Regardless of the size, industry or product, all companies eventually begin to map out their succession plan. CEO’s of family-owned businesses begin looking at children or other relatives to assume responsibility for the future longevity. Other business owners may look outside the family tree for a replacement they can trust to carry on their traditions. And other times, CEOs realize their best option for retirement and the well-being of their employees may be to sell the company to an investor or competitor.
No matter which path CEOs find themselves traveling towards with their succession plans, one thing is clear: the business must be deemed valuable and positioned for growth by the incumbent. So what exactly is the next generation looking for in your business before they commit to taking over?
3 Things That Make Your Company Valuable
- A Solid Customer Base: No matter if your business has been around for 5 years or 50, you need to have an established customer base. Do you have customers that have been with you for the long haul? That shows potential successors you’ve been doing a good job of staying competitive, exceeding your customer’s needs and building good rapport. It also gives them a foundation for building referrals and adding new customers. After all, when people are happy with your service, they are more likely to refer you to someone else they know.
- Differentiation: Is your vision keeping you ahead of the curve? Have you surrounded yourself with a team that have fostered a positive environment of process improvement, creativity and employee recognition? No one wants to walk into a company with stagnant ideas, lack of direction and disgruntled employees. Be transparent. Tell your employees often where you envision the company in 3, 10 and 20 years. Give them ownership in helping you get there with rewards and recognition. Encourage them to monitor trends, look for ways to cut costs and improve products and services. After all, without a great team to back you, you can’t accomplish your goals.
- Marketing: A business that understands sales won’t exist without a proper marketing foundation that also understands the power of an unhappy customer. Before the surge of the internet, making a customer unhappy typically meant your salesperson got an earful, and maybe you did too. But the ways in which the customer could express their discontent were primarily limited to those within close, physical proximity. Those days are long gone. Now if you upset a customer it’s likely your salesperson never hears about it until after your marketing team diffuses the situation online in a social channel. Businesses can no longer afford not to have an online presence. And a business that understands the power of digital marketing and how to sell, interact and attract the millennial generation is one that is poised for continued success.
