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Are you counting your CRM data as an asset when you sell your business?
By Admin | September 28, 2007
When selling a business there are so many things to think about and so many things to 
stamp a value on.
Sure, there are some obvious assets that have relatively straightforward values. For instance:
- Real estate
- Inventory
- Cashflow
- Equipment
- Other tangible assets
But…
There are some assets that are extremely valuable that many business seller simply do not value as highly as they should.
One case in point is the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database that businesses have… or at least they should have.
What is the value of all of those contacts, attributes, and information?
I would venture to say that it can be extremely valuable. Especially if many of the people in the database have some sort of loyalty to the business and its reputation.
But, here’s the catch…
Many small businesses really do not have a formal CRM that they use to track client data including:
- Contact information
- Purchase history
- Life time value of the client
- Notes on the client
- etc.
Many small businesses simply have a database with names and addresses… but no real attributes that a future 3rd party buyer of the business can use to tell the value of each client for their future marketing and business building activities.
So, if you own a business and are getting ready to sell…
Take a good hard look at your customer data and your CRM system if it exists. If you have a robust system that provides high value to your future buyer… that alone can up the possible sales price by a good margin.
On the other hand, if you are looking at selling your business sometime in the future but aren’t keeping and tracking your customer data in a way that your new buyer can come right in… look at your CRM… and immediately see a huge amount of value in its contents… you should look into integrating a CRM into your business.
I promise you, it will be an excellent investment if you can truly provide a CRM system filled with valuable client information when it comes time to selling your business.
As professional advisors, we need to key in on this little detail when helping our clients evaluate their exit plan. Also, relationships strategic with trustworthy CRM solution companies may be a way to provide more value to your client because you can then point them in the right direction if their current CRM situation needs a little work.
So, get that client data gathered up into a useful and high value package before you sell your business and reap the profits.
Cheers
Topics: Building Your Financial Planning Biz, Planning Your Exit, Selling a Business |