Critical Guidelines For Buying A Real World Business For Sale

Posted by ExternalContributor on May 7, 2010 in Other Views | 19 comments

Some enterprising individuals are put off by the thought of buying an existing business for sale, as they see it as a veritable leap into the dark. If they have never been involved in such a transaction before, it can seem to be very alien. Most of us are used to engaging in transactions where we buy a tangible product like vehicles or houses and in these cases “what we see is what we get.” To value a business correctly, you need to look at a number of different intangibles as well as assets that need to be inspected and you also need to consider goodwill in many situations. Goodwill certainly comes into the equation in a service related business, as does a good client list and as such your process of due diligence will require you to explore and reveal quite a lot as you inspect different documents accordingly.

It’s important to remember that there are two distinct and different viewpoints. The seller will have a clear indication of the worth that he or she places on the business. Expect to see a certain amount of natural enthusiasm, as a lot of hard work and dedication has undoubtedly been put into the business by the outgoing seller. Never disrespect the sellers’ point of view of course, but look at the documentation and evidence that you will find in the cold light of day and remember that it is entirely up to you to determine if you’re going to get involved and buy business interests in this way, according to your value parameters.

After you decide you need to move forward and you have really determined whether you want to buy a business of interest, get ready for a very lengthy process. At this time, you had better have a good level of common sense and humor and be ready to communicate at length with the seller.

It is highly recommended that you bring in expert advisers and utilize proven resources, especially if you have no real experience of running a business in this line, or niche. This is not to say that you will simply hand off all the work to these advisers, barely looking at the documentation presented to you, as the decision-making must in the end be made by you and you alone. The financial documents and all of the paperwork must be reviewed by you first to be sure that you have a great feeling initially before you hand them over for further processing by your experts.

A red flag will be raised if some of the financial documents are incomplete, information is missing, or they are poorly balanced or even not reconciled. Accounting traditions and precedents must be maintained at all times. Don’t be surprised if the seller will ask you to sign a non-compete and/or non-disclosure document before any financials are made available to you, because these financials are nevertheless the rock upon which the entire business is set.

Each and every operation is different in its own right and no two businesses are the same. There are so many different events that can come to bear to create such a variety of external influences and situations at any time. Expect to uncover some unusual facts and figures or surprises and remember that, while industry benchmarks are interesting, a lot of the information you discover here will be a function of real-world activities.

Richard Parker is the President and founder of the prestigious Diomo Corporation – The Business Buyer Resource Center. His celebrated materials, seminars and consulting have encouraged thousands of aspiring business buyers from around the World to pursue their dream to buy a business.

Phenomenal Ideas On Business Consulting And Creating Balance

Posted by ExternalContributor on May 6, 2010 in Other Views | 18 comments

Have you ever paused to consider that pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firms maintain a very delicate position, sometimes filling the role of arbitrator or referee, questioning positions and ensuring that the real world is always in the picture, whether in company training or in the executive boardroom? The pharmaceutical company has many, considerable challenges, not the least of which is the ability to generate the latest and most advantageous products for the end-user in a highly regulated and emotionally charged environment. We know that the pharmaceutical industry represents one of the most significant driving forces within any country’s economy and as the stakes are so high, the levels of complexity encountered by pharmaceutical company management at every level are extraordinary. Pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firms are able to take a somewhat independent role and may even be able to stand back and look at the challenges facing the client company, through experience, know-how and positioning, when the hurdles might seem too great.

With more and more niche products becoming available in the marketplace, an entire industry becoming more mature and a market that is far more educated and immediately aware than ever before, the road ahead is indeed challenging. This is where pharmaceutical sales training instructors will really come into their own and be available to suggest alternatives and options when needed. Established tactics may well need to be modified to take into account changes in the marketplace and this may often need to be achieved in short order and without the luxury of advance planning and preparation.

We will quite often find that the client will be looking for some kind of a partnership relationship, rather than just a strict buyer — seller position. Such an account must be serviced carefully, as it is far more sophisticated than a straightforward provision of a product in return for cash. Employees who will service these accounts must go through key account management training and must be able to understand and disseminate intelligent business information periodically, if required.

It is certain that we are now living in a communication age, as we have never seen before and we’re all much more educated as a result of this. As education is so relatively easy to access and as end-users are likely to be much more aware of their options, the pharmaceutical sales force must be one step ahead of the game. Sophisticated methods of pharmaceutical sales training open up the sales force to any number of potential risks, difficult questions or issues ahead, especially in the field of key account management. These key accounts will only become even more important in the future.

The market is now more sophisticated than ever before and is increasingly dynamic. Pharmaceutical company senior management cannot expect to be able to devote time and resources to their own raft of daily tasks while trying to keep on top of such a rapidly changing market environment. For their high levels of current ability, pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting organisations must be employed by the pharma company.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.

An Array Of Great Ideas For Marketing Niche Products

Posted by ExternalContributor on May 6, 2010 in Other Views | 4 comments

Surely, the pharmaceutical market is one of the most interesting and diverse industries, always in a state of change and flux, but in more recent times, we can see a distinct trend away from big brand product, wide reach styles of marketing toward a focus on the “niche” medicines; this process also seems to be accelerating. An additional challenge is thus presented for the pharmaceutical company sales staff, most especially in the area of education.

Pharmaceutical companies may now be more concerned with discussing product branding at an early stage of the development cycle, as they are keenly aware of the volatile nature of the market and additional constraints that will emerge as the company tries to penetrate and satisfy these more narrow-minded niche markets. It is possible that resistance could be significant and this can mean that more attention should be paid to branding as a critical early component of the marketing cycle.

Now more than ever, pharmaceutical markets are crowded. The consumer has a wide array of choices and is increasingly more influenced by a variety of external forces in addition to the direct advice that may be given to them by the professional or practitioner. Every one of us expects instantaneous information to be available whenever we need it and we’re now getting used to engaging with each other much more often within social networks and online. We are becoming more in touch with every aspect of our lives as a consequence. As the market becomes more crowded and the consumer becomes more educated, more emphasis must be placed on marketing program efficiency by senior company executives.

Pharmaceutical companies are finding that they now need more time to shape and condition the market to ensure that the product is more accepted when it rolls out. This underlines the need for early marketing efforts during brand creation and the need to ensure that educational channels are engaged.

If more emphasis is being placed on marketing within niche product areas, then it is true to say that there is more emotional involvement and less tendency to “go with the flow” on the part of the professional or the consumer. This requires a pharmaceutical company to be very clear and distinct in its marketing methods and messages, in order to differentiate itself from its competitors in the eyes of its target markets. Consequently, the company’s sales force members are under even more pressure now than they were before, as they must penetrate an increasingly sceptical barrier at the practitioner level with an even more targeted and stronger message accordingly.

The sales force is of primary importance to the success of the company and senior officials are turning in greater numbers to pharmaceutical consultants and pharmaceutical consulting firms to help them train and focus the force accordingly. As an organisation identifies its marketing focus, pharma consulting plays a great role, especially when talking about niche concentration. The distant professional must be the subject of more attention and sharper skills will be needed, with more training required to ensure that the sales executive breaks through all barriers and achieves the results. Effective implementation is almost always dependent on training, at least in equal part to ability and experience.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.