How to best match

SME sellers and

buyers

Outline of the workshop

1. EU4BT Highlights

2. Bob House - Bizbuysell.com

3. Tom Baumert – House of Entrepreneurship of Luxembourg

4. Martijn Westerlaken – MKBase

5. Lauren Renerken – SOWACCESS

6. Debate and Conclusions

1 EU4BT.eu

But…what is a Matching Platform

for SME business transfers?

Definition:

1. EU4BT.eu

“An open marketplace for (certain types of) sellers, buyers

and advisors, providing digital and possibly non-digital

additional services, with clear information on their matching

methodology, business model and costs, a search engine

for matching, with certain kinds of validations and checks in

place towards the listed profiles on the platform.”

Main learnings (I):

1. Clear matching platform definition.

2. Matching platforms increase cross border exposure

of sellers and buyers.

3. Platforms are unable to overcome most information

asymmetries between buyers and sellers.

1. EU4BT.eu

Main learnings (II):

4. The desire for hub as “One-Stop-Shop” for sellers

and buyers is not in place.

5. The present business models gear limited revenue

streams.

6. Private and public platforms have more similarities

than differences, and managers see room for both in

the market.

1. EU4BT.eu

Quality Standards (II):

1. EU4BT.eu

#Confidentiality&Security

#3rdPartyRecognition

#SupportServices #Updated&CheckedProfiles

#Transparency

#Self-Regulation&Coop.

2 Mr. Bob House, CEO of Bizbuysell.com

SUMMARY

1. BizBuySell Overview

2. Industry Highlights

3. Business Model, Matching Process & Tools

4. Marketing & Matching Platform Challenges

1

BizBuySell Overview

Forging the Path for Business Sales Online

• #1 Business-for-Sale marketplace in U.S. - Used by 90% of business brokers

- More leads to sellers than all other business-for- sale sites…combined

• Powers a network of 150 partner websites (WSJ, USA Today, Biz Journals, etc)

• Industry-leading database of sold business comps (broker sourced)

• #2 Business-for-Sale marketplace in U.S. - Used by 67% of business brokers

- #2 in leads delivered behind BizBuySell

• Long-tail SEO captures unique buyers (small traffic/lead overlap with BBS)

• Management from BizBuySell means no extra work for brokers

Mission: Grow the pre-eminent business-for-sale marketplaces and provide the best related-services so that we are the key resources target customers consider when buying or selling a business – by making deals happen!

Connecting business owners, buyers, brokers, and

franchisors in the largest and most active business-for-

sale marketplaces in the U.S.

• 50,000+ active listings across 183 business categories (mostly U.S.)

• 2,000,000 network monthly site visits

• 150 Distribution Partners

• 6,000 business broker profiles

• 300+ franchise brands

• 100,000 sold business comps

• 70% of all business for sale traffic in the U.S.

BizBuySell Network by the Numbers

Part of the CoStar Group

Largest Commercial Real Estate Information & Analytics

Most Heavily Trafficked Digital Rental Marketplace

Most Heavily Trafficked Business for Sale Marketplace

Most Heavily Trafficked Commercial R.E. Marketplace

Most Heavily Trafficked Rural Land Marketplace

Who do we serve?

Brokers

Buyers

Business Owners

Franchisors / Advertisers

Customer

Buyer leads > all others #1 source of seller leads

The most businesses

Find brokers, buyers Education and tools

Targeting…with reach

>1M+ business buyers & owners/month

Why they choose us

2

Industry Highlights

U.S. Small Businesses a $1.4 Trillion Asset Class

Note: Above excludes non-employer firms, which exceed 20 million, some of which may be sale-able

Accelerating Business Sales

• 2017 a record year • 9,919 reported transactions: +27% YoY

• Listings inventory: +6.7% YoY

Current Market Outlook in the U.S.

• Large market – hundreds of thousands of SMEs for sale each year

• Retiring baby boomers driving strong supply

• Favorable economic and financing conditions, stronger businesses, reduced business taxes

• High buyer & seller confidence levels

• Growing interest in entrepreneurship, business ownership

3

Business Model,

Matching Process & Tools

Business Model

• Free to buyers • Search, favorites, alerts, contact sellers

• Optional Paid level with Recommendations matching, additional data

• Brokers and owners pay subscription fees to list business

opportunities • No free listings

• Franchisors pay a fee per lead for buyer leads delivered

• Solution providers, franchisors, etc buy misc advertising products • Email blasts

