This event offers group, live learning. Workshops are geared towards educating its membership and inciting advancements in this growing industry. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. No sign-up is necessary for workshops. 

Fall 2010 IBBA Workshop presentations will be available online 2 weeks before the start of the Conference. Please download the presentations for workshops you plan to attend and print hard copies to bring to Las Vegas. Handouts will not be available onsite.

Courses will also be offered in conjunction with the M&A Source and IBBA Conferences in Las Vegas. Click here for a full list. 

7 Trends that Will Help Fix Everything!
Thursday, November 18 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Glen J. Cooper, CBI, CBA, BVAL
Veteran Business Broker Glen Cooper exercises his futurist talents by telling us his version of the future of business brokerage. 

He will discuss 7 world business trends that he believes will help us achieve work/life balance, fix our business models by turning them upside down, master our technology by reverse engineering what we want, and overcome our reluctance to get started by building and renewing relationships.Glen will also discuss the fundamentals that he believes have been overlooked by most business brokers and intermediaries.

When the discussion begins, expect some controversy.

Distressed Companies - How to Make Lemonade out of Lemons
Thursday, November 18 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Scott Rosser
Every business broker has seen this situation. A business owner wants you to sell their company. You eagerly engage, but as soon as you look over the company’s financial information, the problem is obvious. You assess that the business Fair Market Value (FMV) is significantly less than the obligations owed (Bank Debt + Vendor Payables). As a result, you pass on the listing, rather than trying to sell the business at an unrealistic valuation. How disappointing for all parties…it doesn’t have to be that way. In this seminar, you will learn that: distressed companies can be good clients, Workouts can save a distressed company and business brokers can benefit substantially from this situation.  

Building Trust: Principles for Success
Thursday, November 18 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Douglas M. Thornton
Trust.  We have it with our family and our closest friends.  But do we have trust with our co-workers and clients? This session will focus participants on the 7 Principles they need to build trust with their employees and customers.  These Principles are based on the latest research and are used by successful Global Fortune 500 companies, governments and successful non-profit organizations throughout North America.  The workshop describes each Principle, gives participants the rationale behind them and explains how they can be implemented to build a successful, trustful business.

How to Structure a Deal So You Can Close the Sale! Including Case Analysis
Thursday, November 18 – 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Bart A. Basi, CPA/Attorney
Selling a business is not like buying or selling anything else! The popular phase “the devil is in the details”, could not be truer than in arranging for the purchase of a business. The majority of clients are amazed by the level of detail involved. Learn how to structure and close more deals from a top deal maker in the country.

Managing Your Listings - Ready to Sell
Thursday, November 18 – 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Debra Andrews, CBI
Have you ever had surprises kill a deal?  If yes, simple analysis tools and procedures to keep listings up to date can help.  Learn how to find errors, identify hidden owner benefits and keep up to date all to minimize those surprises and close more deals.  (You might also learn a few things not covered in #210).

How to Pitch Your Little Deals to the Big Guys
Thursday, November 18 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Moderator: Patricia McDonald, CBI, M&AMI; Panelists: Mainstreet Capital Corporation, Prospect Partners, and WestShore Capital Partners
Have you ever gotten a nice size listing and yet the best buyer could be a Private Equity Group, but how to get them to look at it? What are some of the things you should include on a 1 or 2 page summary to catch their attention so they will call you or take your call when you contact them? What should you get from your seller to put in your Pitch Book and how should it be organized so a PEG can review and decide if it is a fit for their portfolio?  This panel of PEG's will go in details on how to prepare an Ex. Summery, and/or Pitch Book that they will look at when it lands on their desk.

How to Stay Alive in the 21st Century Cyber Jungle
Friday, November 19 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Alan Brind, CBI, SBA, CMEA
What you need to know and do to embrace all the social networking tools and technologies. Why a website is now passé and why you should have a strategy which encompasses all the new communications tools to promote your brokerage business, prospect for business clients, and sell businesses. Learn how to jump into the 21st Century and stay ahead of everyone.  Learn how to survive the onslaught of running a brokerage business in Cyberspace and stay in business, how to leave your brokerage competition in the dust, and learn the new rules of marketing and PR for a business brokerage.

