How do you get a competitor to share enough info so you can make an informed offer?

Hi there, I understand what you are looking for and I believe I have the right connections to assist you. I however, would like to talk to you in private about this. I have many connections around the globe in VC Firms that always look to acquire new assets such as yours. Please message me on here with some details so I can assist you! Kind Regards, Giuliano

One of the start-ups I'm involved with does a lot of work alongside entrepreneurs building companies towards an eventual exit or sale... Here's a couple of recommendations, aside from the usual "research what typical sales people in your industry get paid" advice: 1. Incentivize unexpected business. In other words, don't pay them too much to solicit or close business that would have been easy for you to get or would have fallen in your lap anyways. Consider having two pay tiers, one slightly lower tier for business you probably could have attained with any salesperson's help and one that contains the dream deals that you'd need a star salesperson to get. Pay them to go after your white whales (Moby Dick reference for anyone who is wondering). This may result in greater overall marketshare than if you just hired a couple salespeople, who will naturally go after the low hanging fruit first. 2. Create a CONTRIBUTION FORMULA for the eventual buyout. If you're looking for a good long-term kicker, give them a piece of the company, based on how much they actually contribute to the bottom line over the period from when they're hired to when the company sells (or they leave). In other words, you may say something like you'll give them up to 5% of the sales price of the company, depending on how much of the revenue they generate. If they generate 50% of the revenue, you'd give them 50% of 5% (or 2.5%) when the company eventually sells. 3. Ask them what would motivate them the most. Duh. How do we not ask our salespeople this more? If there's an answer that excites them more than what we're offering, why wouldn't we consider it, right? We want them as motivated as possible. Of course, before you say "yes" to anything they propose, run it by your mentors, the folks on Clarity.fm and your legal and accounting team. I'm happy to have a more in-depth conversation on the psychology of motivation and pay (I'll put on my psychology hat) or preparing a company to be sold for the best price possible (my MergerMatch.com hat). Reach out to me through Clarity.fm if I can help. Best of luck! Ken Clark Coach, consultant and therapist to entrepreneurs

You will need to weigh the situation. If it were my company, we have a Core Value of "Truth", and we have an expectation of open communication with each other and with our clients. Therefore, if it was me, by running this through our values it would be a no brainer to tell people not just what was going on with me personally but also the decision to sell the company. The other stuff about it being good for them and they'll make out on the deal - you don't have any control over how they'll feel about it. They may feel cheated, betrayed, or they may feel ecstatic. You can't know, and it's not up to you to decide for them. However, you can give them the information so they can make the choice. Or, if you are a company where communication is lacking, transparency is not a value, and you honestly don't care what they think, then don't bother. (Since you said you're keen to tell them though, I'd go with your gut.)

What do you see when you look at the stock market over the last two weeks? The Dow was down over 900 points this morning. Why are you even thinking of selling your business in this sort of market when there are no buyers? If the above makes sense to you then its wrong. The Dow recovered because buyers saw an opportunity and the Dow recovered to be down about 250 points. As I write this is its about 480 points down. The bottom line. You have your reasons for selling. A buyer will buy for their reasons. You have to find the right buyer which normally takes time and presenting your business as professionally as you can and having experienced advisors around you to help you be successful. If you are highly motivated to sell, try to solve what's causing you to be highly motivated so you can just be a motivated seller and let the market do what it does; bring together a willing buyer and a willing seller.

Full disclosure, I used to work there but Axial provides a great platform for identifying relevant m&a advisors. With their platform, you can view a number of qualified bankers/advisors, see their prior experience and determine who would be the best fit for your business. My recommendation would be to develop a list of 5-10 bankers, interview them and decide who you feel most comfortable with. The process you choose to find the right partner is almost as important as the m&a process itself.