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Why Working with Fewer Clients Can Help Advisors Close M&A Deals
Discover Your Borrowing CapacityWorking efficiently and effectively is paramount in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Advisors who prioritize their time and focus on a smaller set of clients often close the most lucrative deals. Here's a detailed look at why this approach works and how it can benefit advisors.
The Time-Consuming Nature of M&A
The M&A process isn't just another transaction; it requires extensive time and effort. Advisors must spend a significant number of hours courting each seller, navigating through the process, and maintaining consistent communication. This isn't a quick onboarding session that an advisor would typically undergo for a new client; it takes significantly longer and involves numerous discussions and checkpoints.
We often discuss the necessity of small, consistent communication efforts when it comes to pursuing an acquisition opportunity—drip calls to the seller to help them understand the transition, build trust, and solidify the relationship. Advisors who excel in M&A prioritize these efforts and prepare for each conversation in advance.
Prioritizing Core Clients
Advisors successful in M&A strategies know they must focus on only their core clients to perform effectively. They need to ensure they have the capacity to handle all necessary communication and relational touchpoints with sellers. Advisors who can dedicate this attention tend to get in front of the best deals and achieve the highest success rates. This is because they've done their homework and invested the critical time required to gain the seller's trust.
The Value of Investing Time
Courting a seller is like courting a prospect, but multiplied exponentially, demanding significantly more touches and time. Upon reflection, advisors who have missed out on deals often realize that they didn't dedicate enough time and effort throughout the entire acquisition process. It's not unusual for these advisors to find their schedules filled with too many tasks and too many clients, preventing them from effectively focusing on the seller’s needs.
The best buyers have managed to free up their schedules, allowing them to invest the necessary time to land deals. For some advisors, this might not be a current reality, but it's something to aim for. By leveraging assistance from other employees and staff, and freeing up their own time, advisors can become increasingly better buyers year after year.
Ultimately, it boils down to each advisor's capacity to close M&A transactions. This is often the main reason advisors struggle to grow or secure deals - they're not investing the time required. Sellers have multiple options, and if an advisor isn't fully committed, sellers can quickly move on to other opportunities.
Ready to take your M&A strategy to the next level?
The key takeaway for advisors in the M&A field is clear: prioritize your time and focus on fewer, core clients. By doing so, you can ensure that you have the capacity to engage deeply with each client while still building trust and establishing strong relationships with potential sellers for M&A opportunities. This approach not only helps you close more deals but also positions you as a dedicated and effective advisor in the competitive wealth management M&A world.
Schedule a consultation with a SkyView Representative today to explore how we can support your practice succession, acquisition, merger, and debt restructuring needs with our experienced team of wealth management veterans.