Lois Melbourne and her husband started Acquire Solutions, a software business that helped large companies manage their employees. After 18 years, the self-funded business had grown to 85 people and the Melbournes received an offer from a private equity firm rolling up software companies in the human resources field.
Acquirers are a secretive bunch. They typically operate behind confidentiality agreements with their motives and tactics disguised from the public. That’s one reason I enjoyed my interview with Rocky Romanella so much.
Anthony Amos and his brother started HydroDog, an Australian company offering a mobile dog washing and grooming service. For $10, the Amos brothers would show up at your door with a giant dog bath on the back of their trailer and wash your dog.
How many people will you have to approach about buying your business before you end up getting an offer?
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from John Arnott who gives you a breakdown of the statistics on how many people he approached, the conversion rate of those approached to those who signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), what proportion of people under NDA requested a face-to-face meeting and, of the people he met with, how many offers he received.
It’s the first time that we at Built to Sell Radio have received such specific conversion rate statistics on a single deal. Arnott’s story is treasure trove of hard-fought wisdom, including: