Main Street News April 2012

Pino Bacinello, CBI, M&AMI, CMEA, CSBA

Chairman’s Message

Greetings,

With Spring in the air for many of us and certainly up here in Canada, I cannot help but get excited about the new growth it brings with it. All in bloom, the warmer air and longer days, and it all remind me of where we all are in business brokerage.

I have spoken to many of you that have shared with me increased and renewed business transactional activity. There is a kind of spring energy in the business brokerage air.

Like the seasons, it’s not summer yet, but I believe this will be a great business brokerage spring and year! Like the new growth and blooming buds in the spring, we at IBBA and M&AS are also growing and blooming and looking good.

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Steve Wain, CBI, M&AMI

Our Competitive Opportunity

The Threat That Binds Us – Part 1:

Competition, does it make your ability to achieve greater earnings possible, or impossible?

My experience with many industries desiring growth and corporate dominance is always discussed. Growth is achieved through innovation and increased sales; while others mandate operating lean to boost the bottom line through controllable factors. Your competitor, yes, the guy on the other side of town, who offers the same products and services has always been a thorn; his elimination would clearly help boost your success. And, unfortunately to many who plan growth, the elimination of this ‘thorn’ is the best way to achieve necessary growth.

I’m sure that many of us, the Business Brokers and Intermediaries who’ve survived the past 3-4 years, believe that the economy did them a favor by eliminating a bunch of those ‘thorns’, and that would surely make their future brighter.

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Cress V. Diglio, CBI, M&AMI

Get to Know Your Board Members

Q – How long have you been a business broker/intermediary? What industry positions have you held?

A – I have been a Business Intermediary since June of 1999. When I started in this profession I was 28 years old. I was told that I was too young. I would never succeed in an industry where buyers and sellers must have complete confidence in the person they choose to sell, or help find a business. Others said young people don’t have the experience, knowledge or staying power to survive in this profession. They were right about one thing and that was the staying power. I didn’t have enough reserves at that age to survive in this business. The solution was simple – quit – NEVER! I took a 2nd job at night and on weekends waiting tables. After working 8 – 10 hours as a business intermediary I would trade in my suit for a restaurant uniform. Every day I went to the restaurant motivated me to work that much harder during the day as a business intermediary. In January of 2000 I had made enough money to quit my night job and 12 years later have never looked back.

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C. J. Harris, CBI, M&AMI

Member Spotlight

Q – Why a business broker/intermediary, how long, industry positions and other comments?

A – As a commercial banker who had enjoyed 10 ½ years in banking, I was reminded in 1981 that my original intent was to stay in banking 5 years to gain additional insight as to commerce- to observe, to train, to experience and to hone my capital markets skills so as to either purchase or start a business. In thinking about my banking career exit and the direction I should take, I prayed, asking the Lord God to direct my path. During my time as a commercial banker, in addition to leading in a de nova start-up, I participated in four bank mergers. Each merger was challenging, each was different and each was a great experience- I enjoyed commercial banking.

While driving my car, the Lord God answered my prayer. My question to Him was: “Lord, what am I going to do when I leave banking?” I was troubled by the current state of the economy and the capital markets (The posted “Prime Lending Rate” was to cap out in the early nineteen-eighties at 21.5%). I was having general concerns about providing economically for our family of five. He answered my question in my spirit, “What do you most enjoy doing?” The answer for me was quick and simply, “Helping people with their business needs.” His response was to me, “Then why don’t you do that, help people with their business needs.” With His enabling, I visualized, in the next few moments, starting a regional market oriented management consulting service firm with four facets of service: (a) Business Planning and Consulting; (b) Debt Capital Funding Placement; (c) Business Valuation; (d) Business Sales (Business Brokerage and Mergers & Acquisitions); and, (e) Continuing Education (Seminars & Workshops).

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Jeff Jones, CBI, ASA, CBA

Member Spotlight

“BUSINESS BROKERS DON’T RETIRE THEY JUST FADE AWAY,” SAYS JEFFREY D. JONES, CBI, ASA, CBA.

At age 69, Jeff Jones still enjoys doing business brokerage. Starting in 1978, he initially specialized in the sale of restaurants and clubs under the name Restaurant and Club Realty. Then in the early 80’s Jeff met Tom West, who was the then President of United Business Investments. A few months later UBI, owned by a public accounting company known as Triple Check, acquired Jeff’s company.. This company was the forerunner in developing a chain of business brokerage offices across the U.S. Jeff managed their Houston office selling all types of small to midsize businesses. Having worked for a public company for 12 years prior to going into business brokerage, Jeff was use to the corporate environment, and he soon remembered why he had left a public company to go into business for himself. The politics and personal conflicts with management caused Jeff to get fired from UBI, which according to Jeff was a blessing. That company has long since gone out of business and Jeff is still going strong helping people get into and out of small businesses.

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Keith McLeod, CBI

From the Editor’s Desk

This month we’re introducing you to Cress V. Diglio a remarkable IBBA Board Member who insists being young in this business is not a handicap; Member Spotlight features two veterans: C.J. Harris and Jeff Jones. C.J. is a consummate professional offering many services. Jeff is an original board member, former IBBA President teaching courses, workshops and has submitted articles to former IBBA Newsletters. Don’t overlook our regular columnists reporting on Membership, Marcie Woolworth; Marketing, Scott Bushkie; and Technology, Steve Wain. My contribution this month to Members is on Referrals:

Referrals are the gold standard of prospect leads for our industry. It is a testimony you have done a first rate job, and others contemplating buying or selling a business should be working with you. Unfortunately they don’t just occur; a planning and a disciplined approach are necessary. Referrals benefit three people: the individual contacted, the one giving the referral and you. It is a win, win and win scenario. Make it a habit with current clients. I recommend these approaches:

