Tag: authentic

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Authentic Conversations About Difference

Stop Checking Your Own Email if You Want to Run an Authentic and Successful Business

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Do you want to know how I run two businesses and still have time for the things that are important to me? I hire great people and delegate to them. The most time-consuming task I delegate is my email.

My whole email system is based on three premises.

1. My assistant reviews my email.

When the emails come in, they get redirected to a box that I have renamed “xRedirected Inbox.” You can set this up as an automated process through Outlook, Google Mail, etc. It is “xRedirected Inbox” so I will have to scroll to get to it. It’s out of sight because of the alphabetical sorting of my folders. The beauty of this is that I can still access it if needed (e.g. when a client emails something while we are on the phone), but I don’t otherwise look at it. Instead my assistant review it every hour or so. She sorts and handles the emails that are about scheduling, sending copies documents and other things that she can handle which is more efficient and responsive for clients as well.

2. Projects get handled quickly.

Have you ever been copied on an email thread that didn’t require your immediate attention? I bet that makes up 90+% of your email. My assistant is great about coordinating with our team members to make sure that client matters are handled efficiently. By the time I would have checked my email, my team has already finished their part of the task at hand and I am ready to review and take more advanced action. The few emails that I need to know about before the end of the day get moved into an inbox that I review in real-time.

3. I get a daily briefing.

At the end of the day for any emails that didn’t require my immediate attention or that my assistant has not been able to handle, I get a simple briefing. I’ll look at that briefing at six, seven o’clock at night, and it takes me literally 15 minutes to review it at most. This is could be the distillation of what was 100-200 emails, but there are usually only 10-20 items in the briefing as everything else has been handled or consolidated in the briefing.

My email system allows me to use the time when I’m in the office to focus on my highest and best use areas. And when I’m away, I’m not worried about my email pinging and interrupting my business meeting, retreat or vacation. In fact I don’t even have notifications on because I know someone else is reviewing it. I instead just occasionally check the box where my assistant would move anything that’s crucial.

If you want to learn more ways you can build an authentic business, check out my video series Authentic Business: Retreat Edition.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Negotiating

Deal or No Deal – What is Your Bottom Line?

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Do you remember the television show Deal or No Deal? You know the one hosted by Howie Mandel and on which now Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was a briefcase model. The premise was a contestant would choose a numbered briefcase and then have to decide whether the sum offered by the game show was worth more than the value inside that case. The participant would be able to keep asking for additional briefcases to be opened and would receive new offers. If they accepted any offer, the amount in the briefcase would be forfeited.

Viewers at home could guess how this would go. They could yell from the safety of the couch for them to take the big number offered early on rather than risk settling for a lower amount at the end of the game or to go for it but they had no more information than the contestant. In the moment under the pressure, not many contestants had clarity about the deal they would accept or knew their true bottom line.

In my law practice, I answer the same questions for my clients, “How do I know I am getting a good deal?” or “How can I get the best deal?” and “How do I know my bottom line?” I remind them to go back to the basics. Ask yourself the following questions before you start negotiating a deal:

What is my purpose? Why are you in this room making this deal with these people? If it’s just a means to an end, you may not be in the best position for a positive deal. If your purpose is to sell your company, dig a little deeper to find out why you want to sell. Get 100% clear on your why.

What is my desired outcome? Once you have established your purpose, you can spend some time defining your desired outcome. What are the main goals you hope to accomplish in this deal? How will this deal change your circumstances for the better? What, specifically, do you want to achieve?

What is the least I am willing to accept? You have a number in mind that you would be thrilled to get. If that number is realistic and appropriate for what you have to offer, great. Often your ideal number is at the top of, or above, market values. If that number does not make sense with the value you are providing in the deal, then you will, likely, have to accept less. It is crucial, therefore, to ask yourself: What is the lowest number that I would be content accepting? When you reach a number and know that not a penny less and you would still take the deal, then you have found your true bottom line.

