The financial statements “will be ready in 2 weeks”.
As far as the buyer is concerned, the financial statements might be ready in 3, 4, 10, or whatever weeks, for all the good that does. For "buyer" you can also read "funder" or "investor". These guys are always looking at businesses into which they can place their money. They are not going to sit around waiting for your financial statements.
Tomorrow they will look at another business.
Next week, they will be distracted by another one.
Buyers are bombarded
At the less formal end of the businesses for sale market, buyers get onto the web and find business brokers with 500 businesses listed. They really are spoiled for choice. If they have seen any business broker previously, they will be notified of every new mandate.
More formally, investment bankers share beers around the rugby field with the captains of industry. There is always: "I must tell you about this opportunity."
There are new investment opportunities at every turn for willing and able buyers. Each new offering muddies the water of the seller waiting for their financials to send to the buyer who was so interested at the time.
Sellers must work hard
Going to the extraordinary stage of actually getting a meeting with a well qualified prospect is great. But if a seller does not have the latest financial statements at hand...
It's like bundling the family in the car for the road-trip - everyone excited - but you have to stop at the Supermarket to get groceries on the way out of town. And then fill up with gas. And then stop off at the fitment centre to get new tyres.
The kids get tetchy by the time you're finally ready to get on the road. (I've heard)
By the time the buyer gets the financials, several weeks later, they are left wondering what that business was all about. And anyway, they're busy with something else, properly prepared, indexed, and inviting.
It is a small part of PrepareYourBusinessForSale, but possibly the most important. I've put it up front of this series. There are 19 more to come.
M&A Due Diligence Management
A once-in-a-lifetime process for sellers
Confusing demands from buyers and funders
Let us manage the process and smooth the transition
We are busy re-establishing our blog posts, so they will appear to be a bit disjointed and dated for the next little while.