Last time, we explored five key considerations for agents preparing for acquisition following Spicerhaart’s announced takeover of regional agency, butters john bee.
As we highlighted, preparation is key, even if the two parties involved in an acquisition already use the same software system.
But what, if anything, do you need to prepare if you’re hoping to be acquired?
Read on to discover five key considerations.
- How clean is your data?
As we highlighted in last month’s data cleansing piece, your business is only ever as good as your data, which is why this data needs to be in tiptop condition.
Even the most savvy of business leaders undertaking due diligence on your business will struggle to identify your claimed success when presented with poor data.
- How efficient is your software system?
Have you automated all those tedious tasks that take up far too much of your employees’ precious time? Eurolink’s Automate programme is just the answer if you haven’t. Are you exploiting access to suitable third parties, to help streamline client processes, such as online document signing?
- Are your software licenses up to date?
How compliant is your business? When was the last time you checked whether or not your software licenses are in date or when they need to be renewed?
How do you ensure that you renew licenses in a timely and efficient manner?
- Why bother preparing?
Only be presenting your business in the best light possible will you be able to show its true value and, of course, fetch the best price.
But just as you’d dissuade vendors from shelling out their hard-earned cash on DIY projects in an effort to sell their house, don’t waste cash optimising the efficiency of your software system in the hope that it will boost your attractiveness to buyers. Instead, identify areas for improvement and then work with your software provider to tackle these in a cost-effective way.
As we highlighted last week, a provider that offers a subscription-based pricing model is hugely advantageous; it means that you won’t have to pay hefty project fees to achieve your desired outcome.
- Work closely with your software provider
Sit down with your account manager and brainstorm exactly where efficiencies can be made to your business and how your software system can be tweaked to achieve these, so that you’re in the best possible position for potential buyers.
The successful bidder may well migrate you and your team onto a new software system following a takeover, but then the deal may never have taken place without the aforementioned preparation.
For further information contact nigel.poole@eurolink.co