Do I mean literally not a penny less? YES, I DO! People say come on, Corey, are you telling me that if I got everything else that was important to me in the negotiation and instead of getting for, example, the $1 million for my business that I said was my bottom line, I am offered $999,999.99, I should turn it down? YES, YOU SHOULD or else $1 million was not your true bottom line. Why should you turn it down? Because what if its $999,999.98 or $999,999.97 or . . . . You can keep going a penny less until you reach $0. So, if you do not to get crystal clear and commit to a true bottom line/not a penny less number then you have no ground to stand on, no way to evaluate what is and is not acceptable except by emotion – which never supports authentic negotiating success.

What is your bottom line? If you want a hand preparing for your next deal, I have a best-selling book on Authentic Negotiating and consult and train people on negotiating regularly. In addition to that, I negotiate for clients in my law practice pretty much every day.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Conversations About Difference Authentic Leadership

How to Keep Your Business Going During a Family Emergency

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

In the month of April, I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit for work and for pleasure. If you have been reading my articles for long, you know that I am a big advocate of living an integrated life. As a business owner, I have a certain level of control in the day-to-day work that I do, but it is not always easy.

The best laid plans can fall away when a family emergency rises to the top of the list of priorities. The day I returned from a business mastermind trip in Europe, I learned my mother had fallen ill with abdominal issues. As I was back in town, I was able to support my mother in-person, take her to the hospital and spend much of last week with her.

As I write this, I am on Day 8 of being there to provide encouragement to my mother as the doctors try to figure out how best to help her. With my attention on her, it is a relief to know that my business – which is fortunately extremely busy right now – is carrying on without my having to monitor every aspect.

How can your business keep going during a family emergency? It actually came together for me while I was watching the way the hospital operates and being thankful that my business operates much more efficiently and effectively, especially when it comes to client service and satisfaction. (You can watch my video about the connection I drew between business and the hospital operations on LinkedIn or Facebook.)

The key elements your business needs to keep running:

  • Build and empower a great team and then trust them.
  • Systematize your processes.
  • Communicate regularly and transparently with clients, industry partners and other key people.
    Implement and effectively use mobile technology.

You need to have many of these things in place before a family or other emergency comes up. How does your company stack up? Are you ready in case of emergency? If not, take heart and know that you can start to take the necessary steps to improve from where you are starting today.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Negotiating

How to Negotiate Salary with a Potential or Existing Employer

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Joining a new company can be a challenging time. Do you accept the first compensation offer or counter to see if there is room for improvement? Last week I wrote about employers having some leverage, but not all, in a salary negotiation.

Do you know how to use your leverage in a salary negotiation? Ideally, you have prepared for the negotiation with a list of quantifiable value that you bring to the position. A list of past accomplishments, along with any additional experience you bring to the team, will help you own your value and contribution.

When preparing to negotiate your worth, plan to set aside some time for quiet reflection. You need to do the inner work necessary to clarify your vision of what you want. For example, why you want a raise? Having clarity is essential to identify what a successful outcome looks like ahead of time. Why do you want a higher salary? Don’t stop your inquiry at “I want more money.” Why do you want more money? For example, “I have kids and I want to be able to pay for them to go to college.” Why do you want to pay for their tuition? “I never had the opportunity to go to college and I want to be able to provide that for them.”

There it is. That’s your purpose, that’s what you’re negotiating for: to send your kids to college and to provide them an opportunity that you never had. You can see how much different that answer is than “I want to make more money,” and now you’ve positioned yourself in a way that your supervisor can connect to; depending upon your supervisor, now the negotiation may not be adversarial but collaborative instead. It will also open up other options that will allow you to achieve your underlying purpose that you may not have thought of had you focused only on making more money. For instance, in the example above, maybe your employer has a college scholarship fund that is outside your department’s budget. Instead of getting a larger raise, you get access to scholarship money or, maybe, your boss has influence over scholarship or grant funds outside the company.

Now that you have a salary number, make sure you have done the same work as to other elements of your compensation package. Maybe you can negotiate more PTO in exchange for less of a raise. Could you negotiate a four-day work week to give you more time to work on a side project, and supplement your income that way? You need to know what other options could be on the table, and which of them you are willing to accept.

