Negotiating with Your Heart Will Most Likely get it Broken

The topic today: negotiating with your heart.

Hmmm…..

Is it wise to negotiate with your heart?

In particular, when it comes to selling your business.

As a gambler it is said to never bet with your heart.

For example, you shouldn’t bet on your favorite team.

For two reasons. If they lose, you’re bummed out and depressed combined with the fact they just cost you money.

Another scenario to avoid includes betting on your favorite color or favorite number on a roulette wheel. This is certainly not a path to riches.

Well, the same goes for negotiating.

You should avoid negotiating with your heart.

Why?

Negotiating with your heart will most likely get it broken.

Especially since emotions cloud good judgment.

This holds particularly true when selling your business.

Selling your business is extremely emotional.

With building your business you’ve invested an enormous amount of blood, sweat, and tears.

Years upon years of stress as well as putting out fire after fire.

You hired countless employees dealing with various levels of drama and chaos.

Also, experienced numerous customers coming and going. Some for no fault of your own. Unfortunately, in other cases, some customers did leave due to your own accord (you can fill in the blank here).

Regardless, with everything that you have gone through, you are now tired as well as burned out.

You are finally ready to sell.

As a result, it is time to move on.

In my case, the day I blurted out the words, “This is how we have always done it” was the day I knew the time arrived for me to move on and sell my business.

After selling my business, I would like to pass along a powerful piece of advice that I learned along the way:

Your business is not your baby.

Your Business is Not Your Baby

One incredibly important takeaway with negotiating the sale of your business, please avoid treating it like “Your Baby”.

For example, you LOVE your children, your significant other, your family as well as your pet.

However, referring to your business as “Your Baby” leads to emotion.

Emotion leads to negotiating with your heart.

As you might recall from the title of this article, “Negotiating with Your Heart Will Most Likely Get it Broken.”

Going into negotiations with the “it’s my Baby” mindset brings a high level of emotion while negotiating.

A critical factor to consider with negotiating the sale of your business, treat it purely as an investment.

An asset. A precious asset at that.

Your business most likely serves as a significant asset that you own similar to a home, 401K account as well as some other investment.

Now selling your home certainly brings emotion. Years of memories, celebrations, birthdays, holidays, as well as much more.

Yet, regardless of the emotion with selling your home, you still strive to maximize your investment.

Negotiating the sale of your business purely as an investment plays a critical role in your success emotionally as well as financially.

Except don’t take my word for it, let’s ask two hugely successful entrepreneurs.

GoDaddy

First, when GoDaddy founder, Bob Parsons sold a stake in his company he described the experience as:

It was not a difficult thing for me. I never looked at it as giving part of my baby away, because I’m a businessman–and that was an investment. ~ Bob Parsons GoDaddy Founder

Click here to read the full interview with Bob Parsons and Inc

Big Ass Fans

Inc delivers another fantastic example of negotiating without emotion from Carey Smith, the founder of Big Ass Fans:

At the end of the day, though I really cared for the business, it’s not my child. You always love the people, but fans are a product. We wanted to make sure the buyer didn’t simply open the doors and tell everybody to leave. But other than that, it’s like buying a stick of gum: It’s mine until you pay me for it–and then it’s yours. ~ Big Ass Fans Founder Carey Smith

Click here to read the full interview with Carey Smith and Inc

Negotiating: It’s Not Business, It’s Personal

If you recall, the movie “The Godfather” made the line famous, “It’s not personal, it’s business”.

Yet, isn’t leaving a decapitated horse head in someone’s bed as well as squeezing a piano string around a person’s neck extremely personal? Doesn’t seem “business-like” does it?

This certainly seems extremely personal to me.

Anyway, as you prepare to sell your business, exhaust all resources to focus on maximizing the sale while trying to avoid making it personal.

Align yourself with trusted advisors to guide you through this exciting path.

Especially those who have your back at all times.

Professionals who walked this path many times before such as your accountant, attorney, business broker, peers, and professional acquaintances.

I hate to say this but I would also suggest minimizing family involvement for advice or suggestions.

Family members certainly have your best interest in mind. However, if they have never owned a business, it is difficult for them to completely relate to your situation.

Furthermore, they view this from a personal standpoint and might not fully grasp your experience as an entrepreneur trying to fully maximize the sale of your business.

Corporate warriors and civil servants unquestionably offer tremendous value as well as a healthy perspective. Yet, they earn a paycheck and possibly rely on a pension. Their perspective might not fall exactly on par with your entrepreneurial quest for a successful sale.

Another critical factor with the sale of your business, you only have once chance to get right.

There are no do-overs when you sell your business.

Emotionally speaking, negotiating with your heart will….well… you know.

Stay focused and determined to max out your grand finale.

You are about to complete one last great hurrah. Congrats!