Prepare For Sale

Prepare For Sale

Set your firm up for future success.

If you are planning on selling the firm in 2-3 years, there are plenty of things you can do now to maximize your firm’s value and minimize the stress and complexity of a transition. Even if you don’t have a timeline for selling, the things buyers look for are often the same things that make your firm more profitable and easier to run in the long-term.

Over the past three decades, Punctuation has successfully helped 300+ firms find a buyer. We decided to take this knowledge and package it up for folks who might not be at the point of selling yet, but want to work towards it.

Why choose Punctuation?

The M&A landscape can be daunting. We will break it down for you and give you concrete steps to take to make your firm more sellable. Why choose us?
1.

We get results.

We’ve completed hundreds of successful transactions through the years. As active participants in the M&A space, we practice what we preach and have our pulse on the market like few others.
2.

We know the industry.

We only work with independent marketing and creative services firms like yours. We’ve been doing this for 20+ years and know what makes your firm unique and attractive to potential buyers.
3.

We equip you to do the work.

We will give you tools, including benchmarking and valuation frameworks, that will remain evergreen. You will be able to update these tools yourselves so you can track your progress against goals over time.

Deliverables

You will receive 2 years of access to our proprietary Benchmarking tool. Input your data quarterly and track your progress against goals and industry standards over time.
An accurate, repeatable Valuation.
Our valuations are delivered in an editable sheet format, and our methods have withstood the scrutiny of holding companies, private equity firms, and courts of law.
A Sellability Index score.
Our proprietary Sellability Index ranks your firm from 0-100 in terms of sellability. Over time, you’ll be able to track your progress as you grow.
A soft copy of valuation methodology.
We will provide you with a full PDF that explains the theory behind the tool and how to update it yourself.
A succinct list of recommendations.
We will provide a bulleted list of recommendations by year of things to work on in order to maximize your valuation and earn out potential during a sale. In addition, we will provide you with the tools to deal with incoming offers and when to bring in an outside M&A advisor.

What to expect

You’re ready to get started. What happens next?
1.

Paperwork.

Once you reach out and confirm, you’ll receive a consulting agreement, a materials request list, an NDA, and an invoice.
2.

Performance Benchmarking.

We will conduct a Benchmarking based on the materials you provide. The Benchmarking will reveal areas of opportunity and focus. We will tell you what metrics to focus on as you work towards a sale. In addition, you will have access to our Benchmarking platform for 24 months, included in this service.
3.

Valuation.

We conduct a valuation so that we can tell you where you stand today. This will give us insights into what levers you can pull to maximize your valuation moving forward.
4.

Future Proofing.

We will deliver a scenario analysis based on achieving growth targets to get you to your goals, alongside a short summary of recommendations to work on and milestones to hit over the next 12-36 months.

Logistical matters,
for your perusal

Duration.
4-8 weeks
Scheduling.
A Prepare For Sale service can usually be underway within 1-3 weeks, depending on the time of year.
Participation
Requirements.
A principal or someone from finance gathers materials for roughly two hours. All principals must complete a 15 minute survey and participate in three 1-hour phone calls.
Cost.
$12,000
Payment Terms.
Prepaid and non-refundable. Via wire, ACH, check, or credit card (+3%).
Schedule a Consultation

You can also
visit our FAQ page.

You will almost certainly find answers to additional questions on your mind.