Develop your negotiating skills even further by following the steps I detail in my book Authentic Negotiating: Clarity, Detachment & Equilibrium – The Three Key to True Negotiating Success & How to Achieve Them and go to www.coreykupfer.com to take a 5-minute Authentic Negotiating Success Quiz to see where you stand and get immediate feedback.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Conversations About Difference

How to Negotiate with a Potential Employee

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Unemployment rates are still at 4.1% from the latest Department of Labor findings and employees expect competitive salary and benefits. As a decision maker in the hiring process, you have leverage but, in a tight job market, you do not have all of it.

Before you have selected a candidate for the open position, you will want to go through the deep work necessary to find the clarity on who you want for this position. As a master negotiator, I teach my clients to use my CDE method—Clarity, Detachment, and Equilibrium.

The inner work that brings clarity is not something you can do on a whim. You will want to allow enough time and energy to really dive into the motivations of the company and the team to create the most authentic offer.

Detachment comes when you remove your emotion and biases from the outcome. It is especially helpful to consider the negotiation not from a one-sided – or even a win-win – perspective but rather from a place of meeting each party’s needs. Once we bring in the concept of winning, it is easy for the ego to get engaged and for us to lose the clarity and detachment we need.. If you are able to maintain clarity and detachment, it leaves the negotiation open to mutually beneficial options for the employer and the employee.

Creativity in the offer and listening to how the potential employee responds to the offer will guide you in the next steps. For example, if the salary offered is base plus commission, it is possible that the base could be higher with a lower percentage going forward for the commission. Also consider flexibility in schedule if it serves the company as well as the employee.

With the next steps also comes the need for equilibrium. As the decision maker for the company, you will want to know the parameters available. Equilibrium, or balance, will inform your actions and help you make the best decision for your team and prevent you from getting thrown off or triggered during a negotiation. Maybe something a candidate says triggers you in some way. That could be a good indicator that you shouldn’t hire that employee but it also could be that you got triggered due to some past experience or personal issue that should have nothing to do with evaluation the candidates qualifications.

So, do whatever it is that gets you centered and clear – for some it is meditation or prayer, for others its exercise or calling a mentor or friend or practicing in the mirror or, maybe, doing something unrelated that you enjoy and will put you in a good state of mind. You can also use anchoring right before you go into the room – think about a time when you felt confident, strong, on your game – envision that experience in full color and with all your senses. Then take a deep breath and bring that energy with you into the room.

If you found this helpful and want to hear more, join me May 16th in New York City for my Authentic Negotiating Workshop at SHRM’s Speaker Select Series. The series is open to HR professionals and those in Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Internal Communications, Talent Management and/or Learning and Development. Online registration is available until May 15th.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Conversations About Difference

The Pygmalion Effect: Part Two

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

In Part One, I shared the story of Nancy, a former client who was letting her expectations impede what was otherwise shaping up to be a fair and beneficial acquisition deal for both sides.

Nancy was holding expectations of the deal and of her counterparts that were preventing her from making progress on the deal. She was at the table for a reason—at one point, this buyer was a good fit to acquire her company. But when the time came, skepticism got the better of her. In fact, the more she pushed back, the more she was threatening to compromise her objectives.

I had to get real with Nancy. I told her, “We did a good job getting clear on your objectives, and you’ve been composed, but if you’re thinking that these terms aren’t being offered in good faith, that’s on you, not them.”

I explained to her the Pygmalion Effect. It’s a proven phenomenon that states when we hold higher expectations; we actually manifest increased performance and more positive results. Conversely, and this is what Nancy was exposing herself to, the Golem Effect posits that when we hold low expectations, performance sees a downtick and we see more negative outcomes. Both are self-fulfilling prophecies.

What could Nancy have known about the Pygmalion Effect that could have helped her?

The energy we hold within ourselves matters. I thought we were on solid ground. Nancy had warmed to my authentic negotiating approach with relative ease, but only she knew her truth. The positive work we’d done to prepare for negotiations was being undermined by the negative energy Nancy was carrying, and inevitably putting out into the world. If she’d understood that her inner being has power to impact the outside world, she could have identified her low expectations and negative feelings as a problem early on, then she and I could have addressed them and come to the table with the high expectations that we should have been holding the whole time.

