Some enterprising individuals are put off by the thought of buying an existing business for sale, as they see it as a veritable leap into the dark. If they have never been involved in such a transaction before, it can seem to be very alien. Most of us are used to engaging in transactions where we buy a tangible product like vehicles or houses and in these cases “what we see is what we get.” To value a business correctly, you need to look at a number of different intangibles as well as assets that need to be inspected and you also need to consider goodwill in many situations. In a service related business, goodwill and a maintainable client list can be critical elements, but the process of due diligence involves the revelation and exploration of numerous areas and documents.

It’s important to remember that there are two distinct and different viewpoints. The seller will have a clear indication of the worth that he or she places on the business. Expect to see a certain amount of natural enthusiasm, as a lot of hard work and dedication has undoubtedly been put into the business by the outgoing seller. While you should always maintain an element of respect for the sellers’ point of view, you must look at all documentation and evidence in the hard light of day and understand that it is up to you to determine if you should buy business interests according to the specific value you set.

After you decide you need to move forward and you have really determined whether you want to buy a business of interest, get ready for a very lengthy process. During the entire process you must maintain a level of common sense and good humor and be prepared to cultivate a strong level of communication with the seller.

This is where expert advisers will come into their own and if you have no real experience with this kind of business, its related market or niche, utilize proven resources and get as much help as you can. This is not to say that you will simply hand off all the work to these advisers, barely looking at the documentation presented to you, as the decision-making must in the end be made by you and you alone. The financial documents and all of the paperwork must be reviewed by you first to be sure that you have a great feeling initially before you hand them over for further processing by your experts.

A red flag will be raised if some of the financial documents are incomplete, information is missing, or they are poorly balanced or even not reconciled. Accounting traditions and precedents must be maintained at all times. Don’t be surprised if the seller will ask you to sign a non-compete and/or non-disclosure document before any financials are made available to you, because these financials are nevertheless the rock upon which the entire business is set.

Each and every operation is different in its own right and no two businesses are the same. There are so many different events that can come to bear to create such a variety of external influences and situations at any time. Expect to uncover some unusual facts and figures or surprises and remember that, while industry benchmarks are interesting, a lot of the information you discover here will be a function of real-world activities.

Richard Parker is the President and founder of the prestigious Diomo Corporation - The Business Buyer Resource Center. His celebrated materials, seminars and consulting have encouraged thousands of aspiring business buyers from around the World to pursue their dream to buy a business.

If you have not engaged in something like this before, buying business assets can be quite a daunting prospect. In many respects, starting your own operation from scratch can be more difficult, but understand that here, you are taking on the liabilities of somebody who you do not know, essentially! You can certainly reveal many of the inner workings of the business for sale and consult numerous documents to help you understand what it is all about, but you must be able to read between the lines, and this is exactly why you need a due diligence checklist.

While a majority of business owners are enthusiastic and diligent people, have put a great deal of effort into their creation and would love nothing more than for the business to be continued and nurtured by a careful owner, you can never assume that this is the case. Please don’t think that this means you have to assume the worst in all cases, but it does unfortunately mean that you cannot take any statement at face value and you must look for proof in all cases to back up claims made. Always ensure that you employ the services of expert analysts as required when you buy a business, including accountants, financiers and business experts.

Here, your primary purpose is to set a value. Undoubtedly, each of the parties – the buyer and seller, will have a different interpretation of the value of the business. The deal is only consummated when both parties are happy, but remember that it is up to you to determine the specifics under which you are willing to do the deal.

If you buy a business, a number of steps have to be taken as you go through your due diligence checklist and as you proceed, all the inner workings of the business will be revealed to you. Never rely on industry benchmarks, even though they may be useful for your information gathering purposes. The most recent financial documents are of the greatest importance and they should never be glossed over even though you have very many documents to check through. Never be tempted to gloss over some of the less palatable financial figures, if a specific business asset appears to be of particular interest to you.

When you’re looking at the value of a business for sale, some of the more important factors include the scale and the level of services available, the potential for business expansion, the age of the organization and the reputational impact in the marketplace. Get a good impression of the competition in the industry and in the local area and understand that location may be the most important asset of all. You may be considering purchasing an Internet-based business or one that does not have a “bricks and mortar” location. While the physical location in this case may be of no consequence, make sure that you understand the importance of conducting a thorough “due diligence” process, come what may.

Reveal as much as you can as you work through this process and understand how important your due diligence checklist really is. If part of your due diligence process involves the analysis of daily operations, staff behaviour, client interaction and so on, this will invariably take many days if not weeks. As such, you should never be overly anxious to go ahead to close a deal and should be prepared, rather, for the lengthy process you are likely to endure.

