，并有权根据一个预先确定的公式，在三年内每年额外购买10%的股票. 销售者将享受30%的利润加上期末收益的倍数. The buyer will be able to complete the transaction in a two-step process, making the purchase easier to accomplish. 卖方也可能有一个“看跌期权”，迫使买方在未来某个日期购买剩余的30%.
- 可以为被收购业务中增长最快的部分创建一个子公司. 然后，买方和卖方可以平分“分拆”出来的那部分业务，直到原始365备用的款项付清.
- A royalty can be structured based on revenue, gross margins, EBIT, or EBITDA. This is usually easier to structure than an earnout.
- Certain assets, such as automobiles or non-business-related real estate, can be carved out of the sale to reduce the actual purchase price.
Although the above suggestions will not solve all of the pricing gap problems, they may lead the participants in the necessary direction to resolve them. 构建让买卖双方都满意的成功365备用需要大量的时间, skill, experience, and most of all – imagination.
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Finding the Best Business for You
Owning a business and owning the right kind of business for you are, of course, two wildly different things. Owning the wrong kind of business can make you absolutely miserable. So if you are considering buying a business, 明智的做法是，你应该投入时间和精力来确定最适合你的需求和个性的业务类型. In a recent Forbes article, “What is the Right Type of Business for You to Buy?作者理查德•帕克探讨了买家应该如何找到合适的商业着装.
在与买家打交道方面，帕克绝对是一位专家，他已经和大约100位买家谈过了,000 buyers over his career. 在这段时间里，帕克总结道，关键是不要“利用自己的时间学习”.”
His key piece of advice concerning what type of business to buy is as follows. “While there are many factors to be considered, 答案很简单:无论你最擅长的是什么，它都必须是你考虑购买的任何业务的收入和利润的唯一最重要的驱动因素.” And he also believes that expertise is more important than experience. 帕克的观点是，对于潜在买家来说，进行诚实的自我评估是至关重要的，以确定他们最大的商业技能和专业领域. The last thing you want to do is pretend to be something that you are not.
Parker makes one very astute point when he notes, “小企业主通常身兼多职:这通常是他们的企业规模很小的原因. Remember that every big business was once a small business.” As Parker points out, 谁负责业务最终将决定业务如何发展, or not evolve. 为你和你的技能选择正确的业务是你的业务长期成功的关键.
All of this adds up to make the process of due diligence absolutely essential. Before buying a business, 你必须了解该业务的各个方面，并确保该业务确实适合你. 根据帕克的说法，如果你不热爱你的业务，它就会难以成长. This point is impossible to refute. Owning and growing a business requires a tremendous amount of time and effort. If you don’t enjoy owning and/or operating your business, success will be a much more difficult proposition.
即使在你对自己的技能和兴趣进行了适当的评估之后，找到适合你的业务也是一个复杂的过程. After all, 你真的想要一个你讨厌拥有的、具有巨大增长潜力的稳定业务吗? By working with brokers and M&作为顾问，你可以找到最适合你的需求、个性和目标的业务. 这些专业人士是在为你发现正确业务的过程中无价的盟友.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Tackling Growth Delusions When Buying a Business
There is no doubt about it, it can be exciting to buy a new business. 然而，在这个过程中，非常重要的是，你不要对未来的发展变得不切实际. Keep in mind that in the vast majority of cases, if a business is poised to quickly grow substantially, the seller would be far less interested in selling.
Richard Parker’s recent article for Forbes entitled “Don’t Be Delusional About Growth When Buying a Business” seeks to instill a smart degree of caution into prospective buyers. Parker notes that when evaluating a business and talking to the owner, 许多买家离开时都觉得，巨大的增长只是“坐在那里”，等着被抓住. In particular, Parker cautions those buyers who are buying into an industry that they know nothing about; those individuals should be very careful.
当进入一个自己不熟悉的行业时，可能会出现一系列问题. The opportunities that you see may not have been tapped into by the existing owner for a range of reasons. 如果没有更多的知识基础，你不可能猜到这些原因是什么. 因为你是一个局外人，你可能缺乏正确的视角和理解. In turn, this means you may see growth opportunities that may not exist, as the seller may have already tried and failed. Summed up another way, until you actually own the business and are running it on a day to day basis, you simply can’t make a proper assessment of how best to grow that business.
当你在寻找一项业务时，增长的诱惑不应该成为决定性因素. A far more important and ultimately reliable factor is stability. The real question, the foundation of whether or not a business is a good purchase option, 一旦你签了合同并接管了公司，公司是否还能保持其收入和利润水平. You want to be sure that the business doesn’t have to grow to remain viable.
As Parker points out, 大多数小企业买家会在他们没有太多经验的领域购买, and that is fine. What is not fine is assuming that you can greatly grow the business. 当然，如果新买家能够实现这一目标，那就太好了，无疑是锦上添花. But don’t depend on that growth.
In the end, everyone has some ideas that work and some that don’t. You may take over a business and, thanks to having a different perspective than the previous owner, are able to find ways to make that business grow. 但是要意识到，你的许多发展业务的想法可能会完全失败.
一个专业的商业经纪人将能够帮助你确定什么业务是最适合你的. 商业经纪人将帮助你关注最重要的事情，并引导你避免买家在购买企业时经常犯的错误.
A Closer Look at 3 Major Factors to Consider When You Buy a Business
一个简单但不可否认的事实是，购买一家企业是一个人可以做出的最伟大的财务决定之一. 收购一家企业可能导致巨大的财务成功，也可能导致巨大的财务失败. 这一事实有助于强调，为什么与经验丰富的经纪人合作是如此重要，他们可以帮助你度过购买企业的迷宫般的过程.
In a July 2019 article from Smallbusiness.co.uk, 作者Kyle Carins探讨了每个人在购买企业之前应该考虑的三个关键因素. The first factor covered in Carins’ article, “3 Things to Consider When Buying a Business,” is appeal vs. viability.
Appeal Vs. Viability
Not surprising, 对于大多数潜在业主来说，最重要的变量是企业确实是可行的. 不能区分一个有吸引力的业务和一个可行的业务可能会导致财务灾难.
正如卡琳斯所指出的，“你是想赚钱，还是想实现梦想??” Sometimes those two variables can intersect, but not always and not often. 最后，重要的是要知道某项业务实际上是否有潜在的利润.
然而，正如Carins所指出的，选择一项自己喜欢的业务也很重要. 没有什么比经营你真正讨厌的生意更让人精神崩溃的了, even if it is lucrative. 为你选择合适的业务是一种平衡行为，必须考虑各种相互竞争的变量.
Considering Hidden Costs
The second factor that Carins looks at is the issue of “hidden costs.“与业务经纪人合作如此重要的一个关键原因是，业务经纪人了解这些你可能会忽视的因素. Due diligence is amazingly important. For those who have never bought a business before, 与商业经纪人合作可以提供大量的保护，避免犯潜在的严重错误.
Second Opinions
The third factor examined in Carins article is “Getting a second opinion.” For Carins, getting a second opinion is actually linked to due diligence. 他认为，对于某一特定业务的额外意见应该超越与专业人士合作，还应该包括与了解你的朋友和家人交谈. Additional opinions can help one see angles that might otherwise be missed.
再一次，收购一家企业是复杂的，将占用一个人大量的时间和精力. 你的朋友和亲戚，了解你的个性和你的需求和欲望. Their input can be particularly beneficial.
找一个有经验的商业经纪人能帮你做的不仅仅是确定一笔生意是否划算.拥有多年经验的经纪人还可以帮助你确定某项业务是否适合你和你的生活方式.
