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zeitwertconsulting

Succession marketing

What does a purchaser see before they see the figures?

Not the balance sheet; that comes later. What they see first is what anyone sees: how the business presents itself, what the brand conveys, and whatever appears before a single word has been exchanged.

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A close-up of an eye: the outside gaze that sees a life's work first

How much of a life's work is visible from the outside?

Over the years most of it becomes unremarkable to you: the regular clients who continue to return, the processes that run silently because you shaped them over decades, the standing you have built locally. To you that is simply how matters stand. But you are not handing over a company. You are handing over decades of work, relationships and judgement, and almost none of that is apparent from the outside at first sight. The forensic examination comes later, in the form of balance sheets, potential and hidden reserves. And if you are retaining a stake, all of it matters twice as much. A business that looks the part without you standing beside it carries value in its own right, and your purchaser will understand that better than anyone.

What do you do with strengths you have long since stopped noticing?

You bring them back into view, and that is our role here. We look for what this business is genuinely good at, including those qualities that disappeared into the routine years ago because they ceased to feel exceptional, and we place them where anyone looking will find them: in how the business presents itself, in how visible it is, and in the impression formed long before a meeting ever takes place. Nothing is invented and nothing is inflated. It is what is already there, finally shown properly. And it is expressed in your voice, with respect for what this business actually is. What you are left with is something you can hand over with your head held high, and something a purchaser will take seriously.

And what does your successor inherit?

A well-maintained business does considerably more than lift the price. Whoever takes it on starts from a better position. Inherit a clear, current and credible picture and you will not spend your first two years correcting the presentation; you step into something that already looks like what it is. For the purchaser that represents less work in prospect, and it registers twice over: in the price, and in how smoothly the negotiation proceeds. What serves your life's work serves whoever carries it forward.

When is the right time to begin?

Earlier than most people assume, because perception does not change direction quickly. Begin once the sale process is already under way and there is very little room left in which to manoeuvre. Begin early and you negotiate from a position in which the external impression has caught up with what is genuinely there. That requires looking at the business twice: once at how good the product and the service are, and once at how both of those register with somebody who has never met you. Holding both in view is difficult while you are running the place, and that is where we come in. Whether the handover is a year away or five, the earlier we start, the more there is to work with.

Let us talk about what is genuinely there.

In confidence, without obligation, and with the discretion this deserves. It is not merely a transaction.

Speak to us in confidence