Richard Parker is the author of the How to Buy a Good Business at a Great Price series. As President and founder of Diomo Corporation - The Business Buyer Resource Center, his materials, seminars and consulting have helped thousands of business buyers realize their dream to buy a business.

Maybe for the first time, the pharmaceutical company can no longer depend on the phrase “bigger is better,” as it once was the case that the more people who heard the message, the greater the return. At one time, pharmaceutical companies used to look at each other and judge effectiveness based on how big the workforce was, as more volume would undoubtedly lead to enhanced revenue and a more than fruitful rate of return at the bottom line. However, in many respects this approach has led to saturation in the market, even as the market itself changes its characteristics. Today, much more emphasis must be placed on marketability and the promotion of niche products, with an accompanying rise in demand for specific training, rather than the use of a ‘broad paintbrush’ to accomplish everything. Sales force effectiveness is coming under scrutiny like never before, as it is realised that an oversized sales force could not only be neutralising, it could be detrimental to the success of the company.

These days, pharmaceutical sales training falls into two definite categories — education relating to the product itself and technical training in the area of sales and marketing technique, with the emphasis on the latest cutting-edge approaches. While the salesperson must always be focused on “winning,” it is not acceptable to approach the art of landing a sales contract at any cost. Rather, a new contract value is also reliant on its position in terms of logistical benefit and strategy, quite apart from financial measurements. It’s quite possible that a profitable sale, when viewed narrowly, could be far from as beneficial when all the other factors are taken into consideration.

These days there is not so much difference between success and failure, as margins are so thin and therefore sales force effectiveness is a highly important metric. Experienced consultants should be engaged to help in this facet of pharmaceutical sales training, to increase productivity, cut expenditure and boost morale among the sales force. Motivation is a very delicate subject and is far from just the provision of relevant financial bonuses for the salesperson. Indeed, sometimes financial compensation is not a primary driver and the organisation must be able to determine what really pushes each individual on the sales force. More often than not, a goal must not be infinitely achievable, or the sales person could be subconsciously held back as progress is made.

Sales force effectiveness can have a high impact on not only volume, but thin margins and high costs, so individual performance can have a ‘knock on’ effect in other areas. An organisation can start by assessing its current situation, looking at the metrics used to determine success or otherwise and how these very metrics may, by themselves, be contributory to the problem. Correct sizing of the sales force is so important, with territorial allocation and parameters such as “share of voice” optimised. How many sales calls does the salesperson make on any given day and is an inordinate amount of time spent travelling or on other non-productive activities?

Every moment that a salesperson spends with the client, whether detailing or otherwise, should be optimised as part of a revised approach to key account management training.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.

There’s a great deal on the line, as it is estimated that $25 billion per year is spent on marketing pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals. Understandably, a substantial amount of interest has arisen in the methodology used and the tactics employed by pharmaceutical companies as they deploy their sales organisations to contact and influence professionals. Indeed, some advocate that the industry should be more tightly regulated and the U.S. Congress has been strongly urged to take an in depth look at how business is conducted in this arena. This just goes to underline the professional and highly focused approach that the pharmaceutical company must take as it seeks to interact with the very people who are responsible for buying its products in sufficient numbers to ensure the long term success of its organisation.

There are a number of countries around the world that have actively regulated how pharmaceutical companies can interact with professionals and introduced legislation accordingly. For example in Australia, codes of conduct have been established, with ethical marketing standards implemented and all member organisations must comply with the clearly laid out requirements or face legal action.

Pharmaceutical sales executives spend a large proportion of their time “detailing,” which refers to the act of visiting professionals and explaining the concept of the product, the reach, suggested markets, dosage, availability, side effects and other general industry news. Their communication skills must be absolutely excellent and sales executives must be able to systematically break down barriers that may have been built up over years of suspicion. Having said that, a sales executives is pivotal in bringing some vital information to the professional and supplementing the level of education. The pharmaceutical company must pay a great deal of attention to these methods of marketing.

If additional new regulations or restrictions develop in the near future, this would put even more emphasis on the need for effective marketing by the organisation. A company should engage pharmaceutical consulting firms due to the fact that they have direct experience and can as such help to train and educate the sales force so that they do not stumble at a vital time, make mistakes or negatively interact with professionals and spoil any potential gains.

It may be necessary to disclose all types of interaction, any hospitality provided or suggested, any gifts or assistance given and the very nature of the education disseminated. Not only will it be necessary for the sales executive to be highly educated in the product itself, fully understanding of restrictions and implications, but the executive must also be fully able to market to their highest ability.

The majority of pharmaceutical consultants dedicate a lot of their time to providing the correct balance between product awareness and marketing and to training methods as well. Time management is an essential skill required and staff must be trained to make best use of it, just as traditional marketing skills must be a point of focus and any latest developments or new legal requirements included. Company chiefs should outsource these methods to pharma consulting, enabling them to focus on other areas. With ineffective marketing, reputations can be compromised and there can be other implications, including problems with regulations and authorities; consultants must steer the organisation carefully.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.

