Using Current Technology ToMarket Your M&A Practice and Close Deals

Conference For Professional DevelopmentNew Orleans Marriott, May 10, 2011New Orleans, Louisiana

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Once a new technology rolls you over, if you are not part of the steamroller …You’re part of the roadStewart Brand

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Technology & The M&A Practitioner

• In this session we ask YOU to consider ways that– Make you better known to the outside world– Make your reputation grow– Enhance your ability to control costs

• All of this leading to increased awareness and stature of true M&A professionals

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Our Panel of Experts

• Steve is a seasoned professional who has a passion for helping business owners and buyers. As the President of Calder Associates (CA), Steve has been the driving force behind the growth of one of the Mid-Atlantic region's most well-respected M&A firms.

• Steve’s experience in business ownership (he has owned a number of successful companies and sold some of them publicly) has allowed him to have a unique perspective on the M&A process, and the issues faced by both business owners and buyers. He is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), as well as a Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary (M&AMI).

• Steve also sits on the Board of Directors of a number of private companies, as well as the IBBA. Steve is the Chair of both the IBBA’s Technology Committee, as well as The M&A Source’ Technology and Website committee.

• Alok Misra, Founder and President of Navatar, Inc.

• David Cummings, CEO of Cool Life Systems, Inc.

• Laura Ivey, Senior Sales Executive, ShareFile, Inc.

• Stacy Nance, Marketing Consultant and Constant Contact Expert

• Peter Lehrman , CEO of Axial Market, Inc.

• Steve Wain (Moderator), President of Calder Associates, Inc.

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The Life of An Intermediary

• Market For Clients– Sell Side– Buy Side

• Maintain Information for – Continued Marketing– Legal Requirements– Customer Info– Due Diligence

• Our information requirements and flow are increasing daily– How do we coordinate all this information to our advantage???

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Technology & Marketing

• What is it?– How easy is it for a non-tech person?– How does this help my practice get noticed?– Can you give me some statistics on how it

improves or can improve awareness of my practice and my firm?

– What is out there than can help an M&A Intermediary?

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Making Your Practice Better

• Automation Exists in many facets of our business life. So, how can improved technology improve your Marketing?– Mail?– E-mail?– Targeted campaigns?– Survey’s– Social Networking?– Consider some of the following statistics:

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Marketing Stats

• Here are some Broker/Intermediary Social Networking statistics:

• Blog – Approx 75% never used, 2% used but stopped, 13% used for less than 1 yr, 10% used for more than 1 yr.

• Twitter – Approx 75% never used, 3% used but stopped, 15% used for less than 1 yr, 7% used for more than 1 yr.

• Facebook – Approx 55% never used, 5% used but stopped, 20% used for less than 1 yr, 10% used for more than 1 yr

• LinkedIn – Approx 30% never used, 5% used but stopped,20 used for less than 1 yr, 45% used for more than 1 yr

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Marketing Stats

• Here are some Direct Mail statistics:– 68% Company Letters– 42% Company Brochures– 32% Postcards– 28% Flyers– 25% Newsletters– 21% Industry Newsletter– 14% Do not use Direct Mail

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What IS e-mail Marketing?

• It is a way of: – Delivering professional

email communications

– To an interested audience

– That contains information they find valuable

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E-mail Marketing

• Why is better and/or more efficient to use email marketing versus some of the more established practices like Direct Mail?

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E-Mail Marketing

• Because almost everyone your business needs to reach, reads it!• It’s Cost-effective: Direct Mail vs. Email

• For the same response,direct mail costs 20 TIMES as much as email 1

• Email ROI is the highest when compared to other internet marketing mediums 2

• Start an email campaign for as littleas $15/month for 500 contacts!1 Forrester Research, Inc.

2 Direct Marketing Association

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What about ….

Junk email

Unsolicited and unwanted email

Email from an unknown sender

Dubious opt-out (if any)

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What Important Tips Should I Follow?

