3 Reason Why an M&A Advisor is Worth the Cost

Are you thinking about selling your company?   

Be warned – the process always comes with some degree of stress and uneasiness. But, the quickest way to mitigate those feelings is by hiring an M&A advisor. You may be hesitant to spend the money when you’re focused on bringing in profits from a sale, but outside help from an experienced professional can provide the confidence you need to navigate the negotiation process and generate the sale price you deserve for your business.   

Keep in mind that the value of an advisor isn’t just in their ability to sell your company; it’s in their expert knowledge of the steps that take place before the sale that will bring you the most benefit. Here are three specific ways that an advisor can help: 

Identifying Weak Links 

Perspective is everything when it comes to a sale – on both sides of the relationship. While you need a prospective buyer to have a high opinion of your company in order to gain their interest, you can’t achieve that if you don’t stop and consider your own – perhaps clouded – opinion of your company. All business owners or CEOs have blind spots when it comes to certain areas of their business – that’s the way it is and will always be. But the weaknesses that you don’t see – and could otherwise mitigate – could lead to lower valuations. An advisor brings a fresh, unbiased point of view that you need to truly evaluate the state of your business and execute an action plan to eliminate any potential causes for concern before going to market.  

Increasing Cash Flow 

Again, perspective matters! After years of running a company a certain way, it’s easy to fall into patterns and difficult to implement change. An advisor will give you the necessary push to break you out of the comfort zone and make the hard decisions that will increase your productivity and have a quantifiable impact on your sales cycle, amplifying your cash flow gains.   

Whipping Financials into Shape   

Finally, advisors help you to take a step back and analyze your company’s true financial value. This requires more effort than you may think – it’s more than a matter of printing out recent revenue and growth documents. Yes, you need to be able to effectively demonstrate the key drivers of your profits, but you also need to provide a look into the future. Depending on how precise your record keeping has been over the years, compiling this type of presentation can take a considerable amount of time. An advisor can take the lead and ensure that the data you’ve been gathering provides the most convincing insight for your prospective buyers.   

If you’re considering selling your company and hiring an advisor, it’s in your best interest to get started as early as possible. The more time you have with an advisor, the more value that advisor can add to your hopeful sale. Here at Symmetrical, we are committed to helping your company secure the best deal it can. If you are considering selling your business and need professional help, contact us today.