Catalytic Conversation$ with Wendy Dickinson IBGR onAir Talent Wendy Dickinson

Many family businesses come to a place and time where the decision is made to sell the family business. While many families would prefer to pass the business on for generations to come, sometimes that isn’t possible for unforeseen reasons. I recommend to all business owners that they actively plan for the sale of their business - regardless of their ideal exit. Why? Because it is always great and empowering to have options when you are ready to exit. For some owners, taking this seriously will allow them to reverse engineer a viable asset instead of merely a job from the business they’ve worked so hard to create. My guest today, Michelle Seiler Tucker of Seiler Tucker Inc. and author of Exit Rich, has had 20 years of experience buying, selling and growing viable businesses.

Culture in any organization can be difficult to define, as well as communicate. The issue of defining and explaining culture in a family business is even more complex. At the same time, leaders in a family business have a responsibility to not only define and explain culture, but to also equip themselves and the next generation to lead through culture changes. It’s complicated for the family and for those in the organization outside of the family, isn’t it? At the same time, the WHY Institute believes that knowing the WHY of the company, it’s leaders and those who make up the organization is an important part of sustaining a family business for future generations. The WHY Institute founder, Gary Sanchez, was inspired to reach out to Simon Sinek after his famous TED Talk to ask how a person goes about discovering the WHY. Simon didn’t know, but supported Gary in his efforts to devise a scientifically sound way of discovering your WHY. Today I have a conversation with Dan Dominguez of the WHY Institute. Dan shares his experiences in working with family businesses, and the individuals within those organizations, on discovering their WHY, their how and their what. Each leads to greater clarity and ability to communicate the mission and vision to employees as well as ideal clients/customers.

I’m currently working with several companies dealing with sales team crises. One company has had three hires for the sales team without any success. Another has had a sales manager who was successful pre-COVID and finds the current business landscape so difficult, he’s no longer able to lead. I invited Vince to give us a snapshot of his innovative approaches to building a successful sales team. Vince is a lifelong learner who is a student of leadership. This was a valuable hour for picking up new ideas. Vince shared these common problems: Responsible for both running the business and being the Chief Sales and Revenue Officer. Should you add a professional sales manager to the team? Limited time to coach and mentor current sales staff – talent recruitment and development is critical. Driving profitable revenue growth. Expand your current business – new markets and/or business lines. Getting the sales, and overall, culture right. Here are Vince’s points for you to consider: - You cannot do it all – evaluate your business and see if adding a sales leadership position (manager) makes sense. How else can you empower and delegate responsibilities while still achieving the results you expect? - Your people are the key to business growth and success – are you giving them the tools to do their best work? How are you developing them? Are they creating the client experience you want? Do you have a defined and written sales process? Have you identified the best way to engage prospects and help them through the buying journey to realize profitable revenue for your business? -Are you the leader you need to be? Manager vs. Leader – Managers do things right while leaders focus on doing the right things well. Are you inspiring others to be their best? Is your why believable? Are you developing new leaders in your company? Leaders are always in short supply and they are the cornerstone of all future growth.

Today we look at franchises with one of the most successful franchise experts in the country, Gus Lurillo of The Entrepreneur's Source. Gus will give us tips for choosing a franchise, and what to watch out for.

A lot of you plan to sell your business one day. However, the odds of successfully selling your business are against you. Did you know that there are ways to stack the odds of selling successfully in your favor? Today Mike Metzger of Murphy Business Sales and I discuss the steps that you can take to prepare your business to go on the market. We look at the things that you can do to build value in your business. We discuss the most common mistakes that business owners make when putting their business on the market. Mike and I want you to know what you don’t know. What you don’t know can definitely hurt your business. Finally, Mike and I share our recommendations for steps that you can take to prepare your business to sell, and then integrate successfully once it’s sold.

Today we look at the process of selling your business. You may hear of this process referred to as The Deal or the Transaction. Your deal, or transaction, is the culmination of your years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears. The amount of money you walk away with is dependent on a number of variables. I hope that your biggest takeaway for my shows this month is that preparation is your key to successfully selling your business. Selling your business is a process. Today, I want my guest to give you a peek at what happens behind the curtain of the deal. I want you to be ready for the business colonoscopy. I want you to be so prepared, so ready, that you don’t feel a thing! We’re going to talk about the things owners do that get in their own way, that they do wrong, or how they subconsciously sabotage the entire deal! This happens all too often. Michael and I want you to know what you don’t know. What you don’t know can definitely hurt your deal. Finally, Michael and I share our recommendations for steps that you can take to sell, and then integrate successfully once it’s sold.