• Banner ads

• Lead programs

• Anyone can purchase a Valuation Report via ecom

BizBuySell – Key Products

Product Features Pricing (per month*)

Broker Memberships Starting at 5 listings, includes broker profile $99.95+

Broker listing upgrade subscriptions

Flexibly rotate listings higher in search $39.95+

Broker single listing upgrades

30-day upgrade with e-mail brochure $59.95-$199.95

Valuation Reports Sold business comps by state, category $20-$60 per report

Individual listings 3 and 6 month terms, then renew monthly $49.95-$149.95

Franchise leads Buyer inquiry on franchise CPL based, varies

E-Blasts, Banner Ads Targeted, popular with franchisors CPM based, varies

* Unless indicated otherwise. All prices in US Dollars

BrokerWorks Membership Levels

BrokerWorks Elite

10X Broker Directory Leads*

BrokerWorks Premium

2X Broker Directory Leads*

BrokerWorks Basic

1X Broker Directory Leads*

*Based on average leads for Elite and Premium membership. Actual lead total may vary by broker.

BrokerWorks Membership Features

Exposure to Buyers & Sellers Basic Premium Elite

Broker Directory Results Ranking Basic Higher Featured

Broker Directory Exposure (# of counties) 1 5 10

Listing Distribution Your Website & Online Partners

Network Exposure to 150 Partner Sites

Detailed Listing Metrics & Tracking Tools

Access to 140,000+ For-Sale and Sold Business Comps

Monthly Showcase Plus Email Credit

Added Broker Exposure on High Traffic Pages Enhanced Featured

Added Broker Exposure in Buyer & Seller Newsletters Enhanced Featured

Listing Upgrades Drive More Leads

Diamond Listing 10X More Leads

Showcase Listing 3X – 5X More Leads

Basic Listing 1X Leads

Listing Upgrade Features

Basic Showcase Choice Showcase Plus Email

Diamond

# of Leads Comparison

1x 3x 5x 10x

Photos 1 1 6 Unlimited

Videos 1 2

Attachments 1 1 3 3

BuyerBlast Once Monthly

Custom Prospect List

Search Results Ranking

Basic Higher Higher Highest

Top Categories on BizBuySell

Advanced Filtering Matches Buyers to Sellers

Refine results by:

Location

Category

Keywords

Price

Gross Income

Cash Flow

Seller Financing

Recent Listings

Year Established

& Many More!

Saved Searches, Listings, and Alerts

• Save your favorite searches • Track active listings • Get emailed when new

listings are posted

Valuation Reports (comps)

• Purchase reports by category

• Filter by state, revenue, cash flow, price, or keyword

• “Give to Get” model for brokers

4

Marketing &

Matching Platform Challenges

Marketing – Attracting Buyers, Sellers, Brokers, and Franchisors

• Search Marketing: • SEM campaigns

• SEO is key and difficult to achieve overnight

• Distribution partner websites increase inventory

exposure

• Industry Event Presence: • Various broker, franchise, and small business

conferences

• Content & Thought Leadership: • Quarterly Insight Report

• Buyer and Seller Demographic and Confidence

Studies

• How-To Articles, industry information, ebooks

• Guest columns in online publications

Marketing – Keeping Users Engaged

• Email Marketing: • Automated drip campaigns to nurture hesitant customers

• Segmented newsletters drive consistent return visits

• Remarketing: • Dynamic ads containing targeted business opportunities maintain

buyer engagement

• Motivational ads encourage sellers and brokers to take action at key

decision points

• Customer Webinars and Educational Material: • How to buy, sell or value a business

• Methods to get the most out of BizBuySell

• Industry trends and best practices

Challenges for Matching Platforms

• Getting to Scale. Supply side is easier.

• Improving buyer qualification to reduce seller

vetting workload

• Lead spam prevention

• Channel conflict marketing to brokers and owners

• Reaching owners (highly fragmented audience)

• Encouraging co-brokering (very limited in U.S.)

