A quick Google search reveals a plethora of tools designed to increase your efficiency. While having choice is a good thing – it’s easy to try out too many tools and feel overwhelmed. Our team has tested dozens of tools throughout our careers, and we’ve rounded up our top tools for the M&A industry.
If you’d benefit from more time in the day, check out our list below.
Electronically Manage Your Deal: Virtual Deal Rooms
While the due diligence process had traditionally used a physical data room to collect and facilitate documents, most M&A executives now use a virtual deal room to accomplish this in a more efficient manner.
Some of the most popular virtual deal rooms include:
- CapLinked: CapLinked differentiates itself with a modern interface, transparent pricing, and round-the-clock support.
- OneHub: These virtual data room are easy to use, cost-effective, and secure. OneHub focuses on small businesses and mid-market companies.
- Firmex: They have a one-size-fits-all approach, which may be restrictive or overcomplicated at either end of the spectrum, but that will work well for the vast majority of businesses that sit in the middle
Researching the Deal: CAPTARGET
CAPTARGET provides research and deal origination to M&A and Private Equity firms and corporate development divisions of corporations. With over 25,000 M&A transactions supported, CAPTARGET has the capability to help you find your new target, or take your next deal to market.
Valuating the Deal: BVX Software
BVX Software simplifies business valuation by integrating price, terms, and deal structure to satisfy the needs of all parties. Some of its unique features are: cash vs. financed valuation, stock vs. asset purchase valuation, mezzanine equity determination, and goodwill calculation.
BVX can help answer critical questions, including:
- What is the impact on business value of improving inventory turns?
- What is the impact on business value of quality financials, or good inventory counting?
- Does growth always mean more value?
- Does higher profit margin mean higher price multiple, or higher value, or both?
- What if the sales growth comes from slow-paying customers?
Networking: LinkedIn
We all know that networking isn’t confined to in-person meetings or conferences. These days, efficient networkers can accomplish the majority of their networking online. Our team’s tried-and-true networking tool is LinkedIn.
LinkedIn operates the world’s largest online professional network with more than 467 million members in over 200 countries and territories. And, perhaps even more impressive is the rate at which LinkedIn gains new members: professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second.
Some of the ways our team uses LinkedIn:
- After meeting a new contact, members of our team will add them to their online network. Tip: Rather than using the pre-filled message LinkedIn provides, personalize this message. This will feel more authentic to the recipient.
- Connecting with old colleagues, clients, and prospects by adding new connections and using LinkedIn’s messaging app.
- Researching companies and contact’s using LinkedIn’s Search capabilities.
- Promoting our business by consistently updating our Company Page.
Keeping Track of Our Contacts: CRM Systems
While having a robust network is critical in this space, managing your interactions with your network will save you time down the road.
Implementing a CRM system such as Salesforce or Zoho is recommended for all businesses, or even for individuals if you have a large rolodex.
Both Salesforce and Zoho are cloud-based, highly customizable, and have a variety of add-on apps to increase your productivity. For small businesses, Zoho may be more wallet-friendly.
Staying Top-of-Mind: MailChimp
By using an email tool such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, or Vertical Response, your company can send customizable emails to hundreds or thousands of contacts with ease.
One of the top benefits of using these tools is having access to reporting. It’s easy to see who viewed your email, and which links they clicked on. This information is useful in follow-up efforts, and can also help your marketing team determine which topics resonate most with your contacts.
Now it’s your turn. Comment on our social pages and let us know: which other tools does your team rely on to be more productive?