Those low expectations probably already rubbed off on her team. The Pygmalion Effect isn’t limited to our personal pursuits and outcomes. Studies have shown that our expectations of others effect how they perform and the attitudes they carry. In our specific example, the acquiring company was growing tense and weary of Nancy’s mistrust. Her low expectations of them were in turn affecting their mood and their willingness to negotiate. What Nancy might not have known is exactly how long she’d be carrying this negativity. If it was well in advance of the deal, it’s likely her team noticed and started to grow concerned, lowering morale. It’s a huge precept of leadership – the perceptions and expectations leaders hold of their followers are going to greatly influence how those followers think, behave, and perform. By holding low expectations of this acquisition, Nancy was putting a previously positive and productive team at risk.

She had no reason to carry low expectations. Nancy was onboard with clarity, detachment, and equilibrium. Nancy knew what she wanted and never got triggered. She didn’t understand that by doing the inner work that we did in preparation for this deal, high expectations were implicit. Low expectations are a nonstarter because in choosing to embrace authentic negotiating, Nancy was putting herself in complete control of the outcome – whether it was this deal or another, making the exact right one for her business was always going to be in her control.

Eventually, Nancy and I got on the same page and she understood that with our approach, there was nothing to worry about. But, her story shows how not embracing the Pygmalion Effect can creep in and shake even the sturdiest foundations. What’s more, it points to the fact that to be an authentic negotiator and make CDE work for you, you have to be all in. You have to believe and embrace it as a way of being. In fact, it wasn’t until after the first deal didn’t go through and she saw herself repeating the pattern with a second potential buyer that Nancy was able to see how she was sabotaging her objectives. Only then did Nancy go all in and we were able to close the perfect acquisition deal for her and her team.

The Pygmalion Effect is a concept that’s shaped much of my life and thinking. For a deeper dive into some of my other influences, check out the thinkers who’ve impacted me: https://www.coreykupfer.com/resources/

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Negotiating

The Pygmalion Effect: Part One

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

In any negotiation, we bring with us a certain set of expectations to the table. We expect each material point to be contentious. Traditional tactics have us prepared with all the classic manipulation tricks because we expect the same from our counterparts. We get caught in this inauthentic loop that often leaves both sides wondering what they really got out of the deal.

My authentic negotiating approach came about as a response to that absurd cycle. I knew deep down that deals could be more and compromise wasn’t a foregone conclusion. The foundational principles of clarity, detachment, and equilibrium make up our inner North Star when we’re at the table. With them, we stay focused on our objectives, avoid getting triggered by checking our egos, and remain in complete control throughout the negotiating process.

Like with most anything in life, just going through the motions of becoming an authentic negotiator won’t get it done. It’s not a method as much as it’s a new state of being. With that comes not just a change in our behaviors at the table, but the mindset that we carry with us.

I was working on a mid-market acquisition deal a few years back, and my client—we’ll call her Nancy—was being acquired by a larger marketing firm. It was a tough decision for her, but the deal had too much potential and the timing was right.

Once Nancy and I had agreed on that, I took her through the CDE steps, and she seemed to get it. From the start, she could clearly define her main objective—she wanted this acquisition to be more of a partnership and for the overall company she’d built to not change very much. With this bigger company’s resources, Nancy and her people could do the work they wanted. With the talent and expertise of Nancy and her team, the larger company could attract a market sector they’d struggled to attract in the past. It added up to a mutually beneficial deal, but it wasn’t long before Nancy revealed her deep skepticism.

While she kept relatively cool at the table, in our asides and breaks, Nancy voiced concerns that the company was negotiating in bad faith, that they just wanted her client list, that they had no intentions of holding up their end of the deal. At the same time, she didn’t want to walk away. After agreeing with our counterparts to break for the day and regroup tomorrow, Nancy and I talked about what was really holding her back.

Her expectations were way off. While I didn’t doubt the work she had done to get clear on her objectives, she was holding low expectations of the other party. Being crystal clear on what you want while being detached from the outcomes means that you should be coming to the table with high expectations of yourself, your outcome, and even your counterparts. When you know what you want and that you aren’t going to make a deal that doesn’t satisfy your objectives, there’s no reason to carry low expectations.

