How to find good businesses for sale is not an easy thing as an Investor.
Let me share to you some ways of increasing your dealflow:
Your Inner Network
Talk to your personal and professional network.
Suppliers or Clients
Your clients or suppliers may also know people who could be persuaded to sell their business to you. Let them know the kind of business you’re interested in and in which sector.
Hire an M&A Trained Virtual Assistant
Your VA direct message 200 individuals daily sending the sales script and matching you with the right motivated seller.
Pitching to competitors
Arrange meetings with competitors and suggest that your two companies merge.
Online Listings
There are online directories that list businesses for sale like https://www.bizbuysell.com www.rightbiz.co.uk
. Find one that specialises in your chosen sector.
Direct Marketing
Buy or build a database that has the names and physical addresses of business owners in the specific sector you’re targeting.
Write a personal letter. Explain that you’re a private investor and share your motive for wanting to buy businesses in their sector.
Advertising
Place adverts in publications that serve your sector. Your advert can say something like, ‘Private investor seeking new business opportunity. Contact [your email] for more information.’
Search engine ads
Advertise on the major search engines like Google or Bing to attract willing sellers. You’ll need to invest in PPC advertising and have a landing page where sellers can enter their contact details.
Display ads
You can attract the interest of willing sellers by using Display Ads on platforms such as #LinkedIn, Google and Facebook.
Trade Shows
Visit trade shows that cater to your target sector. Use it as an opportunity to contact business owners. Let them know you’re interested in buying profitable or distressed companies.
Other Investors
Get to know other dealmakers and let them know the sector you’re looking at, and what kind of businesses you’re interested in buying.
Partnering
Form a partnership with another dealmaker.
Deal Exchange
Swap deals with other dealmakers. After all, a deal you don’t want might just be someone else’s ‘dream deal’.
Administrators
There are a few drawbacks to going through administrators. You won’t be able to carry out much due diligence on the purchase. So you’ll be buying the assets ‘sight unseen’ and will probably have to make a blind bid. On the plus side, administrators might agree to staged payments.
I hope you enjoyed the information,
Kind Regards,
- Sebastian Amieva