• Listing review and keeping the junk out

• Providing buyer feedback mechanisms to

influence seller behavior

3 Mr. Tom Baumert, CEO of House of

Entrepreneurship

HOUSE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• Launched in October 2016 by the Chamber of

Commerce and the Ministry of the Economy

• Brings together all the parties involved in the

business creation and the development value

chain

• First point of contact in Luxembourg

• Offers a consolidated range of services

3. House of Entrepreneurship

BUSINESS MODEL

• Platform dedicated to

• show offers of demands for business Transfers in

Luxembourg

• Communicate all the services provided by the

HoE/CC

• All services provided are free:

• Advising

• Matching

• Visiting the sellers companies

• Supporting sellers and buyers during the process

BUSINESS MODEL 3. House of Entrepreneurship

BUSINESS MODEL 3. House of Entrepreneurship

MATCHING METHOLOGY AND TOOLS

• 3 ways to connect:

• Matching via the platform

• Matching via the team «Business Transfer»

• Matching via search engines picking up on the

platform’s announcements

• Each person needs to be registered in order to be

matched

• No cost

MATCHING METHOLOGY AND TOOLS 3. House of Entrepreneurship

MARKETING AND PROMOTION

• Initiative of the House of Entrepreneurship/Chamber

of Commerce

• Benefits from the reputation of both

• Small country

• Word-of-mouth • Organisation of events (i.e. Entrepreneurs’days…)

MARKETING AND PROMOTION 3. House of Entrepreneurship

4 Mr. Martijn Westerlaken, Managing

Director of MKBase

MKBase

• Founded in 2001 by Rosalie van Rijk & Martijn

Westerlaken

• Focus

• Profiles

• Competition

• Sweetspot

1. MKBase

Business Model

• Sources of income : subscriptions & transactionfee

• 3 Main targetgroups : Advisors, Sellers, Buyers

• Buyers 3 subgroups : Investors, Strategic, MBI

2. Business Model

Methodology

• Active Matching

• Active, exclusive & silent profiles

3. Methodology

Tools

• Matching Manager

• Email / Phone

3. Tools

Marketing

• Website

• « Overnamemail »

• Twitter

• Linkedin

• Cold / « Lukewarm » Calling

4. Marketing

5 Mr. Laurent Renerken, Advisor of

SOWACCESS

About SOWACCESS

Missions:

• Raising awareness and providing information about the

issues involved in the sale/acquisition of a company

• Guiding sellers/buyers through to the success of their project

• Facilitating the matching between potential sellers and

buyers in a totally neutral, confidential way, according to a

personalised approach

• Raising awareness and professionalization of private

stakeholders in Business Transfer

SOWACCESS

The SOWALFIN subsidiary dedicated to the transfer of SMEs in Wallonia

Year of creation: 2006

Methodology

SOWACCESS

Awareness-raising

Preparation

Search &

Matching

Negotiation

Deal & After

The key steps of a business transfer

SOWACCESS accredited partners

• 150 professionals, expert in business transfer

• Brokers/intermediaries

• Lawyers

• Auditors

• Accountants

• Bankers

• Consultants

• Approved by an Ethics Committee:

• Analysis of applications for accreditation

• Watchdog mission

Advice, an essential key in the success of a sale

or acquisition of a business

SOWACCESS

The key figures of SOWACCESS

“Network”:

Accompanied seller deals declared by SOWACCESS partners in

2016:

• 251 deals facilitated: 165 seller deals and 69 buyer deals (17

not specified)

• 3 656 jobs secured

• Average deal amount € 2 700 000

• Total turnover 764 Mio €

• 30% of deals facilitated directly by SOWACCESS

SOWACCESS

SOWACCESS Platforms

The SOWACCESS “SME” Platform:

• A relations-building tool, based on personalised contact and

an active match-seeking search

• 350 buyers and 120 companies for sale

• Buyers affiliated directly

• Sellers only through intermediaries (accredited partners)

The website “Affaires à suivre”

• Advertisements site for small enterprises in the retail sector,

hospitality and the catering trade, liberal professions and any

business with a turnover lower than 500 000 EUR.

SOWACCESS

« SME » Platform

SOWACCESS

Sellers Buyers

Companies and their criteria

Buying criteria

MATCHING by CRM

Automated generated list

Contact with the seller partner/buyer

Accredited Partners

www.affairesasuivre.be

SOWACCESS

International Partnerships

• Matching concept observation

• Foreign entrepreneurs want to settle in Belgium

• Belgian entrepreneurs want to invest in foreign

countries

• First, we have developed partnerships with cross-

border regions/countries

SOWACCESS

2017

2018 2008

2006

2010

Business Transfer Week

• www.semainedelatransmission.be

• 80 events in 5 days

• TV, press, radio advertising campaign

• With Chambers of Commerce, Bankers, Private experts

• 3rd edition in October 2018

SOWACCESS

Q & A

Thank you very much

for your attention

Oriol Alba - oriol.alba@reempresa.org

FOLLOW US ON

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• #smetransfersummit

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