We should know better

I’ve written about this before but it keeps happening, so I want to bring it front and center again. If anyone should be immune to marketing hype — it’s us. We recognize it. We avoid doing it for clients and we warn them of the dangers of the bait and switch.

And yet, every week I am talking to a handful of agency owners who get bamboozled (an underused word for sure!) by the ridiculous offers of “potential buyers.” I use the quotation marks because these people have no intention of buying your agency. Unless they can trick you.

If someone makes you an offer that feels too good to be true…trust me. It is. Not getting fooled begins with having an accurate valuation done by an expert in our industry.

If you wanted to sell your house, would you let your plumber or handyman set the price? Of course not. And yet, you allow strangers (potential buyers) or generalists (CPAs or M&A specialists who don’t understand our industry) tell you what your most valuable asset is worth.

Stop doing that so you are not susceptible to being fooled.

If you want a valuation — hire an agency expert who does valuations. We do them. I am happy to give you the names of 2-3 other reputable, agency specific resources who would also give you an accurate number that will allow you to fend off the charlatans and have a much better sense of what you actually have to sell.

I don’t care if you hire us. I do care that you hire someone qualified to give you good counsel and data.

A valuation is step one in planning out the next 5-10 years of your life as an agency owner. We insist upon it before we help someone explore an internal or external sale, whether we’re matchmaking, consulting through the deal or just trying to help them put together a plan.

Don’t go into these conversations uninformed. If you’re going to explore selling your agency — at least be prepared with good data from a reliable source.

Drew McLellan, with Agency Management Institute, produces a weekly newsletter with updates, tips, and market information of value to marketing agencies, owners, and employees. If you'd like to receive the weekly newsletter, follow this link to subscribe.