While growing and profitable, Brown+Partners knew a sale was on the horizon and two issues were risking the future value of the company. Most critically, the marketing and sales process relied almost exclusively on the referral network of the owner. And as an unintended consequence of that, they were overly reliant on a few key customers. We helped the company build a sales infrastructure that was no longer dependent on one person to deliver results. And in doing so, we were able to achieve a much more diversified customer base thus greatly improving the multiple they eventually realized at sale.
2X top-line revenue
Broke the $20M revenue barrier
Sold for 75% more than industry average multiple to a global strategic buyer
Challenge
The CEO was the sole person responsible for generating leads and closing sales .
Solution
Built out a four-person sales team complete with training, scripts, powerful collateral, commission structure, revenue goals and monthly performance reviews.
Results
Growth rates became steadier month-over-month and significant revenue hurdles were overcome.
Challenge
The staff was used to the CEO leading the charge and posting the ‘big numbers’.
Solution
Implemented revenue accountability metrics for every member of the team: Marketing, Sales, Service Delivery, Client Services.
Results
Brought clarity and focus to the revenue goal and each team member began to pull their weight, excited to post their own ‘big number’; upsells and revenue expansion became the norm.
Challenge
Operations areas lacked formalized policies and procedures resulting in poor communication across departments, inefficiencies that resulted in unnecessary expense and missed deadlines.
Solution
Streamlined and documented all procedures;
formalized roles and responsibilities for each staff member to include measurable goals.
Results
With individual goals now clearly tied to corporate goals and a clear understanding of job expectations, morale improved as did net margins.
“When we met Limitless, sales had plateaued and we were unsure of the path forward. Their methods quickly resulted in a profitable growth trajectory. A short time later, we experienced a successful and lucrative sale to a large public company.
- Michael and Beth Brown, Founders
Acquirers reward companies that are not overly reliant on the owners, have solid steady growth rates and improving margins.
In a study of 23,158 companies, we found 40% of business owners have one thing in common: They are Rainmakers – the primary revenue driver for their company.
Rainmakers are exceptional at rapidly accelerating business growth, but they eventually hit a ceiling.
Revenue stagnates and business value plateaus, forcing owners to confront the Rainmaker’s Dilemma.
The solution? Become an Architect.
In this eBook you will learn: