[EP 252] Tech & Disruption in the Business Sales Industry: Insights from Bonza Business and Franchise Sales Director Nigel Hall

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iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-deal-room/id1267098895

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Joanna:
Hi, it’s Joanna Oakey here and welcome back to The Deal Room Podcast, a podcast proudly brought to you by our commercial legal practice Aspect Legal. Now today we have back on the show a guest that we’ve had heard the past nine Nigel Hall from Bonza Business and franchise sales. Now, Nigel, in addition to being director of Bonza business and franchise sales is also a serial entrepreneur who has himself been involved in four exits and 22 transactions. He’s an angel investor in multiple early-stage biotech, nanotech, and IT businesses and the perfect person to be talking to us right now on the current market trends. So in this episode, we dig into what’s happening right now, in business sales and acquisitions, we get an update on the industry, we get a bit of an update on trends that are happening at the moment, we talk a little bit about financing. And we also talk about approaches that buyers can use when they are dealing with financers. So this episode has got a little bit for everyone in it. So I’m looking forward to it. I hope you are too. Let’s get started with Nigel.

Joanna:
Nigel, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the show.

Nigel:
Thank you for inviting me Joanna, it’s always a pleasure to catch up with you.

Joanna:
Now, look, we do a lot of work with you guys. And I’ve got to say I’m always extremely impressed by the way in which your brokers are always across the deals. And in fact, I’ve had lots of conversations with your brokers recently, where they have made comments to me like you know, it’s the systems that have that enable us to be able to be on top of these matters the way we are. And I just thought it’d be really interesting. If we spent some time talking about systems and technology. I love systems. Everything that we do here at Aspect Legal is backed up by really strong systems and processes. It’s, it’s something that I think is absolutely imperative to a great product. And I’ve always sensed that you guys are exactly the same. So today, I really want to talk about technology. And I want to talk about systems. And I just want to talk about the benefits of approaching broking from the perspective of maximization of technology maximization of systems. But maybe you can start by giving us a little bit of background about you and Bonza. And, and your approach and where your approach came from, and why.

Nigel:
So we actually started out in the market we sought because we saw that small business owners actually were underserviced. And they’re under service, but they’re paying a premium price for that. So we started off really looking at the market, and how could we disrupt it. And to disrupt a market, you caught off enough to use technology. So we looked at it from a point of view of what’s the process of selling the business and built systems to enable us to really streamline that process but also to track it and make sure it stayed on track. So our interaction with clients is very much driven by our processes. And those processes in a system that makes sure that everything gets noted or calls recorded SMS is every crease correspondence is in there. Hence when somebody phones up, and they pop up on our screen, and we can see who it is straightaway, we know exactly where they are in that process. We know exactly who’s talking to them. And we can see what the buyers selling what the sales are selling where they are, and bring those two together almost seamlessly with using a process to get things done rather than just using pieces of paper or hoping that things work on a timeline. And I’d have to say working with aspects has enabled us to recommend a little company who works on the same basis that we do as well, which means we’re getting more deals done in an efficient manner which is all about that’s what our business is about being efficient with our clients.

Joanna:
And I’ve got to say I have really recognized that in I feel like we come from a very similar, you know, values base in terms of the way that we number one the way that we approach our clients but also number two the emphasis that we have on systems and processes and technology and it’s a real pleasure to deal with other people in the space when you know When were aligned with those sorts of things, but where did that come from? Where did the ideas you talked about you see this gap in the market, but seeing a gap in the market is different to than being able to come in and implement a system? Because, you know, look, I have spent, I reckon I’ve spent 20 years putting together our systems and processes, stuff like this doesn’t happen overnight. And it takes absolutely massive commitment. Because it’s hard, but it doesn’t come out of it doesn’t just appear, they, you know, you must have a background, you know, that sort of enabled you to be able to visualize how you put together this bolt together the technology and systems.

