Tag: AMA Playbook

5 Steps to Rethink Your Company’s Approach to Strategic Growth

When it comes to pursuing strategic growth, one of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is to simply keep doing something because that’s the way it has always been done. It’s important to reevaluate processes and methods with today’s business environment in mind. The very nature of business is change. New technologies, capabilities, and …

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Have Only ONE Reason for an Acquisition

The more reasons you have to buy a company, the less you should want it. This may sound strange. After all, isn’t it best to be efficient and kill two (or more) birds with one stone? Since acquisitions are rather expensive, shouldn’t you get your money’s worth? Endless Possibilities…Zero Results It can be tempting to think …

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Why Price Is the Last Thing to Talk about When Buying a Company

Time your negotiations by understanding owner psychology. Everyone wants to talk about price in mergers and acquisitions. It’s often the number one focus of buyers and sellers…but for opposite reasons. Both are likely to say they are looking for a “good deal,” but this can have a completely different meaning depending on the perspective. Buyers …

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Approaching an Owner for a Possible Acquisition? Don’t Write, Call.

How do you begin your courtship of a not-for-sale company? Sending a letter is fairly common practice for contacting owners, but it’s not the most effective way to communicate. A letter will not attract the owner’s attention and likely will go into the trash without being read. There’s a better way to stand out from the …

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Forget the Competition. Think Customers.

Don’t let the competition define your external growth strategy. Instead, plan for the people who matter most ─ your customers. Let’s face it ─ we all care about what other people think, and in business that often means measuring how we stack up against the competition. While it’s important to keep an eye on competitors, …

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The Wrong Place to Start an Acquisition Process

 Many people begin by listing possible companies to buy. But there’s a far better approach when you’re planning an acquisition. You start getting excited about a target company that has fantastic financials and is growing exponentially. You imagine the synergies the deal will generate. Success is so close you can almost taste it…but after digging …

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Partnership, Not Conquest: Mergers and Acquisitions

A collaborative mindset often leads to the best long-term outcome when you’re looking to buy another company. Buying a company is not like buying a used car where you walk away and never see the dealer again. It can be more like buying an automobile with the seller thrown in. Imagine yourself at a dealership …

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Acquisitions: Every Company Is For Sale

Why actively pursuing not-for-sale companies can lead to a better acquisition than a for-sale opportunity. When searching for acquisition prospects, most people only consider for-sale acquisitions.  Usually these are offered by investment bankers, who carry a “book” of candidate companies. Restricting your search to for-sale opportunities is usually a mistake. I encourage clients to actively …

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