The process of selling a business can be broken down into two phases. Expert John Warrillow beaks down those two phases for you.
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John Warrillow 
John Warrillow, the author of Built to Sell and The Automatic Customer, is the founder of The Value Builder System™ where advisors help company owners increase the value of their business. Previously, he founded Warrillow & Co., a subscription-based research business dedicated to helping Fortune 500 companies market to small business owners. A sought-after speaker and popular Inc.com columnist, he lives in Toronto.
To receive your Value Builder Score and benchmark your business against the 8 Drivers of company value, click here.
To receive your Value Builder Score and benchmark your business against the 8 Drivers of company value, click here.
Category: Management Fundamentals, Sales, Sales Management
Interviews with John Warrillow»See all
John Warrillow joins Jim Blasingame to reveal some of the things you should consider for yourself as you contemplate selling your business, especially what you’ll do afterwards.
John Warrillow joins Jim Blasingame to reveal why you need to have several numbers to consider when selling a business, including what it’s worth, and what you need to retire.
John Warrillow joins Jim Blasingame to reveal some of the questions that must be asked before you sell your business, including the real reason, and if your exit plan fits who you are.
Articles by John Warrillow»See all
It's important for small businesses to build a company with disciplined people thinking disciplined thoughts. John Warrillow explains this theory.
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An advisory board can be a great asset in building a sellable company. John Warrillow offers three secrets to get you started on setting up yours.
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Books by John Warrillow
Warrillow provides the essential blueprint for winning automatic customers with one of the nine subscription business models, including:
The Membership Website Model: Companies like The Wood Whisperer Guild, ContractorSelling.com, and DanceStudioOwner.com offer access to highly specialized, high quality information, recognizing that people will pay for good content. This model can work for any business with a tightly defined niche market and insider information.
The Simplifier Model: Companies like Mosquito Squad (pest control) and Hassle Free Homes (home maintenance) take a recurring task off your to-do list. Any business serving busy consumers can adopt this model not only to create a recurring revenue stream, but also to take advantage of the opportunity to cross-sell or bundle their services.
The Surprise Box Model: Companies like BarkBox (dog treats) and Standard Cocoa (craft chocolate) send their subscribers curated packages of goodies each month. If you can handle the logistics of shipping, giving customers joy in something new can translate to sales on your larger e-commerce site.
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According to John Warrillow, the number one mistake entrepreneurs make is to build a business that relies too heavily on them. Thus, when the time comes to sell, buyers aren't confident that the company-even if it's profitable-can stand on its own.
To illustrate this, Warrillow introduces us to a fictional small business owner named Alex who is struggling to sell his advertising agency. Alex turns to Ted, an entrepreneur and old family friend, who encourages Alex to pursue three criteria to make his business sellable:
* Teachable: focus on products and services that you can teach employees to deliver.
* Valuable: avoid price wars by specializing in doing one thing better than anyone else.
* Repeatable: generate recurring revenue by engineering products that customers have to repurchase often.
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