Each year we see strong trends around why people use an Advisory Board to help their business move forward. This year, it seems to be in the areas of transition and succession planning. Many New Zealand Business owners see the value of putting an advisory board around them when it comes to preparing their business for sale or for future investment.

Setting up an Advisory Board can help business owners prepare for sale and achieve the levels of success needed to realise the equity value they are wanting. Some owners are wanting to sell, while others want to grow through mergers and acquisition.

Merger and Acquisition

For many business owners, merger and acquisition are unfamiliar territory so bringing in the expertise of an Advisory Board is an easy way to get it underway. This gives the business owner the confidence that comes from having the support of people who know the process and can help along they way. When approaching a merger or acquisition you need to know several things including:

• What opportunities to pursue.
• How to objectively assess each opportunity so that you can create a strategy for negotiating and minising risk.
• What a potential merger or acquisition is worth to your business.

Preparing for Business Sale or Succession

To ensure you get the best price for your business, you need to have substantial proof of its value that you can show a potential buyer. the case is similar in business succession as you will need to have clear processes to hand over to the new owner(s). This means consolidating your financial reports, creating sophistication around your financial performance, and reporting of financial results. You need to understand the value in your business. An advisory board can help to develop the right strategy of the business to realise its potential and create the right type of revenue streams and performance.

An advisory board can help you to:

• Find and understand your business’ value so that you can leverage this.
• Plan for transition – an advisory board can help you know what you should be doing and how to plan, they can help you with the correct framework.
• Personal preparation – have the confidence to acquire another company; the confidence to move on in your life and let someone else take over.
• Establish and finalize your internal and external systems and processes so that your business performs well and is easy to transfer.

LINK’s knowledge centre has many useful articles showing you how to prepare your business for sale.

Sales and Marketing Expertise and Effectiveness

Using an advisory board is about tapping into knowledge outside your own area of expertise. An advisor with marketing experience can help you target the right customers. Define and find people who are likely to remain with the business and contribute the required contribution to profit and revenue. To learn more on how an Advisory Board can assist you in preparing your business for transition or sale, join us for one of our hands-on workshops.