Nigel:

Yeah, I think there’s three of us started bonds together, we’ve all got different skill sets. We’ve all come from a transactional background, my transaction partners with Ernst and Young in mergers and acquisitions, and then starting up companies and buying companies and selling companies, but from my own. Well, two partners come from Franchise sales and from business sales. So we looked at that and sat down for about six months and put together what we really wanted to do to brighten life and built the systems around that. And we’ve evolved a lot over time. You know, the systems weren’t perfect to start with, and they’re definitely not perfect now. But there, we’re constantly working on constantly invested in that space, just to make sure that people do really see the benefit of us taking a lot of new technology that’s in the market, using it for the benefit of our clients, both the buyers and the sellers, so that we can service them quicker, more consistently, and they know what they’re getting. That’s, that’s key, you know, we can’t afford for a broker to have a bad day. And because of that deal falls over, it has to be done to a process and we have to maintain a service level that we really offer our clients.

Joanna:
Yeah. And can we step through quickly? What are those systems and technologies or processes that are fundamental to your approach?

Nigel:
I think, first of all, it’s what we use, we advertise broadly, which is key for our clients, ever. When those inquiries come in, we actually use a system that processes them automatically, so that anybody who inquires gets to respond to it in an hour. Whereas if someone’s inputting those, it’s going to take it’s going to be Monday before somebody you’ve applied on a Friday, and I’ve received anything back.

Joanna:
Well, so you’re saying sorry, buyers that come into your system get a response within an hour is that? Yeah, isn’t that amazing? Okay.

Nigel:
The electronic confidentiality agreement is that if they sign that, we inform the seller, and the seller can say, yep, send the information or not. And then within 24 hours, they receive that information. And that’s, that is key because people’s attention span on buying a business is relatively small. And if you don’t get back to them quickly, they lose interest quickly. So we make sure that they’re getting the information within 24 hours if they’re after they’ve signed a confidentiality agreement, obviously, and that we follow up with them to see whether they’re interested or not.

Joanna:
Hmm, love it. One of your brokers said to me when I was talking to them last week that said something about you know, it’s great because these processes mean, I’m not wasting time with buyers, who are tire kickers, what did they mean by that what part of your process helps with that side.

Nigel:
Our technology actually enables us to filter buyers to find true intent. And I don’t really want to say too much about that and give it away to the competition. We’re getting five 600 inquiries a week on businesses. So being able to filter those down and know which conversations need to be handled, and which don’t, is key to having enough time to spend with the serious buyer who is going to move ahead and buy and the buyer who is going to buy will talk to us buyers, we’re not going to buy you’re not keen won’t talk to us. So getting the information to them quickly in a structured manner where they can make a quick decision. Whether it suits them or not, means that the buyer can also move on to something that does suit them. So that they’re getting service quicker and making their decisions quicker, and not having to go back and ask for the next three or four bits of information. So they can make a decision. Only paper with interest after they receive a good package up front, come back and ask for additional information or additional questions to be fulfilled and we know when they’re serious.

Joanna:
Yeah, I love that. One of the things that I see is that slow speed kills deals. It’s all about momentum. A lot of the work that I’ve done in our own systems and processes is finding ways to keep that momentum. But I love the technology approach that you’re talking about because obviously one of the challenges and maybe it’s not obvious, it’s obvious to you and I but maybe not to listeners. One of the challenges in this space is that you can have a red-hot buyer, but then you have sellers who then go and take forever to gather their information, right? So you know, and I guess that’s a, you know, sometimes things that we can’t control. What do you do with our systems and processes, processes that you build around that to sort of get your sellers to ensure that they’ve got all of the information ready to go? So they’re not the ones slowing down the process?

Nigel:
Yeah, absolutely. So when a client signs up with us, we’ve actually got a team that just focuses on getting the client ready for market. And that’s not our broker taking. So it’s the onboarding team and they follow up with the client, and it’s their job alone to make sure that happens. And the client then receives reminders follow ups and our team is tasked with making sure everything’s got everything done. Preferably within a week, if we listed new clients, we want to have them advertised with their business profile written with their financials checked and summarized into their business performance within a week, we can achieve that if we’d like and achieve it. And our systems help us push that because when people start their key, that’s when they’re most likely to provide the information. If you let them drift for two or three months without collecting information, you’re never gonna get it. And they’ve lost two or three months on their sale.

