We are often asked what makes a deal successful? We decided to share our thoughts and experiences to help buyers and sellers have a more successful deal making process.
This blog is for informational purposes only. This blog is not legal advice, and no attorney – client relationship is intended or formed by this blog. For more information or to contact an attorney at Foreman Law, please email info@goforemanlaw.com.
How does the deal process work?
1) Preparing for the Deal
- Building your deal team – Starting the initial conversations early is key. We will focus more on building your team in next week’s blog.
- Finding a deal
- As a buyer, it’s important to look at your skill set, your strengths and weaknesses, what you bring to an organization, and what you are good at. Research the industry you are looking into and decide what kind of company you want to buy. Tell people you are interested in buying a business – be vocal about it. Consider talking to Investment bankers, brokers and other professionals, they can be a great resource for potential businesses to buy.
- If you are seller, those are also great places to start to help you find a buyer. Finding the right deal partner can be the hardest part of the whole process. Be careful to protect the confidentiality of any sales process, it can be highly disruptive to your organization.
- Initial negotiations and diligence
- Once you’ve found a good deal partner, get all the key stuff on the table right away so you don’t waste time and money unnecessarily on the process.
- Do initial diligence before getting too far into the conversations. Prioritize a face-to-face meeting to get the big questions out of the way.
- Planning for timing with third parties (understanding their motivations)
- When working with third parties i.e., lenders, landlords, franchisors, remember you have to work with their timeline. Understand their timelines, their motivations, and the incentives of the person you’re dealing with, and the person you need to have sign off on any approvals.
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Doing the Deal
- Initial terms/LOI/Term Sheet – You will need key terms in black and white. Make sure details are spelled out clearly, and that all deal makers and deal breakers are aired quickly.
- Financing – This is perhaps the most important part of the deal. Finding bankers, investors, others to help finance the deal. There are a lot of different ways to fund a business: SBA loans, investment capital, bank financing, savings, etc.
- Additional negotiations and diligence – The due diligence process is all about helping the buyer become well informed about what they are buying. This protects both parties. This process can go on throughout the entire deal process.
- Documentation – The last phase of the process before closing is often the drafting and negotiation of deal documents. We’ll cover this in more detail in the future.
3) Finishing the Deal
- Closing – Documents are signed, possession or control of assets delivered, and the purchase price paid.
- Post-Closing Closing – Closing is not the end of the process, it’s a new beginning. Once the deal is closed, now the rubber hits the road for the buyer, and the seller often has an ongoing legal and financial interest in the buyer’s success. It’s important to understand and prioritize a successful post-closing process.
Jacob Final Thought – Find funding! If you don’t have the right funding, you don’t have a deal!
Sam Final Thought – Own that first 10% of the deal process, it sets up everything else for success.
Wellness Tip – Take a break! Plan breaks during the deal process. Give yourself something to do during breaks so your brain will be able to truly disconnect from the deal.
Sam Foreman, Founder & Chief Experience Officer, Foreman Law
Jacob Wayman, Employee Benefits Consultant, Orange Theory Fitness Franchisee
Each week we will release a new blog based on our podcast, “How to Buy & Sell a Business Successfully”. Our simple goal is to help you have a more successful deal. For more information, please reach out at info@goforemanlaw.com.