The August 2016 Issue of TAS Trader

Startel

The Dark Side of Acquisitions

By Peter L DeHaan, PhD

Having bought more than a dozen answering services in my day, I understand the allure of chasing the sale, negotiating fair terms, closing the deal, and taking control of the acquisition. Yet the real value comes after the sale, when the acquired accounts are optimized.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

Yes, you inevitably lose some, no matter how careful the transition, but the ones that remain are profitable and grow your bottom line. Even though this post sale optimization is a critical final step, it’s not nearly as exciting as pursuing the deal. But it is more important. Critically so. Maximizing the value of a newly acquired property requires hard work, takes time, and receives little recognition. But when successful, the results pay off month after month.

Some answering services excel in deal making but flounder at exploiting the potential of their purchase. As a result, they churn the accounts they just bought. While a few of those clients will stop using answering services altogether, a majority will move on to another answering service. And that’s good news for everyone else in the industry.

Each acquisition prompts some clients to look for a new service. In some cases, many accounts will want to jump ship. This means opportunity for the rest of the industry. Look for ways to make it easy for these businesses to switch to your answering service. Speed and ease of transition is critical. They are in pain and want to move. Make it effortless, and they will choose you.

This is the upside to the dark side of acquisitions.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader. Check out his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.


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Accounts for Sale: 49 accounts, 29% medical, billing $11,000 per month avg. Asking 12x average billing, $132,000 with half down, balance on terms or 10% discount for cash. Prefer to sell to someone in the Pacific Northwest. Contact Tom: 509-593-5239 or tschmerer@gmail.com.

Seeking to Acquire TAS: Looking to purchase an answering service or call center. Please contact me if you are selling! gm@answerally.com.

Seeking Acquisitions: Reputable TAS, in business since 1967 and still owned by the founding family, seeks a small TAS acquisition in the USA. Ideally, you’re billing under $50k per month. Smaller is better. We’ll treat you right, and your employees and customers. Let’s talk. Contact Doug at 888-693-7935 or douganswerphone@gmail.com.


Calling All Writers and Bloggers

By Peter L DeHaan

The goal of TAS Trader is to provide content for the answering service industry from those in the industry. This means we need your help.

Please consider submitting a short article or blog post for the next issue of TAS Trader.

If you are a blogger, we welcome your posts. Just keep in mind that the writing needs to apply to other answering services, not clients of answering services.

Send us your TAS articles and news for consideration in the next issue.


Quotes for the Month

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” -John Ruskin

“We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.” -John Dewey

“Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.” -unknown

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