Indiana Business Advisors Go To Market Edge has always existed, and now it has been improved and formalized. Upon my recent return to Indiana Business Advisors, I gave myself a challenge… to take what was already a robust marketing process for confidentially exposing our engagements, with extensive buyer networks, email program, direct mail and targeted outreach, online deal sites, social presence and a host of possibilities for extending reach… then beefing it up and turning it into a cohesive Go To Market engine. We already had a reach far beyond anything our nearest competitors could boast. But we needed to take it to the next level. My colleagues and I had one goal… that every engagement we launch would have the optimal strategy to attract as many qualified and targeted buyers out of the gate, thus increasing the likelihood of multiple offers and a best-case closing scenario for our clients. The secondary goal was to make this process as automatic as possible. I believe at IBA that is what we have accomplished.
Taking a business to market requires a great deal of Planning. Firstly, planning on the part of the seller to prepare. IBA works with our sellers in advance in price positioning and valuation through our certified valuation analyst and planning for the sale with our deal team. Planning is key to the success of any endeavor. Such is the case when our marketing team sits down to plan out the Go To Market strategy for each of our engagements. We have a tried and true process regularly tweaked and honed for optimal effectiveness.
When we go to market, we blitz our target market where they are… but we do it confidentially… always protecting our client. We arrive at the optimal buyer outreach campaign tailored to that business through careful analysis, the seller’s motivations and goals, who the ideal buyers would be for the seller to maximize value, and a confidentiality and risk assessment for the messaging and platforms. At IBA, we don’t just stop at posting the engagement on a listing site, or M&A deal platform, sending out an email and maybe direct mail. We beef that up with streamlined and compelling go-to-market materials. We extend the advertising to sometimes include appropriate social media posting/advertising, community engagement through relevant media or referral partners, and industry-specific targeted outreach, among other channels.
Though we are the gorilla in the marketplace, IBA has several competitors in the market who are also good at what they do. We acknowledge their expertise and their excellence. And, when considering whether to contact IBA, there are several points in our favor. Our 40-year history in the market with proven success, an extensive network of buyers, sellers, and referral partners, and the value-added services we can provide, such as in-house valuation, exit planning, and value growth services, just to name a few. But the fact that we have a fully qualified and experienced marketing team with a cohesive, aggressive and effective Go To Market Strategy process is why we are considered best in class business brokerage services. Our hard work is paying off in shortening the time from launch to closing and bringing multiple buyers to several of our recent deals quickly. That scenario fits IBA’s goal and the goal I had when I set off on this journey with my colleagues at IBA a few months ago.
If you are exploring what an exit might look like for you, don’t hesitate to contact IBA for a consultation. It is free and painless. You might be pleased with what you hear.
Written by:
Ralana D. Abraham-Miller, CMSBB
Marketing Director / Transaction Marketing Specialist
Indiana Business Advisors
Ralana D. Abraham-Miller is an Acquisitions and Transaction Marketing expert with over 20 years of experience in business brokerage and Marketing. As an expert in marketing business acquisitions, Ralana’s insight into the marketing and brokerage sides of the desk gives her a unique perspective when taking a business to market. She specializes in orchestrating and implementing successful marketing strategies utilizing her capabilities in managing digital media, email marketing, content marketing, target marketing, and database mining, among many others. But what makes her stand out is her ability to translate that knowledge into successful, profitable go-to-market strategies for IBA’s clientele.