Here’s an example: An entrepreneur cites the following reason for selling:
“I want to pursue a new career path!”
Upon first reviewing the numbers, the prospective buyer realizes: The company is barely turning a profit, and the entrepreneur is currently just scraping by. How can something like this happen? Well, I encounter this scenario almost every day. Here, too, the cause lies hidden in the depths of our brains. Alongside this automatic program, another one is at work—a dominance-oriented behavior that has been particularly pronounced in men over the millennia—which sends only one message: “Men, especially entrepreneurs, don’t cry!—Admitting mistakes means showing weakness.” This behavior, conditioned from childhood onward, leads in practice to potential weaknesses that prevent a sale being overlooked or completely ignored! I think you’ve encountered this behavior somewhere before as well.
It goes without saying that in such a case, sales negotiations come to an immediate halt, since the fundamental prerequisites for such a process—trust and respect—are severely compromised from the buyer’s perspective.
There’s one thing you should keep in mind: Every person—and therefore every buyer—shuns risk like the devil shuns holy water. Every action, such as downplaying the business situation, is analyzed by a buyer and then evaluated based on their past experiences. True to the saying, “Once a liar, always a liar,” the buyer’s brain issues the command within milliseconds: Stay away! So much for another foray into the human psyche.
In practice, the following behavior can be observed:
The decision to “sell my company now” is often preceded by an unnecessarily long and painful process.
Because the entrepreneur cites every possible reason for selling—except the true motive—the relationship of trust with a prospective buyer is fundamentally disrupted once the real reason is revealed. To put it simply: A large proportion of entrepreneurs engage in a kind of self-sabotage. This behavior is triggered by the “repression and avoidance” described earlier.
A (self-)critical assessment—perhaps with professional support—is the better alternative for finding an acceptable solution. So if all your early warning systems fail, the chances of finding a buyer are extremely slim!
The fact is: This situation is not a prophecy decreed by God, but a challenge that (almost) every entrepreneur faces at some point in their professional life. Of course, we must not gloss over the fact that such problems can only be solved by tackling one issue at a time. The entrepreneur should first make sure to let off some steam. This sounds easier than it is, as it requires a fundamental shift in mindset. The entrepreneur must move from an “it’s everyone else’s fault” attitude to an “I am (partly) to blame” attitude.
Only when this realization is in place is there a chance of possibly turning things around. For example, financial or stress-related problems have essentially nothing to do with a succession issue, but rather with a problem of corporate leadership. Therefore, this problem can only be solved at the level of corporate leadership. In such a case, initiating the sale process is the worst possible course of action and would only make the situation worse.
Believe me: Nothing is more disarming than the truth! When an entrepreneur admits to a prospective buyer that he has suffered revenue losses in the past due to misjudgments, trust and respect remain intact.
