Driving Agency Growth and Building Value Before the Sale

Matt Chollet,

EVP Agency Development

• Sales and Marketing Professional

• Business development process expert

• Entrepreneur

• Triathlon, Sailing, Mountain Climbing, and outdoor enthusiast

[email protected]

@agencysquared

A passion for creative & technology businesses

We are a global M&A consultancy helping the stakeholders of creative and technology businesses realise their potential through trusted, insightful and actionable advice.

Our team – a global perspective

Our team advise clients around the world. Working from our London, Hong Kong, New York and Singapore hubs, we give our clients access to our global acquirer network and cross-border expertise.

Live global mandates and projects

Helping creative & technology entrepreneurs realise their potential

Different types of marcoms investors and new entrants

• Global marcoms groups

• Established independents

• New money

• Asia / South America

• US ‘marketing services’

• Consultancies

• Data & tech

US style earn-out Minority stakes PE buy & build Multi-stage deals

No such thing as a standard deal

THE USUAL SUSPECTS:

• Profitability 20%+

• Growth 20%+

• Clients Spread, global

• Management Depth & breadth

What drives value?

Driving a premiumThere is a wide spectrum of valuations available depending on the nature of the business and the acquirer you attract.

OFFER & MANAGEMENT

FIN

AN

CIA

LP

ERFO

RM

AN

CE • Wide choice

of buyers

• Premium value

•Good choice

of buyers

•Low value

•Limited buyers

•Low value

•Limited buyers

•Fair value for

good fit

• Strategic need

• Contemporary offer

• Scale

• Culture

• Reputation

• Succession management

• Energy & ambition

Creating a super premiumWide spectrum of valuations available depending on nature of business and acquirer you attract

Uplift 1: ScarcityScale and uniqueness

Uplift 2: Time Deal structure over time

Paid for growth in multiple

SCA

RC

ITY

TIM

E

Successful DNA• Culture and values

• Leadership and accountability

• Talent as a priority

• Courage

• Energy

COMPETITIVE

DIFFERENCE

CONSCIOUS

BEHAVIOR

How do you achieve uniqueness?

Conscious behavior

New Business:• Direct vs intermediaries

• Stricter criteria

• Better conversations

• Personality skills

• The math

Clients:• Rigor on re-evaluation

• Drop the poor quality

• New models and ways of working to address the broken procurement model

Talent:• Stars (and weaks)

• Profiling

• Leadership training

• Accountability

• Performance cultures

Differentiation: integration vs specialism

• Be brilliant at something

• Collaborate with other experts

• “Casting” teams in roles

• Procurement experts vs departments

• National trap vs global opportunity

Finding a strategic

growth partner

• It’s not about selling

• Which strategic partner can accelerate

your growth?

• Reach your ambitions better and faster

• Culture is the tricky bit

Charles Fallon, Founding Partner, SI PartnersNew York | London | Singapore | Hong Kong

uk.linkedin.com/in/charles-fallon-098a1315

@SIPartners

youtube.com/user/SIPartnersLLP

sipartnersglobal.com

[email protected]

A passion for creative & technology businesses

Problems we solve:

• “We’re not identifying or winning work to take our agency in the right direction.”

• “How do I get new clients outside of referrals and my own network?”

• “How do I create a new business machine that works for my agency 24/7?”

[email protected]

Questions??

Thanks for attending!

If you would like any further information, calculator, or just a chat, contact me at [email protected]!