• Focus on the content: share knowledge so people care– It’s not about you.– It’s about what you know.

• Trade useful information for attention– Will people talk about it when out with friends?– Will people look forward to your next communication?– Will they be inspired to share/tweet/comment

on this information?

• Inspire trust by filtering the noise– Be an expert.– Clearly convey your area of expertise.

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Customer/Prospect Information

• Do we need it?• What Purpose does it serve?• What can be done with it?• How will this make my practice better?• How will this save me money?• How will this make me more competitive?• What systems are available to help me?

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CRM

• What does it mean?– Customer Relationship Management

• What does it do?• What information is useful to an

intermediary?• What areas does it cover?

CAPABILITIES are DYNAMIC,reliable and SCALABLE

eMarketing Project Management Website Publishing

Content Management Event Administrator

Sales Workbench Database Management

CRM Solution Pipeline Reporting SEO

LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter Integration

Contract / Engagement Tool

CRM Systems Offer MUCH MORE Than You Imagine!

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How do I track and manage my deals?

• What about targeted marketing for my deals?– Do CRM tools work?– Are there any special ways of reaching my targeted

audience– If I’m not use to maintaining my own server or

technology platform, is there a way for me to still do my work?

– What’s the difference between a generic system like Salesforce vs systems built for M&A professionals• What specific solutions are there for M&A Intermediaires?

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How do I track and manage my deals?• Have a system that you use to manage your deals that helps you track progress

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Researching and Contacting Buyers• How do I EFFECTIVELY reach PEG’s who may be interested in my

deals?– Do you KNOW who they are?– Do you know the search Search Funds from the Strategic from the

Financial PEG’s• What does Axial Market do that other generic cloud services

don’t?– Will that get me closer to closing a deal?– How will it improve my presentation?– How will it improve my practices’ reputation

• How do I ensure that I don’t get ‘lost in the cloud’ when communicating with corporate buyers and PEGs?

• Examples of how these benefit firms like mine?

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Using AxialMarket to Research and Contact Buyers

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Using AxialMarket to Research, Engage and Track Buyer interactions…

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Using AxialMarket to Track Buyer Interest in Your Deal

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AxialMarket & M&A Source

• As a member of the M&A Source you have access to a FREE VERSION of AxialMarket

• You have NO REASON NOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

• Upgraded services, including custom branding for your company are available at a substantial discount.

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Now that I Have a Buyer – What’s next?

• Working to improve efficiency and operational data flow is never over until you CLOSE.

• What ways would make you more efficient in keeping the process ‘rolling’ to a speedy and efficient close?

• Do you use a Deal Room?– If not, why?– Have you considered all the issues?

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Control Of Due Diligence Data?• How is your firm complying with federal and state

privacy legislation regarding the transfer of personal information? (i.e. MA 201CMR17)

• How much time do you spend conducting on-site due diligence?

• How do you control who has access to electronic financial and legal documents during the due diligence process?

• How do you track who is looking at which documents and for how long?

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Deal Rooms Are A Must

• The days of Fax and Mail and large rooms filled with paper are fleeting like $1.50/gallon gasoline!

• Objective Close Sooner• Means Get information to buyer quicker• Outcome Happier Buyers = > Closings• Deal Rooms affect speed, accuracy, legal

requirements, and efficiency.– Its use and integration into your practice is VERY

SIMPLE

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A Deal Room Example

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Sharefile & M&A Source

• As a member of the M&A Source you have access to FREE VERSION of the M&A Source Deal room for your practice– You have NO REASON NOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

• Upgraded services, including custom branding for your company are available at a substantial discount versus the general public.

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Conclusion

• Technology encircles the work we do– We can either embrace it to enhance our reputation

and awareness in the market or we can fight a battle that can’t be won in today’s economy

– We can use efficient processing tools to reach our target markets and keep track of information about them or risk losing opportunities because your competitor does

– We can keep the ‘old practices’ going, or adopt new ways to make information sharing and control more effective and close more deals.