Most sellers want to be paid all of their money up front, and most buyers want to avoid paying anything up front. Deals usually get done somewhere in the middle, where the seller agrees to accept some cash and to be paid some of their proceeds over time.
Eric Weiner, for example, started All Occasion Transportation in college and by the time he turned 35, his company was grossing more than $3MM a year. That’s when Weiner decided he wanted out.
Weiner found a buyer and agreed to accept half of his money in a five-year consulting contract, which sounded great in theory but ended up becoming hard to enforce. In this cautionary episode, you’ll learn:
How to structure a vendor take back How to market your business for sale without competitors finding out How to create sticks and carrots to ensure your deal is honored The definition of recourse and why you need some in any non-cash offer How to pick a walk-away number and use it to accelerate your negotiation The biggest blooper in structuring a consulting contract with an acquirer