Marketing Expert & Best-Selling Author Reveals the Secret to His Success

Selling a marketing agency is different from selling a typical small business, and understanding these differences is key to getting the most out of the deal. Best-selling author and marketing expert Ryan Stewart reveals it all.

March 5, 2018 /MarketersMedia/ —

Agencies are a great business to own and are highly profitable when run well. Best selling author and marketing expert Ryan Stewart recently sold his agency WEBRIS to I’m From the Future, and now he has revealed all the secrets behind closing such a successful deal.

“First of all, it’s important figure out if you’re ready to sell or simply need a vacation,” suggests Ryan. “Running an agency is stressful – we all go through it.” The key, he says, is to make sure that business owners don’t let that stress trick themselves into thinking they want to sell. Once that question is settled, and they want out, it is time to move on to selling.

Businesses that trade in tangible goods are easy to put a price tag on. Each vehicle at a car dealership will have a dollar value. Intangible factors like reputation and customer loyalty still play a part, but there is still all that inventory that can be liquidated if needed. A marketing agency is valued differently.

Ryan suggests using the earnings multiplier method as a starting point. But only as a starting point. When someone have a business that is founded on creativity and ideas, people can honestly arrive at different conclusions as to what those things are worth. The final number is a matter of negotiation, but there are things an agency owner can do to push that number more in their favor.

Showing past, present, and prospective clients plus their retainers is a good starting point according to Ryan “Lead off with the best ones of course and highlighting return business (client churn rate). Be sure to include the number of quality leads you agency gets each month.” This can put on display both an agency’s profitability and reputation/goodwill.

Ryan suggests that any seller should also be comfortable and confident with the potential buyer because even though it becomes someone else’s show, what happens after the sale can reflect on you. “I had several talks with investors/buyers, none of whom I was comfortable with. My name is tied to my agency, and I plan to be in the industry for a long time, and I couldn’t afford to sell to someone who would run my reputation to the ground.”

The final bit of advice Ryan gives is to make sure agency owners get what they want out of the deal. While the money he made from the sale was substantial, what Ryan wanted was something different. “Ultimately, this deal paid me in time. Time to spend on new projects. Time to spend creating. Time to spend traveling and enjoying the success of something I worked hard to build.”

Contact Info:
Name: Ryan
Email: hello@webris.org
Organization: Webris

Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/marketing-expert-best-selling-author-reveals-the-secret-to-his-success/305905

For more information, please visit https://ryanwashere.com

Source: MarketersMedia

Release ID: 305905