So much is at stake, that senior management should really focus on the organisation of the company’s sales force, being fully aware of its effectiveness and be ready to make changes whenever necessary to maximise performance; it’s not acceptable to take a back-seat approach to this type of organisation any more, if a company is to survive at all. With the typical cost of a sales call estimated to be anywhere in the region of about $400 or more, a lot is at stake if the sales executive is not being as efficient as possible.

A good sales executive must be well trained when it comes to the intricacies of sales closure, should have high class communication skills, be a people person and self-starter, but if poor methodology is used by the pharmaceutical company employer, all these skills can be put to waste. Look at what’s at stake – poor deployment could mean the difference between merely surviving or enjoying the many benefits of the company’s ongoing endeavours.

By leveraging existing assets, a pharmaceutical company can reveal significant potential improvements, “across the board.” It’s amazing how small improvements in significant areas can result in big profit gains. To the untrained eye, the sales force may appear to be effective, but highly skilled pharmaceutical consultants will be able to see how inefficient they really are and can advise the organisation in all the various areas necessary for improvement, helping it to move forward.

There are many different fundamental aspects to sales force effectiveness. This requires a focus on optimisation – of the workforce, of individual efforts, of sales territories, altogether, as one whole. A pharmaceutical consulting firm knows through experience how important it is to optimise, drawing on experience gained in business over all the years, through case studies and by an ongoing review of policies, procedures and advancements. No longer is sales force optimisation an exercise to be conducted with pen and paper, but rather digital products and software solutions should be engaged with potentially powerful results. While plans are being incorporated, internal intelligence should be brought in and everything incorporated prior to the actual launch.

Looking back, workload allocation data from previous seasons and historical performance charts can help to reveal the optimum size of the sales force. This should be engaged with market conditions, both current and projected and also fine-tuned according to the company’s product mix and plans for expansion.

Generally, pharma consulting covers many different facets and, of particular interest to the company, should help to reveal the best time management practices for the freshly optimised sales force. Schedules must be optimised as keenly as possible and each individual within the sales force should be trained to ensure that they take advantage of every block of time available, while supervisory staff are able to track, compare and advise accordingly. After eliminating potential overlaps and unbalanced workloads, the focused sales team can be ready to get out and work, using their new-found skill set and internally produced intelligence to overcome the competition. The cost of a sales call is only going up, so it only makes sense to rein in these costs as much as possible.

Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.

Some people would say that it can be very difficult to determine the ideal amount of time needed to close a sale, due to so many external influences, but a sales executive should be primed to move the prospect on to the next stage in any effective procedure. This may not necessarily signify a sale, but there must be either a “yes” or a “no,” and never a “maybe.” Everyone’s time is very valuable and important in these situations, and the executive should be trained to note the subtle responses, language and tone from the prospect, so that he or she knows whether it’s time to move on to prospects who have better potential, or not. Effective implementation requires the sales executive to pay particular attention to time management and this extends to the time actually spent face-to-face, as well. Many advocate that the time spent with a potential prospect face-to-face is the most valuable of any sales executive’s day, requiring that all “non effective” time spent on administration and other issues be contained, but remember that not all of the prospect’s time can bring a “result.”

Outdated sales tactics have no place in the modern healthcare and pharmaceutical arena. So much is at stake here, as the professional healthcare provider needs to cut to the chase and be in possession of all the appropriate facts. Sales people who are at the top of the game realise that they need to build customer relationships first and foremost and always over deliver, rather than trying to focus on closing sales according to textbook concepts or the analysis of a prospect’s personality. It’s important to get to know the specific worries and needs of the customer and to use experience and ability to devise a way to assuage the client’s issues. It takes a long time to build up the trust and rapport with a client, and it can be easily removed. Other representatives of other organisations may also be vying for the interests of a particular client and there is much to be said for open, honest and frank relationships rather than the implementation of spin tactics.

The ultimate objective of a sales executive is of course to close a sale, but all the background work must be completed carefully involving an investigation of how a company could help a professional, rather than pitching a product. Always ask the right questions and spend as much time as necessary considering what these questions should be. Get the professional to open up and provide information upon which to base the next pertinent question, and through a process of problem solving such as this, the company will be many steps closer to that important sale and to improving the effective implementation ratio.

At present, pharmaceutical consultants understand how important the implementation ratio is and how much the parent company invests in the cost of its sales team. Generally, pharmaceutical consulting firms can help to elevate these ratios by taking time to train the sales force in the dedicated and specific techniques required to succeed. As a rule, pharma consulting aims to bring out the best potential and allows the company’s senior people to focus on product development and other essential areas.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.