What that means to business owners is that only a fraction of companies get acquired.

Let’s combine that statistical information with some other survey results. In Canada and the US there are about 3.6 million companies, with employees owned by people over 50.

When surveyed by PWC and the NFIB and CFIB about their exit plans, 70% of these 3.6 million business owners say they want to exit in the next five years.

Further, more than 50% intend to sell to an external buyer, such as private equity or another company.

So that means 1.8 million companies hope to sell. If we divide that number equally over the next five years that means there has to be 504,000 deals per year (3.6 million x 70% divided by 5).

Is that even possible? Could the number of deals grow from 100,000 to 500,000 next year and for each subsequent year?

Let’s look more deeply into the problem. We talk to private equity groups and advisors who help buy and sell businesses regularly. We interview them for our membership site. And we ask how many businesses they look at, and how many of that group they actually decide to purchase.

Their numbers do not look promising. One group looks at 200 deals per year to find one acquisition. Another looks at 900 deals per year to find 3-5 acquisitions.

So the next obvious question has to be, “Are buyers not making acquisitions because they don’t have the cash?”

Apparently not. In private equity groups alone, there is $400 billion waiting to go into business owners’ wealth management account.

Strategic buyers, who make up the majority of most acquisitions don’t have a shortage of cash either. But their buying activity has only just picked up in 2012.

So what’s at the heart of this imbalance between buyers and sellers?

In my latest interviews, the reason that bankers, private equity groups and strategic buyers all give me is exactly the same. They only buy 1 out of every 200 companies they look at because the company has not been made saleable. Meaning it would be impossible for the next owner to get the success that the current owner has. So it’s a bad deal for the buyer.

Want to sell your company? Learn how to make it saleable. Then you will become a cohort of the lucky few who will win the biggest payday of their lives. Get the book on how to do that “Fast-Track Secrets for Making Your Business Saleable”

So let’s get the facts straight. If you plan on claiming your wealth from investing the best years of your life in your company, start learning now.

1. Succession planning alone will not be enough to make your company attractive to the next owner, even if that person is your kid.

2. There are many more businesses that will be available for sale over the next five years than there are buyers. To stand out from the crowd in a sellers market, your company has to made ‘saleable’.

3. To become saleable takes 2-4 years. Being saleable means it is exactly what a potential buyer is looking for. You have removed the risks that make a buyer or financier (the lender who will facilitate your kid, partner, or entrepreneur to buy you out) looks for and walks away from.

4. Making your company saleable requires different skills and knowledge than operating your company does. Be prepared to learn how, make changes in your company and get our of your own way. Your need to be at the top and in control can take away that saleability opportunity.

5. Making a company saleable makes it more profitable in the meantime. That means more money to re-invest in the company to make it more attractive for buyers and investors (that’s you!)

6. The biggest windfall in your future will not come from greater profitability (but it helps), waiting for the economy to recover (why wait?), or hiring a successor to take over from you. The day you sell your company is the day that you get a return on your investment. So why are you spending more than 90% of your time inside your company instead of working on the future of your company? Making your company saleable has to be your number 1 priority.

7. There are three critical decision you need to learn how to make now before you start the journey to your exit. Find out how to make them the right way at MakeYourBusinessSaleable.com 

They work on a solution before fully understanding the problem. Therefore the only tool that we use is asking the right questions. “What problem are you trying to solve?”

“How will that solution affect the way things work and how people exchange information?”

“What will be different when you implement that solution?”

“Who do you need on board before you start to make sure a change actually is sustainable?” Now you know the tasks will pay off.

This is what is happening to business owners today. They think their companies are worth a certain amount. Confidently, they step onto the playing field to find a buyer. Like a player who didn’t see the hit coming, they suddenly discover they needed to have prepared a playbook long before that big day. Not sure if this applies to you? Here is a business owner’s experience going forward with the wrong playbook.

It’s insider secrets like these that many business owners never find out about until it’s too late. Getting the low-down on what to do and when to do it to prepare your company for sale without devaluing or exposing your company to risk is why we wrote Fast-Track Secrets for Making Your Business Saleable.

What kind of results can you expect? Depends on the strategy you select and the consistency that you deliver. Expect the unexpected. More name recognition, means you are better able to attract new employees. Better lead generation because people trust you to deliver value, not just say you do. You’ll be the first company on their mind because they hear from you regularly.

Want to power up your 2012? Work with a strategist to make sure the efforts you put into social media pay off. You want to be of influence in your target market, not just the guy who sends out the goofy you tube videos.

For more information and to register go to Community Bank Advisors

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