Although it is possible there was a basis for Nancy concerns, two things were true. First, I didn’t see the basis for these concerns – certainly not at the level held by Nancy. Second, it was clear to me that this filter of fear and low expectations existed for her from the start of the negotiation even before the other party said much. So, Nancy had convinced herself to expect the worst of her counterparts, to expect the worst of the deal she was going to get—and the ultimate endgame of that deal. It colored every aspect of the proposals that were coming from the other side. To her, the offer just kept getting worse and worse, even though my general feeling was that things were moving along as expected.

Nancy did not apply the Pygmalion Effect. In next week’s piece, I’ll unpack the Pygmalion Effect and its impact on how we negotiate. It’s an important underlying concept to my Authentic Negotiating approach, and once we understand its power, we can use it to improve ourselves and our results at the table. In the meantime, see how far along you are on the road to becoming an authentic negotiator. My quiz will give you the benchmarks you need to start improving: Authentic Negotiating Success Quiz

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Conversations About Difference Authentic Leadership

You’re Approaching Your Business Relationships Wrong

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

What’s holding you back from making the most of your network?

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

-Maya Angelou

You probably read that quote and thought, Surely, a poet like Maya Angelou wasn’t talking about business relationships. You’d be right. She almost certainly wasn’t. Yet, I think within that thinking is the fundamental issue at the core of how we approach our business relationships. For whatever reason, we give ourselves permission to treat these relationships differently. We try to be different people to our business contacts than in our day-to-day lives; we compartmentalize them, and we have maladjusted expectations of ourselves and our counterparts in these relationships. All that adds up to an inauthentic relationship. Considering our business relationships have the power to shape our career and our long-term success and, thus, shape our lives, this is an issue that needs some focused attention.

I’ve written about how we can build better business relationships before. The subject is one of great importance to me. But sometimes we need to identify what we’re doing wrong before we can correctly implement the best practices I advise. So, what are you getting wrong?

You Botch the First Impression.

Our society puts a ton of weight into the first impression. For good reason, I think. In a world of gray areas, first impressions are refreshingly binary. If you’re not making a good first impression, you’ve made a bad one. Like Angelou said, when someone shows you who they are, we believe them the first time. But, that begs the questions, did you take care to show that person who you really are? In these pressure-packed first moments we go crazy trying to impress the person in front of us. Insincere charm, flashy spending, or even an old foe – mirroring, will all more than likely come off as fake and contrived to the person you’re trying to impress. And just like that, you’ve botched the first impression. The far better option is to be your authentic self. Show that person who you really are. Chances are good they’ll be impressed by your confidence and candor. Embracing authenticity is how we really make a good first impression.

You’re Compartmentalizing.

This is a symptom of “work-life balance” thinking. The idea is that our business should rightly remain separate from our personal lives if we’re to find fulfillment in both. To me, that’s a scarcity mindset that suggests one siphons positivity from the other and vice-versa. Now, imagine approaching your business relationships with this in mind. How could you even begin to give this relationship everything it needs to succeed? With this mindset, you can’t. That’s why I’m an advocate for work-life integration. I became an entrepreneur so that my work could fit into the life I wanted to lead. The same goes for the relationships we want to have. If we feel a push and pull between our personal relationships and our business relationships it means we’re keeping both at arm’s length. With an integrated approach, our business relationships become normal parts of our lives, like anything else. We can then enter into them fully and authentically.

You’re Engaging in Transactional Thinking.

This is our biggest downfall when it comes to how we build business relationships. Increasingly, we seem to have forgotten the simple virtue of being decent for the sake of being decent. There’s a line of thinking that questions the value of any relationship that doesn’t pay material dividends immediately or in the very near future. That’s a toxic mindset. Any authentic relationship must be built on complete trust. If you’re only giving this contact your time and attention because you want something from them, you’re creating a zero-sum context—if I don’t get what I want out of this relationship, this person has won, and I have lost. That’s fear, that’s ego, and that’s transactional thinking in the most cynical way possible. Instead, I always advise giving first, and then handing the relationship over to trust. Trust that you’re acting not out of expectation or selfishness, but because it’s good to give and to be of value to this person. Trust that the energy your actions put into the universe will come back to you and, eventually, the relationship will give you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.