Joanna:
I completely agree. Yeah, yeah, the longer they take, the longer they’ll take, because they either do it now or they won’t do it at all, I guess that’s the thing where you find it and I have noticed that with your processes, because you have, you know, we can see that you have this defined process of the information collection points. And, certainly from our perspective, from the legal side, it helps us to be able to react really quickly, when we know what information you’ll have and will be sent to us. And we know how quickly we’re then going to be able to react to it. So, you know, I can see how it helps tie in the whole process, not just from your side. But then for the neck side, which is the contract side where the clients are moved on to once a buyer has been found. So I think it’s just such an important point. Now, what other processes or technology do you implement that you feel is key in addition to the stuff that we’ve talked about,

Nigel:
obviously, using all of the tools available now through artificial intelligence. So we can track calls, track sentiment in calls, so that we can see that the service levels be maintained both from our buyers and also if a client or a buyer becomes aggressive, we can note that and produce a synopsis of that call automatically, which saves time it saves people sitting there writing notes, but also means you’ve got everything recorded in an accurate way. This means you can go back to things, make sure you haven’t missed anything and make sure that they all stay on track. So using technology to evaluate calls, evaluate email sentiment, and all those types of things all help. And we’re looking at new technology all the time, just to make sure we keep on the front of the wave.

Joanna:
Well, that was going to be my next question, Nigel, where are you looking to the future?

Nigel:
I think obviously, AI is going to play a role in every business that’s adopted, so we’re looking at AI can benefit our clients and provide them with a better service. We don’t want to go over the top and replace people with it. Because at the end of the day, business broken is a people deal. And it’s that relationship with you both parties in the transaction that enables you to get over the line. However, by using technology and using artificial intelligence when necessary. If we can free up brokers to spend more time on those deals that are going to happen and not on the ones that aren’t, then we’re giving a better service to our clients.

Joanna:
Well, look. And that’s a whole topic in itself. I feel like we need to come back to another podcast here and talk about what other opportunities AI is playing in the market at the moment because boy oh boy, that is an exciting space that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. But look, I just want to say a huge thank you to Nigel for coming on to the podcast. I love the way you guys operate. And I just love to dig into anything related to technology systems processes innovation. So thank you for indulging me here in this discussion, Nigel. And of course, if any of our listeners want to make contact with you, how is that best done?

Nigel:
Well, obviously we’ve got email, SMS, they can book a call on our website, they can book a free appraisal, any method, we always answer the phone, and we always get back to people which is also part of our systems because we track everything.

Joanna:
Love it, love it. It’s that insight, isn’t it, you know, being able to see set the systems up and then see if that they’re actually being followed. So that’s sort of the next component setting it up and then that obviously then forward-looking fabulous. Thank you so much for coming to the podcast today. Obviously, we will put the link to a phone number, email address the website that’s right in our show notes. So anyone who is listening to this just clicks into the show notes and you’ll get all of that Nigel a just wanted to say a huge thank you for coming on to the show today.

Nigel:
Thank you

Joanna:
Well, that’s it for this episode of The Deal Room Podcast. We hope you’re now primed for your next deal with these pointers and have enjoyed these fascinating insights. Now if you’d like more information about this topic, then head over to our website at thedealroompodcast.com where you’ll be able to download a transcript of this episode as well as access contact details and any other additional information we referred to today’s podcast. Now if you’d like to get in contact with our guests today and the services they offer, you can go ahead and check out our show notes for a link right through to them and their details. You can also book directly with our Legal Eagles at Aspect Legal. If you’d like to soundboard your next steps, discuss a legal question or find out more about how we can assist whether that’s with buying or selling a business or perhaps somewhere in between. Now, don’t forget to subscribe to The Deal Room Podcast on your favourite podcast player to get notifications whenever a new episode is out. We’d also love to hear your feedback. So please leave us a review and rating. If you’re already one of our subscribers or even if you’re listening to this podcast for the very first time, every review helps our team produce valuable content for you. Well, thanks again for listening in. You’ve been listening to Joanna Oakey and The Deal Room Podcast, a podcast proudly brought to you by our commercial legal practice Aspect Legal. See you next time.

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