The biggest wealth transfer in history is well underway, with baby Boomers exiting businesses every day – but we are only halfway thru the wave – there is a lot more to come. Good brokers are finding they need to provide more than just transactional advice and services. Owners need help to understand what their business is worth, how to prepare for sale or exit and they are very happy to pay for that advice.
The issue for brokers
Many brokers are faced with clients who are not ready – they don’t know what the business is worth, the business is not well prepared and therefore is not attractive to a buyer or is simply not worth enough to fund the owner’s retirement. In many cases this means the broker is not able to provide any service to this client and therefore cannot make any money. Traditional business broking firms have very lumpy cashflow – largely built around success fees or commissions
The solution for brokers and business owners
Enter Capitaliz – online platform for evaluation, value acceleration and preparation for sale, exit and / or succession. Based on the unique 21 step methodology designed by founder Craig West and used in Australia by Succession Plus ( the largest Business Succession and Exit planning firm in Australasia ) on over 800 clients over 10 years the software is designed for brokers to deliver consistent advice at scale.
The methodology
The software works on a tried and tested methodology refined over 10 years with business owners – 21 step Business Succession and Exit planning. This process works through five stages of value – identify, protect, maximize, extract, and manage and whilst some of the steps require expert help form a CPA, attorney, wealth manager or bank – the business broker should manage the whole process.
The Fee Structure
In our experience, clients are very happy to pay for good advice – especially good advice that helps them maximize the value of the business and achieve a successful exit. Part of our process (Stage One – Identify Value) is to produce a Business Insights Report – a detailed evaluation of the business – structure, ownership, financial, benchmarking, credit, cashflow and profit gap as well as non-financial, operational, risk and attractiveness measures. Importantly, the report includes a roadmap to show what needs to be done in order of priority to get “sale ready.”
The typical fee structure is an upfront report fee of between $5,000 and $20,000 depending upon the size and complexity of the business and then an ongoing retainer of $3,000 – $5,000 per month for between 12 and 18 months. Importantly, the ongoing retainer revenue smooth income (and cashflow) for the broker whilst also allowing them to deliver “sale ready” clients at maximum value.
The Value Potential
Our software uses a sophisticated algorithm to accurately predict the value potential of each business – this is often called the value gap – the gap between todays current value and what the value should or could be – mapping out a step-by-step roadmap to implement all the recommendations from the report and help the owners maximize the value of the business.
Dynamic Revaluation
Our very strong view is that “the market doesn’t determine the value of your business – you do” – the action items you implement based on the report recommendations all influence value – some more than others, some more quickly than others and some hardly at all. Our software dynamically revalues the business every time one of the key data metrics changes – if the financials are updated the valuation updates and if you are working with the client on the key non-financial issues then each time one of these issues is resolved then the valuation updates.
This is dynamic revaluation, and it allows you and your client to measure the value of your input and track progress towards the target.
Putting it altogether
If you are a broker looking to fast track your client to sale ready, smooth cashflow by helping your clients maximize the value of the business and achieve a successful exit – then Capitaliz is the tool you need to deliver quality results at scale. Find out how at www.capitaliz.com or book a demo with one of our team.
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