• Asking for referrals should be done four times: listing a business, two-thirds the way through the sales process, at closing and at your post-closing follow-up. Asking should become a habit.
• Client engagements end, referrals never end.
• Create a line or box to be checked on your listing documents. It serves as a reminder.Referrals are the lifeblood of new business. Practice asking for referrals with your sales associates at staff meetings. Plan and target a number for a week and a month. Soon it will be second nature to them.
• To overcome possible objections, suggest to clients their referral for new business allows you to spend more time selling their business.
• Target your most desirable business categories. Select the ideal business in your market area. Next, join or with your existing community organizations, search for someone who has a personal relationship with the targeted business owner and ask for a referral.
• Don’t forget to thank all parties; the one referring a prospect and the one referred to for allowing them to meet with you. Always follow-up with the referrer to let them know how it went.
• Invest in Alan Weiss’ book Million Dollar Referrals for your personal library and refer to it often.

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Marcie Woolworth, CBI, Fellow of the IBBA

Message From the Membership Chair

Thanks to all of you who have renewed your membership for 2012. We are so excited to report we are ahead of last year’s numbers at this same time by 27%. How awesome is that!

Your Membership Committee has diligently been searching for benefits for being a member of IBBA. We want to announce as of next week all current IBBA members will be able to access the Hotel Discount Program. Whenever you are traveling to other exciting places, or not so exciting places, you will be able to take advantage of reduced hotel prices and other amenities. More information will be sent out soon.

And for all of you CBIs be sure you renew your IBBA membership to remain in good standing. You’ve worked mighty hard to obtain that designation, and we would hate to see it lapse.

Are there any new brokers in your offices or your State Associations? Please encourage them to become members. The Membership Committee is seeking additional benefits for members. As we progress you will be informed. Is there a benefit you feel is missing? Do you have ideas on benefits that you would like to see offered? Please let me know. I will pass your information on and get the ball rolling!

We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio. Search for our new Membership welcome table. We’d love to meet you and answer any questions you may have.

I’m hoping 2012 is a banner year for you.

See you in San Antonio!

Marcie Woolworth, Chair IBBA

Membership Committee

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Scott Bushkie, CBI, M&AMI

Marketing Committee

The marketing committee is continuing to make progress on all 3 initiatives it set out for 2012.

We are working on an affiliate competition to help increase both IBBA membership and conference attendance among our affiliates. There will be a scoring system with many large awards given to the winning chapters, with the top prize being for one person, an all expense paid trip for an entire conference (confirm with Sean please that this got passed).

We are also working on a survey for IBBA and all affiliates. We are in the late stages of choosing our strategic partner(s) and will most likely kick this off in July to cover the 2nd quarter. This will help build the IBBA brand and overtime allow IBBA and it’s members to be the “voice” of Mainstreet and Lower Middle Market business brokerage/M&A. We will have more details at the conference.

Finally the 3rd project we are working on is our video project. We have chosen a videographer and it is all set up. He will be at the conference from late Tuesday – Friday night. He will capture the essence of our conference and help portray all the great reasons why you should be a member of IBBA and attend the conferences. It is now also confirmed that we will be doing up to 40 video testimonials of different attendees (3-4 predetermined questions) and for those volunteers that agree to sign up for the testimonials you will get a FREE 45 second commercial about yourself and your company that you can use to differentiate you from your competitors-this is a several hundred dollar value. 15 of the 40 spots are already taken…. click here to reserve your spot now. We will be putting together a schedule in 15-20 minute increments to help make sure we can get as many done as possible.

Look forward to seeing you at the conference. It will be another great event.

Click Here to Sign Up for the Video Testimonial & Commercial Project in San Antonio, TX

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Sean Samet, MBA IBBA Director of Operations

Getting the Most From Your Membership

The IBBA has been working hard over the last few years to make membership in the organization as rewarding as possible for you. This means providing you with the best tools for your practice as well as promoting the business brokerage profession to the business community. I have the opportunity to speak with members on a regular basis and I don’t think that everyone understands the excellent benefits & programs that are available to you as a member. In this month’s article I will highlight 3.

1. Katzman Insurance IBBA members get special deals on E&O insurance, small business coverage & benefits that are specifically geared toward business brokers. If you’re having trouble finding policies that are right for your firm I suggest contacting Jack Katzman from Katzman Insurance.
2. Public Relations Articles For Members A few years ago the IBBA contracted with a PR firm to create tools and articles for our members’ use. There are articles on using a business broker, why you should hire a CBI, why valuations are important and many more. There are also some .ppt presentations that you can modify for your own use. You’ll need to use your member login to access the info on the IBBA website and I suggest checking it out. They can really help you out when you’re trying to educate your clients or potential clients.
3. IBBA Email Archive If you’re ever trying to locate an old article or you want to double check the wording in a message that you previously received and are having trouble finding it…no worries. You can take a look at the IBBA Communication’s archive. This can be found on the IBBA Homepage under the “About Us” dropdown menu. All of the communications that have been sent from IBBA HQ since the beginning of 2011 are archived there.

That’s it for this month. I know that many of you are already aware of these three benefits and are happily using them. I encourage anyone that isn’t familiar with these benefits to contact me, HQ or a fellow member for more information.

IBBA HQ: 888-686-4222

Email: [email protected]

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Spring 2012 Conference

Save the Date: June 4 – 9

Register Today for the Conference!

We are excited about this excellent event in San Antonio, TX at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk June 4 – 9 and hope to see you there.

We are also excited about filming the event for a video promo for the IBBA along with filming volunteers who will be giving testimonials about why the IBBA event and association has helped them succeed. If you would like to sign up to be part of the video program click here.

If you would like to learn more about the conference and register, click here.