If you are like me, you probably have never heard of BCMS Corporate. I first heard about them from a direct mailing to my business advertising a free seminar in my area. Their seminar was titled “Selling your business for all it’s worth” and my first thought was that they were a small-scale private equity firm looking to scoop up businesses and assets for pennies on the dollar. I could not have been more wrong about who they are and how they operate.

After reading more about BCMS on their website, I found out that they are a family owned firm that specializes in selling small to medium sized companies and promote their process for maximizing the sale price. In 2008 they used that process to generate over $1.5 billion in offers and completed more than 100 deals in the US and around the world. After reading those numbers I filled out the online lead form for their free seminar.

The Seminar
The show was great. Their man on slide deck was Ken Beckrich, the smartest guy in the room and a fast talker with a New York accent who doesn’t beat around the bush. He went through the presentation giving examples that BCMS had experienced. Everything he talked about was relevant and compelling. It was like going in to a meeting with a venture capitalist but having them give the presentation.

The bulk of the seminar is about the BCMS process and why each step is so important for acheiving the maximum sales price. They don’t care if you user their system on your own or if you use BCMS to assist with the sale. Some of the points like prospecting hundreds of companies and actually reaching the prospected CEOs on the phone are not easy for most small business owners. BCMS hopes you will realize this and choose to use their services. They still outline every step of the process in the presentation and their book, go into details, and give lots of examples.

For a company to be so open in the M&A space–and actually advertise their methods–is like a breath of fresh air. Ken tried to describe the state of mind of a potential buyer, leveraging his own buying experiences before joining BCMS. Like Ken, I’ve been on the buying side of a lot of big acquisitions and it’s almost laughable how many sellers don’t understand the buyer’s perspective. As Ken pointed out, a buyer wants two things: for the acquisition to make them money and for there to be no surprises or skeletons in the closet.

What The Process Means for Website Owners
Understanding the BCMS process is where we can learn the most as domain investors and website developers. One of BCMS’s favorite catchphrases is “avoid passivity at all costs.” They suggest putting together a large list of potential buyers and trying to pique the interest of as many as possible instead of using a listing service with a fixed price.

At this point I started thinking about the nine websites I’d sold in the last two years compared to the methods of Frank Schilling and Rick Schwartz. Most of my websites were sold through domain listing services, while I imagined Frank and Rick were more proactive about courting potential buyers.

The next big point that Ken made was that competition among potential buyers will lead to the highest price for the seller. While this is a common sense maxim of business, it is easy to forget when a business owner is confronted with a single offer of substance.

My largest sale in the last two years was at an auction where I had five bidders. The final price was more than two times the largest unsolicited offer I had received. Ken pointed out that once buyers find out there is competition, the many value-buyers who waste your time will quickly exit leaving only the serious bidders.

Finally, Ken talked about how some business owners think they deserve a certain amount for the time and effort they have invested, but do very little when selling their company to reach that amount. He said, “you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate” and pointed out that working with good negotiators is almost as important as all the other steps.

You Should Attend, Or Read Their Book
If you have a domain, developed website, or business that generates over $1 million per year, and you are looking to cash out for as much as possible, then I recommend attending one of their upcoming presentations. If you’re like me and you have properties that do way under $1 million, fill out their lead form to get their book version of the presentation.

In a world where accountants, value-buyers, and simple valuation models want to underestimate the market value of your website, it is nice to know that there are M&A cheerleaders out there who will work hard to get you the highest price.