We can get granular about the things we get wrong—the way we choose to speak, appearing aloof and disinterested, more concerned with our phones than the person in front of us, being anxious and neurotic—but, they are all, in some way or another, the result of one of the three business relationship pitfalls discussed above. If you want to learn more about how you can avoid these blunders and build better, authentic business relationships, check out my video: Building Authentic Business Relationships.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Conversations About Difference

Removing the Anxiety from Your M&A Deal

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Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

An M&A deal is a huge project, regardless of the size of your business. Some companies shy away from the prospect of a merger or acquisition because it seems too daunting. They fear their ongoing business will grind to a halt, or that all their time and effort will be wasted when the deal inevitably falls through. These fears shouldn’t dissuade you from making a deal that can help you grow or sell your business.

I had a long-time client named Miguel who, after many years, had finally found a buyer for his business. Understandably, he wanted to be sure he got the perfect deal before selling. He came to me and said, “Corey, I’ve got a buyer for my company. I want to sell it, and I want to do it as a reverse triangular merger” (the buyer creates a subsidiary company and then merges it into the company they are acquiring). He seemed more sure of the structure of the deal if he did chose to sell than the decision to actually sell his company.

In another world, Miguel would have gone ahead with the reverse triangular merger unquestioned. But, my job was to lead Miguel to his objectives in the best way possible. So, I asked him, “Okay, Miguel, I’ve done reverse triangle mergers. No problem if that is the way we end up going, but why do you want to structure it that way?”

Miguel’s response was one I had heard before, “My friend did his deal as a reverse triangular merger; it worked out really well, and he saved a bunch of taxes.” Still, I stopped him and said, “That’s great for him—but his deal is not necessarily your deal. Why don’t we talk about where you are now, and then let’s talk about your objectives and where you want to be by the end of the deal? That will get you more comfortable with the decision of whether or not to sell and then we can decide on the best structure.”

And that’s what we did. As it happened, the reverse triangular merger wasn’t the best kind of deal for what Miguel wanted to achieve. In the end, the deal looked nothing like a reverse triangular merger, but, Miguel achieved all of his objectives, and happily sold his business.

Sometimes all it takes to go from hesitation to a profitable deal is gaining clarity on your objectives and your options. I’ve identified four things you can do as an owner that can help you lose the uncertainty of doing an M&A deal and set your business up for success.

Get clear on your objectives. From the overarching goals (are you a buyer or a seller?) to more minor line items in a deal, as the principle owner, you need to take the time to do the inner-work of identifying exactly what you want your deal to accomplish before moving forward. In the above example, Miguel wanted to do three things: receive fair value for his business, limit his tax exposure, and reach terms that would ensure the continuation of his business – that it wouldn’t be stripped for parts. Once we sat down and hashed out those terms, things got easier and Miguel become more comfortable with his decision to sell.

Find a strategic counterpart. You shouldn’t jump at the first buyer or the first seller that meets your acquisition needs. They might end up being the best fit, but drilling down on your strategic vision for the deal will help ensure that you find the right partner. This is especially important because an M&A deal isn’t always an exit scenario for an owner. In any deal, but especially if you will continue to be involved in the company post-deal, you need to be absolutely sure your counterpart is a perfect fit for your long-term goals, as well as a fit culturally.

Remember that due diligence will bring it all to bear. Whatever remaining questions or concerns you have should be answered during this process. While you’re deep into the M&A process at this point, it’s rare that an unconditional offer will have even been submitted much less a deal signed before completing an exhaustive due diligence period. Meaning, if your findings don’t leave you completely comfortable (regardless of which side of the deal you’re on), you can still walk away. This due diligence process will help clarify what you should be looking out for.

Stay detached from the outcome. Probably the most difficult and most important thing you can do for your M&A deal – especially if you’re a seller. With any deal like this, there’s going to be a lot of back and forth that might push some of your buttons. Even if the relationship to this point has been completely amicable, it’s still business and we’re all negotiating with our best outcomes at heart. If an offer doesn’t come close to the value you’ve got in mind for your business, don’t take it personally. You’ve done the work to get clear on your value and objectives – it’s on the other party to come to terms. As long as you stay detached from the outcome and are willing to accept that a deal might not get done, you’ll eventually land the deal that’s right for your business whether it is the one you are currently negotiating or not.

