Here's the truth.
When someone buys your company, it’s highly likely that you won’t want to be there anymore. You may want to travel, you want to be with your children, or your grandchildren. You want that yoga studio, your own charity, or go on that dream holiday for six months. By and large, you’re selling because you want out. You want the exit door.
OK, you’ll have your ‘earnout’ deal. That might motivate you for a while. It might not. Either way, buyers know that there’s a good chance you won’t be around for long. That even if you do come to the office, your heart might not be in it. I know this – I’ve been there myself.
Here is what you need to hear. If you want a great sale of your business, you must work more on the business, and do less work in the business.
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If you’re a main point of contact for the agency’s largest clients – that’s a problem.
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If you’re the only one who can land big new business – that’s a problem.
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If you’re the de facto creative director / account director – that’s a problem.
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If you’re the only one who can develop brand strategy – that’s a problem.
You need a great management team. You need the right people in the right seats. A balanced group of seasoned professionals, that can run every aspect of the business without you. To get to that point it takes a lot of time. It takes patience. It takes a lot of coaching, a lot of mentoring.
Here’s the test, if you think you’re there now. Could you go on a long holiday? Like several weeks. And not check your email. Not keep hearing your WhatsApp ping. Not keep calling the office.
Could you do that today? Would you be able to do that in a month? In a year? If the answer is ‘No’ and yet you want to sell your agency – then it’s time to put together a plan that can make the business less reliant on you.
Think of it as a series of “replace yourself” projects. Think succession. Think about dividing your role between your team. What would be natural for them to take on? Identify what they’d need to learn to be ready and get them the coaching they need.
Once that is going well, do the same thing again. And again. Use coaching, use mentoring, and develop your team.
This takes dedicated focus and effort. It takes expert help. To be honest, you probably can’t do it on your own.