How Do I Quickly and Easily Increase the Company Value before Selling the Company?

Is the company to be sold as soon as possible? Then you probably only want to take measures that involve little effort and cost and can be implemented easily and quickly. Our list of suggestions is aimed precisely at this situation. The suggestions are particularly suitable for owners of small businesses who want to make their company more attractive to a buyer.

Cleaning up Finances

• Review and clean up the financial records to ensure they are complete and accurate.
• Identify and reduce unnecessary expenses. Areas that are worth checking (regularly) are:
  • Office expenses: Rent, utilities, and furnishings. Ways to reduce these costs include reducing office space or switching to remote work, if possible.
  • Energy costs: Energy costs can be significant. Investing in energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling, and office equipment can be a good way to reduce energy consumption.
  • Material procurement: Negotiate better prices or terms with suppliers. Ensure that there are no excessive inventories that cause storage costs.
  • Personnel: Review personnel costs without affecting productivity. This may include identifying inefficient processes, optimizing the team structure, or outsourcing certain tasks.
  • Marketing expenses: Revise the marketing strategy to use more efficient channels and better manage the marketing budget. Analyze which marketing activities offer the best ROI.
  • Insurance: Review insurance policies to ensure that there is no overinsurance. Negotiate with insurance providers to reduce premiums.
  • Travel expenses: If applicable, consider whether travel is really necessary, or whether video conferencing and virtual meetings offer a more cost-effective alternative.
  • Office supplies and consumables: Purchase office supplies and consumables in bulk to get quantity discounts. Avoid waste.
  • Bank charges: Review bank charges and accounts to ensure that you are getting the best terms.
  • IT costs: Consolidate software licenses, review cloud services, and server infrastructure for efficiency and cost.
  • Administrative costs: Ensure that administrative costs, such as salaries in management, are reasonable and proportionate to the size of the company.
  • Advertising and promotional materials: Review expenses for advertising materials and campaigns. If necessary, rely on more cost-effective advertising platforms and methods.

Strengthen Customer Loyalty

• Contact existing customers and explore opportunities to increase business volume with them. Here it is important to proceed sensitively and respectfully when making contact in order to avoid negative effects on the relationship. The goal is to offer real added value and meet their needs, which promotes long-term customer loyalty. Personalized communication and focusing on the individual requirements of each customer are of great importance. Here are some steps to follow to achieve the goal.
  • Data analysis: Analyze the data of existing customers. This includes purchase history, previous interactions, and demographic information. This allows you to identify customers for whom upselling or cross-selling is most promising.
  • Segmentation: To develop targeted approaches, divide customers into segments. Group customers according to their purchasing habits, interests, or other relevant criteria.
  • Customer prioritization: Which customers have the greatest opportunities for increasing sales? These may be customers who have already shown interest in complementary products or services.
  • Communication strategy: Develop a clear communication strategy that targets the identified customers. You can use emails, phone calls, personal meetings, or other communication channels that suit the target group.
  • Offers and discounts: There may be the option of offering special offers or discounts to increase the incentive to buy. This can encourage customers to buy additional products.
  • Follow-up: Ensure that a follow-up is carried out after the contact and the sales attempt. Ask for feedback and continue to show interest in their needs and concerns.
  • Measurement and evaluation: Measure and document the results of the efforts to find out which approaches are most effective. Adjust the strategy accordingly if necessary.

Cost Optimization

• Can costs be reduced without affecting quality or service? This requires careful analysis and planning. Here are some proven ideas for a possible approach:
  • Identify cost categories: Identify and divide into variable and fixed costs. This helps to understand the expenses accurately.
  • Prioritization of cost categories: Which cost categories have the greatest impact on quality and service? These should be given priority, as changes here must be carried out with particular care.
  • Benchmarking: Compare costs and processes with those of competitors or industry leaders to see if there are areas where you could be more efficient.
  • Einsparpotenzial identifizieren: Welche Möglichkeiten zur Kostensenkung, die die Qualität oder den Service nicht beeinträchtigen, gibt es? Dies kann beinhalten:
    • Negotiations with suppliers for better prices or terms.
    • Review and optimization of supply chain processes.
    • Introduction of technology to automate tasks.
    • Efficiency improvements in production or operation.
    • Reduction of waste and inefficient processes.
  • Resource optimization: Make optimal use of existing resources. This can mean reassigning tasks, retraining employees, or using resources flexibly.
  • Maintain quality control: Any change must not affect the quality of the products or services. Quality should always come first.
  • Cost-benefit analysis: Perform cost-benefit analyses to ensure that the expected savings justify the investments in cost reduction measures.

Marketing Optimization

• Marketing strategy: Is the marketing strategy up to date? Or should more efficient and cost-effective channels be used?
• Budget optimization: Review whether the marketing budget is being used efficiently. If necessary, resources should be reallocated to focus on the most effective channels and campaigns.
• Optimize digital marketing: Use digital marketing channels such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and content marketing to increase visibility on the Internet. Invest in online ads if they are relevant to the business.
• Use customer reviews and recommendations: Ask satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and recommendations. This strengthens the credibility and trust of potential buyers.

Product and Service Improvements

• There are various product or service improvements that can be implemented quickly and with the lowest possible costs. Here are some ideas:
  • Clearer communication: Improve communication on the website to better explain products or services and answer customer questions in advance.
  • Smaller product updates: Make small updates or modifications to the products or services to increase their effectiveness or attractiveness. These can be, for example, changes to packaging, colors, or sizes.
  • Cross-selling and upselling: Identify opportunities for cross-selling or upselling by offering related products or additional services that complement customer needs.
  • Upcycling or recycling: If possible, introduce upcycling or recycling programs for products or packaging to emphasize sustainability aspects.
  • Free resources: Offer free resources such as instructions, tutorials, or e-books to increase the added value for customers.
  • Faster delivery: If possible, optimize the delivery speed or shipping options to offer customers faster delivery.

Documentation

• Create comprehensive and well-organized documentation about the company, including all relevant contracts and agreements.
• Document the company structure so that it is clear to a potential buyer how each employee, each process, etc. fits into the overall context of the company. This contributes to improving efficiency, productivity, and organizational effectiveness.

These measures can be implemented relatively quickly and cost-effectively and help to make the company more attractive to potential buyers and increase the purchase price. However, it is important to consider the specific needs and goals of the sales process and ensure that all activities are in line with this goal.

You can find more in-depth information on company valuation in our guide