With global M&A trends on the rise, industry leaders are expecting the biggest year for deals in recent memory. Being prepared and approaching these big deals with a calm and cool mindset can make all the difference for your business. As an entrepreneur, I’ve made sure that at Kupfer & Associates, we’re bringing sharp business acumen to the M&A negotiation process – an approach that understands the needs and goals of today’s business owners. Let’s get M&A right.

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Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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When is the Right Time for Your M&A Deal?

During-Brainstorming-16
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Just because the forecast on M&A this year is promising doesn’t mean you can or should make a deal. Sometimes the market won’t align with your business cycle. If you are thinking of negotiating a sale of your business or a merger/acquisition this year, make sure the time is right for you, not just the industry at large.

When is the right time for an M&A deal? There’s no blueprint. For the most part, timing is case-by-case. That said, in my experience, there are similarities that one can point to and suggest that it could be high-time for a deal.

The life cycle of any business is relatively predictable, right? At least with small to medium-sized businesses, we have the founding/startup of the business, then rapid growth, followed by slower growth, a plateau, and then, eventually, the downturn. To identify when—in which phase—you want to seek a deal, you first need to identify your objectives. What I’d like to do next is explore the objectives that match up with each phase. The hope is that, by the end, you’re able to identify when you should look for a deal or, if you know you’re ready for a deal, what kind you should seek.

Founding/Startup

There aren’t many options for you at this point. It’s proving time. Unless you’re coming from a major shop, have a superb reputation in your industry, and are bringing with you a huge catalog of clients, you likely won’t find many buyers—assuming you want any buyer to begin with—and you likely lack the capital for any serious acquisition. Time to grind and build the value of your business.

Rapid growth

This is a tricky time. Things are on the upswing and it feels like it might never end. Still, you’ve got to take the long-view and be open to a deal. Test the waters. There’s a chance your business might be at peak value during this phase. It’s also likely when you’re feeling most prideful and optimistic about the company you created. If you find the right buyer—someone who will honor your vision and will preserve a lot of the critical aspects of your business—it might make long-term sense to sell right now, even if it feels unnecessary in the moment. Conversely, this might be a bad time for you to consider an acquisition. The process can be long and complicated. During this phase, your business needs your full attention as visionary and leader. Don’t lose that momentum unless you’ve identified a glaring need.

Slow Growth/Plateau

I consider this the “Goldilocks zone” of M&A. It’s when founders have the most clarity about their business’s value and place in the market. It’s also when founders have the most M&A options available to them. Your company’s value is probably still pretty close to its peak and, in a perfect world, you’ve reached the proverbial fork in the road. You have the assets and capital to consider an acquisition. Are you better positioned for an acquisition that leads to sales growth? Buy a competitor. You might be better positioned for market growth. Buy a complementary service. If you’re committed to continued growth, now is the time to buy and jumpstart growth again. If you feel like you’ve accomplished everything you wanted in creating this company, you can likely find a willing and suitable buyer.

Downturn

It’s important to be realistic about your business. Perpetual growth is something enjoyed by exactly zero companies. Growth is never linear, and your business will inevitably head toward a valley after it’s time at peak. At this point, you have a choice to stay strong through the downturn and consider what’s next for your business—which likely means a growth-oriented acquisition. Truthfully, it’s at this phase when many founders choose to sell their business. There’s still great value to be had in selling, and knowing entrepreneurs the way I do, it’s likely you’re eager to get onto your next project rather than pushing through something that you feel has reached a positive conclusion. If that sounds like you, start seeking potential buyers that suit your exit plan.

These observations are more than just hypothetical. They’re based on my experience working on M&A deals with businesses of all sizes and values. For a closer look at the M&A work we do at Kupfer & Associates, check out our website: http://kupferlaw.com/mergers-acquisitions/. If you’re the owner of a privately held small-to mid-market business, the halfhearted attention you’re likely to receive from a mega-firm will make it difficult to achieve your M&A objectives and get the best deal for your business. Having a dedicated team that possesses the experience and wisdom of a major firm while being committed to making you a priority can make all the difference. You need the right negotiator and deal-maker on your side.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!