He Who Has the Best Database Wins!  How to Work Sales Systems to Your Advantage
Friday, November 19 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Mona Hilton
He Who Has the best Database Wins! How to Work Sales Systems to Your Advantage Everyone knows that the sales game is a numbers game. In any economic time, brokers must increase the number of contacts they make, communicate effectively to prospective sellers and buyers and maximize the deals they get in order to reach the financial goals they set. Learn to put together the buyer/seller puzzle, how to manage/organize your B & C contacts while servicing your As, how to bullet proof your followup and turn them into TaskoMatics (set them and forget them). Being a business broker is like being an athlete - the more you practice, refine, tweak and follow the advice of coaches who know your sport, the more successful (and more money) you will make.

Cash for Business Intermediaries, Getting the Most From Your CBI
Friday, November 19 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Jim Afinowich, CBI, M&AMI
The CBI designation requires a commitment of time and money. This workshop will look at the time commitment and costs to obtain and maintain a CBI designation. We will review the requirements of acquiring and maintaining a CBI designation and review all the options for acquiring certification and recertification credits.  This session will not only review what those benefits are, but will also demonstrate how you can maximize your return on investment. Sample promotional materials, such as press release and marketing brochures will be provided.

What's Working in Your Busienss Brokerage and Why?
Friday, November 19 – 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Andrew Rogerson, CBI
The goal of this workshop would be to allow those that want to contribute no more than 60 seconds to share what's working in their business and more importantly why. The workshop would be hands on and high energy to provide about 30+ new ideas to consider trying or tweaking for their business.

Seller's Creative Accounting - Can this Change the Discretionary Earnings?
Friday, November 19 – 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Carrie Allen, CBI
This workshop is a brief overview of double entry accounting basics and seller's bookkeeping errors that result from a lack of understanding of accounting basics. The accounts most commonly affected on both the balance sheet and the profit and loss statements will be identified. The workshop will include a class participation recasting exercise that will illustrate some of the more common errors encountered on a profit and loss statement, and provide a process to recognize and adjust for these errors in order to arrive at a more accurate earnings level.

Effective Marketing During Difficult Times
Friday, November 19 – 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Jerry Cofield, BCI, CBI, M&AMI
In this workshop are effective and proven ideas that will assist you in your everyday challenges related to acquiring listings. Jerry will discuss strategies and techniques in the three primary areas of marketing. 1- Effective Letter Writing Campaigns, 2- Cold Calling, and 3- Telemarketing. Jerry will provide copies of letters that have proven to be effective in his business brokerage practice. He will include a session of real life examples of cold calling thru role play and understanding how to break the barrier on the initial meeting. Lastly, we’ll discuss techniques and scripts for telemarketing.

Minimizing Broker Liability
Friday, November 19 – 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Len Krick, CBI, M&AMI, MBA, CMEA
Nearly every business brokerage, and merger and acquisition, transaction involves a Due Diligence phase; a critical phase is where many deals fall apart. This workshop presents a holistic approach to due diligence; addressing the issue proactively from listing to closing. A very successful main street broker shares his secrets to attaining an 82% closing rate, which, in part, is attributable to maintaining a tight control of the due diligence process, and managing the expectations of the parties.  All aspects of due diligence, from the broker’s perspective will be discussed, from preparation of the client, to assembling the data, setting up actual and virtual data rooms.  Even a veteran can benefit from these ideas. Participants will receive samples of simplistic and extremely thorough due diligence lists. This workshop presents techniques you can use to excel as a business broker in your market and close more deals.

Role Play with a Pro - Business Listings
Friday, November 19 – 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Steve Wain, CBI, M&AMI
Part of the new IBBA Role Playing series, this workshop will provide you with specific help in crafting a good and effective listing for your sell-side business. Unlike other workshops, this is a HANDS-ON. You will not only learn what works, but critique actual live listings from other (non IBBA!) brokers as part of a group. You will also be given a chance to develop/rewrite your own listing to hopefully be more effective and help pinpoint the best buyer to close the deal! Bring a listing or two from your inventory, and be prepared to have fun!

