NEW - Experience Counts (8 credit hours)
Thursday, November 17th
Experience can teach us the best lessons but can come at a significant cost. Now you can learn from the 30 years of experience of this recognized leader in business brokerage, small business and franchise financing. Bernie Siegel will cover all aspects of operating a successful business brokerage practice, lessons you will apply in today's dynamic market to earn more. Topics will range from ethics and industry specialization, to process development, financing and managing expectations to secure more listings and close more transactions. Practical advice that you will implement in your practice today.
NEW - Course #224 (4 credit hours)
Pricing a Business to Sell
Saturday, November 19th, 8:00am - 12:00pm
How do you price a business? Does the size of the business influence the price in relationship to DE or sales? Does pricing it too high hurt your chance of selling it? When you complete this course, you should have additional knowledge to help you price a business properly. Using databases of sold businesses, you will learn the relationships between the size of a business and Multiples of Discretionary Earnings, ROI and how comparable sales data can be used to determine an "opinion of value" for a business. This course will help you learn how to avoid overpricing a business, and how financing and deal structure influences buyers decisions.
NEW - Course #227 (4 credit hours)
Close More Deals Through Seller and In-Place Financing
Saturday, November 19th, 1:30pm - 5:30pm
Dealing with buyers and sellers who have never been involved in selling or acquiring a business requires brokers to educate their clients and customers about the process. Probably one of the biggest challenge is for the seller to understand that he/she will have to finance part of the deal. Why that is necessary and how to get the seller and buyer to come to terms with this is a critical educational and negotiating skill that a broker must have to close deals on Main Street. If you have a deal that you are having trouble with, write up a summary and bring it to class so we can determine if there is a way to make it work using seller or in-place financing.
NEW - Course #230 (4 credit hours)
Marketing with Social Media
Thursday, November 17th, 8:00am - 12:00pm
For many of us, social networking only seems to make a giant time-sucking sound, not money. Yet everyone insists we do it. Why? And how? This course will cover seven steps to determine if social networking can be made to work for you as part of your overall marketing plan. You will discover what might work, how to envision your own custom approach, how to create your own systems, where to get help, how to predict where all this is going, and how to act on those predictions. In this rapidly evolving area, the input and knowledge of course attendees will be used to stay current. This course is recommended for both beginners and advanced social media users. It is recommended for owners or managers who are charged with convincing and teaching others to make better use of social networking.
NEW - Course #251 (4 credit hours)
Broker Financial Analytics For Smoother, Quicker Closings
Thursday, November 17th, 1:30pm - 5:30pm
Ever wonder why some businesses sell for more than others, even though they look the same? Or why some brokers and intermediaries make more money then you, and even earn money in a down economy? Learn how successful IBBA and M&A Source brokers and intermediaries use "Pre-Diligence" by analyzing their client's financial metrics to help them uncover the good and bad, and can aid in the increase of the selling price, or ward off unsalable businesses. Discuss tips on working with financial statements and tax returns.
NEW - Course #365 (4 credit hours)
Navigating Transaction Roadblocks
Thursday, November 17th, 8:00am - 12:00pm
The objective of this course is to provide attendees practical solutions to frequent roadblocks that occur in the M&A process. These types of situations can slow down the momentum of the negotiations and can also reduce the probability of closing the transaction. The course will provide a comprehensive overview of common obstacles that intermediaries experience in their dealings with clients. The presentation is designed to be fast moving and allows for considerable interaction between attendees and the course presenter.
The course content is intended not only to anticipate transaction roadblocks, but also to suggest reasonable option(s) to solve differences between the parties. The presentation will focus on the following issues that often arise in the M&A process: resistance to the retainer, dealing with exclusions, managing client valuation expectations, closing the buyer/seller pricing gap, structuring earn out and seller financing components, dealing with difficult attorneys/accountants, due diligence problems, LOI issues, and other areas of interest that will be most informative to the attendee.
In today's M&A market place it is necessary for the intermediary to be resourceful and creative in order to be successful. It is the course's intent to provide practical solutions to transaction problems that will encourage consensus between the parties which will place the process back on track to the closing table.
NEW - Course #369 (4 credit hours)
The Subtle Art of Educating the Client
Thursday, November 17th, 1:30pm - 5:30pm
Selling a potential client on paying a retainer and using the services of your firm over someone else's is an art form. This course will allow its participants to learn about multiple tools for use in getting retained engagements. You will be introduced to structured approaches and learn to use more creativity in getting retained engagements. At the end of this four hour session, you should be able to demonstrate to your clients the added value you bring to the table and get them excited about having selected you to represent them in the sale of their company. This class is interactive.
NEW - Course #415 (4 credit hours)
Understanding the Emotional Dynamics of the M&A Transaction
Monday, November 14th, 1:30pm - 5:30pm
Have you ever worked on a deal for months or even years, to have it all fall apart at the end because someone in the family or partnership decides they really can't sell? Did you see problems up-front but didn't know what to do about them so you kept working on the deal? As intermediaries, we spend a lot of time assessing financials, creating a competitive market of buyers, and solving problems along the way. How much time do we spend up-front on emotional due diligence -- analyzing the family dynamics and assessing whether everyone is truly on board with selling?
The goals of this course are to help you develop tools for determining: "is the family emotionally capable of selling their business?" and to give you techniques for managing the family dynamics of a family business sale. You will learn to recognize the warning signs of family issues and be given some tools to deal with them. This course is based on a series of case studies on family-owned businesses. Your time is your treasure and this course will help you decide where to spend it.
NEW - Course #480 (4 credit hours)
Essentials for Managing an M&A Auction
Thursday, November 17th, 1:30pm - 5:30pm
This course is intended for the M&A professional who may or may not utilize the auction process for their sell-side engagements. After taking this course the attendee should be able to discuss the auction process with prospective clients to help secure more engagements, identify projects where the auction process is most appropriate, which type of auction process will produce better results and provide a blueprint for running a successful auction process to the benefit of your client. For those who currently utilize the auction process, this course will enhance your existing M&A Auction "Tool Box" with practical advice.
