This post is about one of my 45-second pitches at my BNI Chapter, BNI City Business. You can read the introduction to this collection here.

The meme approach seemed to be popular, so I carried on. I would generally co-develop the content: identify what I wanted to address that week, find a suitable meme, and then finalise the text and what I would say.

The cat meme is as I found it, and appeared to perfectly match the message (even if not intended that way by the original creator). This meme and the message seemed like a natural fit.

Somewhere around this time we were back to meeting in person. I think this was the first meeting back, some time in April 2022.

The Magnet

The stats are via the Exit Planning Institute, from a report by (I believe) KPMG in the US. I haven’t found any similar studies in New Zealand, but the message is clear irrespective of the stats: if you don’t have something worked out for after you sell, you could well regret the sale. The idea of what is next is referred to as a magnet, and needs to be strong and compelling for the business owner to see them through the sales process. The owner will be reminded of this magnet by their CEPA advisor or broker if their commitment to sell ever wavers.

I have found that vendors are likely to be less committed to selling if they don’t have a clear magnet in their mind – and this lack of commitment normally arises during the final negotiations. Even more so if the price they have been offered isn’t what they had thought their business should be worth.