How to Capitalize on the Growing Numbers of Women Entrepreneurs
Friday, November 19 – 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Marion M. Van Keken-Rietkerk, CBI
Business oriented women are leaving corporations with tremendous expertise and significant net worth. They are finding freedom in entrepreneurship they can't find anywhere else. Captitalizing on this wave of women business owners who, like every other business person out there, needs to plan for succession and enlist brokerage resources for the transaction, requires one to accept and understand them; where they came from; how they got to where they are and speak their language when it comes to communication style, emotional needs and values.

10 Steps to $100,000 and More Income
Friday, November 19 – 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Keith McLeod, CBI
These 10 proven steps will move your practice from standard, to distinct, to breakthrough in your market.  Take this next path in your career, and be prepared to be sought after by business buyers and sellers calling you to represent them.

Pros War Stories for Today's Economy
Friday, November 19 – 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Rick Thompson, CBI
This panel of some of our well known producers in our association, will share their war stories with you that they have had to overcome in today's economy. Some funny, some to keep you out of jail, some to help you collect your commission and some to help you get that hard to get listing. They are still ahead of the pack and productive, making money in these times. How have they done it? Come and learn.

How to Price a Business for Sale
Friday, November 19 – 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Louis Vescio, CBI, M&AMI
Since only about 10-15% of all listed businesses ever sell, it implies that business brokers fail more often than they succeed. Pricing a business is far more difficult than just selecting a multiple of DE or percentage of sales to apply. The deal must provide an adequate return to the buyer, financing, as well as enough revenue to meet the buyer’s needs. This seminar will review the author’s analysis done on tens of thousands of sold businesses, how multiples of DE and percent of sales figures change over a range of earnings, and how the “return on investment” and “return on invested capital” analysis can provide the broker with a pricing “reality check.” The tools provided in the seminar will help the broker better price his listings as well as provide a very logical method to show both the seller and the buyer why the pricing is valid. It will enable the broker to manage both the sellers and buyers expectations, get deals financed easier, and close more deals faster.

Work with PEG’s and Increase Your Income – Tips to working with Private Equity
Saturday, November 20 – 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Matt Bradbury
Participants will learn tips to transitioning their practice from Main Street to Lower Middle Market so they can get the benefits of working with PEGS. Specifically, learn compensation plans, running a process, finding new PEG clients, adding value, hitting the key PEG checklist, how the checklist impacts PEG valuations, and pitfalls to avoid in working with PEGs.  Business Acquisition & Merger Associates started out as a main-street intermediary and two years ago transitioned from Main Street to Lower middle market deals that are marketed to PEG’s and Strategic buyers.  Participants will get tips for expanding or adding lower middle market/PEG deals to their offerings while also learning about speed-bumps to avoid.

How to Create a Sense of Urgency with reluctant Sellers to Sell Now
Saturday, November 20 – 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Monty W. Walker, CBI, CPA, BCB
Do you have some reluctant Sellers just sitting on the fence trying to decide if they want to list now or wait until the market changes and sell later? Come hear the "Guru" of deal structuring explain what some of the new tax laws starting in 2011 and 2013, might mean to the bottom line for sellers if they wait to sell. You will learn tax tips that could help you get that seller to jump off the fence and into a listing before the end of the year.

Advantages of Owner Financing
Saturday, November 20 – 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Ed Pendarvis, CBI
In today’s financial environment, with banks and other SBA lenders pulling back on small business acquisition loans and/or ratcheting up requirements for approval and security, the best and most available financing for a business sale may be seller financing. Most of the time sellers do not want to finance the sale, but the seller still needs/wants to sell and the buyer still needs/wants to buy. Discover how to educate allparties involved on the tremendous advantages of seller financing.

How to Use the New IBBA/M&A Source Listing Service and Deal Room Offerings
Saturday, November 20 – 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Steve Wain, CBI, M&AMI
The IBBA and M&A Source are committed to bringing value to your membership. This workshop will go into how to EFFECTIVELY use the first of two new offerings to help you increase closings and run your practice. The new IBBA Listing Service gives you unprecedented exposure of your listings, and helps promote YOU and your listings to millions of prospective buyers. The recently announced IBBA Deal Room will provide you with a means to control due diligence AND communicate (at all times - not only due diligence) in a multitude of ways with your clients, attorneys, accountants, and others. Experts on the training and use of these offerings will be teaching you how to work with these products. If you've got a laptop or tablet, bring it along and we will try to give you access from the workshop to try it out immediately!