Business owners, do YOU have an exit strategy?

You’ve spent years creating a successful business. Now, you can see that a time for change is on the horizon. Maybe you have a new business you want to begin and you need start-up capital. Maybe you want to travel. Maybe your priorities have changed. Now is the time to ask yourself, “what is my exit strategy when the time comes?”.

Are there any roadblocks to selling your business?

Roadblocks might be that there actually is no business if you aren’t there any longer; your top customer or two make up 40% of all your sales; you know the business inside and out, but you aren’t able to demonstrate your key performance indicators (KPIs) to prove that the business is healthy and growing; you handle so much yourself, that there is no actual infrastructure or sales system in place. Maybe you do have an infrastructure and system, but you know that you have an ineffective team who could be performing better, and there is flat or even declining revenue. Some consequences might be that you can’t get the revenue or valuation you desire. You feel the business is worth more, and that you are selling for “pennies on the dollar”. A merger and acquisition (M&A) business broker won’t take you on as a client. You have a desire to sell your business, but you can’t.

If any of these things sound familiar to you, you may be creating some roadblocks to selling your business. There are solutions.

Now that you want to sell your business, investing in an Outsourced VP of Sales could remove the roadblocks you have been encountering, set your business up for higher valuation and create more options to find a buyer who will pay what your company is worth.

When you started your business, you did it because you were passionate about your product or service. You knew you needed professionals to handle things that were not your core competencies. You probably hired a CPA, or an IT specialist, a marketing firm, or even an HR specialist as an outsourced professional to handle things you knew were not your core competencies. Sales leadership is no different.

An Outsourced VP of Sales is a proven professional with more than 25 years of experience in corporate sales leadership. And, there are a number of ways they can help improve your sales and prepare your business to be sold. The simplest is an On-Site Sales Discovery. This is a comprehensive evaluation of sales readiness. Twelve key drivers in four key areas are assessed: Sales Strategy, Sales Methodology, Sales Analysis and Sales Organization. Essentially, you would receive a diagnosis. If you need help addressing what is uncovered in the On-Site Sales Discovery, a Genesis Sales Program may be more suitable for you. In a Genesis program, the Outsourced VP of Sales builds the appropriate sales infrastructure for you: the sales strategy, the sales structure, the sales resources, the sales process and the sales metrics. You would then implement these strategies on your own.

If your background is not in sales leadership, the most comprehensive plan may be most suitable, a full Outsourced VP of Sales program. The Outsourced VP of Sales will lead your sales division for you, focusing on outcomes that grow your revenue. Like so many times before in their career, they create core infrastructure components (processes, systems, and key performance metrics) that potential buyers will want to know about. They will get the appropriate and effective sales team in place, train them, and ensure that their compensation program motivates the right behaviors to grow your company. They handle all aspects of sales so that you can stop working in the business and start working on the business.

Sales growth and a healthy pipeline will increase your company’s valuation for business brokers as well as for potential buyers. If you are planning on selling your business in the future, now is the time to create a strategy that sets you up for success when it is time to accept an offer and move on to the next chapter with the earnings you deserve from the company you have built. Who knows, once you have worked with an outsourced VP of Sales, it may be that you decide not to sell after all!

Vicki Rosetti-Applewhite is an Outsourced VP of Sales. A Certified Sales Leader, Vicki can help you solve your sales problems. Contact her today. Vapplewhite@salesxceleration.com