M & A Rainmaker

Avid followers ( are there any ? ) of this blog will have noticed the recent blog

http://mandarainmaker.co.uk/wordpress/2011/01/31/dog-friendly-pubs-in-holywell-flintshire/

On Monday morning I decided to post this blog with the objective of getting exposure for The Glan to those people who were Googling for a ” dog friendly pub near Holywell, in Flintshire, North Wales “.

Between us ( you and me ) we have made this blogsite pretty authoratitive and known to Google. Quite frankly I am sometimes amazed at the speed that Googles spiders find new blogs that I post and how well they rank in Google searches.

I can only guess that the reporters at the Daily Post were thinking about ” Dog Friendly Pubs ” that morning because, I promise you, 2 hours after the post went live the phone rang at The Glan and a Daily Post reporter said that she wanted to send a photographer around.

The photographer wanted dogs in the picture and so a mad rush ensued – phoning customers and asking ones that were in to bring in their dogs.

Photos taken the photographer stated that the article would be in The Daily Post the following day – sure enough

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2011/02/01/north-wales-most-dog-friendly-pub-is-in-flintshire-55578-28090242/

there it was.

The TV and radio stations obviously trawl the papers websites so it was not a huge surprise when Radio Cymru

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radiocymru/index.shtml

called and asked Cerys if she could do an interview ( in Welsh ) around 4 p.m.

This also happened and so in 2 days we had gone from Dog to Superstar !!

Which HubSpot partners in the U.K. will achieve a high ranking position in Google searches ??

HubSpot partners in the U.K. should now consider the Six Figure Mentors system being promoted via the Digital Experts Academy global network

I am finding it quite interesting watching old and new HubSpot partners fighting for a top ranking position in a ” HubSpot U.K. ” or ” HubSpot in the U.K. ” Google.

http://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sa=N&hl=en&tab=lw#hl=en&sugexp=gsih&xhr=t&q=hubspot+in+the+UK&cp=17&pf=p&sclient=psy&site=webhp&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=hubspot+in+the+UK&pbx=1&fp=ff01f0aca6245e1d

As HubSpot  expands it’s business globally beyond the U.S.   getting more direct customers and partners, the HubSpot partners themselves are making a ” land grab ” for prominence.

How are they doing this ??

STOP PRESS !!! January 2013 – The Internet Marketing Ecosystem ( mentioned below ) has now been incorporated into Centripetal Network Consultings’ Digital Marketing Ecosystem. Watch this video >>>> HERE <<<< to see how a system that provides all of the functionality of a HubSpot system at a much lower cost has evolved over the last couple of years.

The first three organic search positions are, perhaps unsurprisingly, held by HubSpot themselves with posts on the inbound.org site

http://inbound.org/questions/960/uk-hubspot-partner

and posts on the HubSpot.com website.

http://newsofthemedia.com/2011/02/google-algorithm-change-targets-content-farms/

The comes StrangePR.com for the next couple of entries who, typically for a PR company, reckon that they are HubSpot’s ( only ) U.K. partner.  A quick look at ” Page Source ” for their website pages shows that Titles and Metatags reflect the content and that ” HubSpot ” and ” U.K. ” are liberally scattered throughout the content, titles and metatags.

Next comes Advanced Marketing Concept’s Blog page

http://www.admarco.net/resources/company-news/bid/30271/Advanced-Marketing-Concepts-achieves-HubSpot-Partner-Status

Admarco appears to have a presence in the U.S.  ( San Francisco Bay Area. ) and the U.K.

The next entry is from Wired Magazine and promotes HubSpot itself rather than a partner.

Then you have the HubSpot User Group post from GMIG

http://www.gmig.co.uk/hubspot-user-group-uk/

I understand that someone at HubSpot made a conscious decision to allow this new partner to set up a U.K. HubSpot User Group. It’s a great way to get prominence !

The actual user group is on Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3688027

Next we have a Slideshare presentation from Kpi Insight Consulting

http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/kpicase-studypdf

and then a TrafficTroop ( Ireland ) website entry

http://www.traffictroop.com/contact-us-0/UK-Hubspot-Services-Ireland/

to finish off Page 1 of Google.

On Page 2 of the search for ” HubSpot U.K. ” you have GMIG again and then Strong Marketing’s entry:

http://strongmktg.com/hubspot-partner/

and then…….. ooooh ! it’s me 😉 – posting here on the M&A Rainmaker blogsite.

So lets stop there shall we – except for a quick comment that it is rather dissapointing ( at least to me ) to see a HubSpot U.K. partner paying for Pay per Click in order to provide discounted HubSpot pricing !! Really ???? Already ???

We can assume that the websites and blogsites being used have a relatively high Google rank which is giving them thier ” authority “.

So congratulations to those HubSpot U.K. partners who are ranking high and good luck for the future !!

Note: February 2012

This blog continues to rank high for searches on ” HubSpot U.K. ” and ” HubSpot Partners U.K. ” which shows the power of a WordPress based blog. It looks to me like there is going to be a big fight soon between HubSpot and WordPress based alternatives – if this is not already happening. HubSpot appears to have moved it’s focus upmarket by increasing the minimum monthly fee and this will increase the opportunity for WordPress based options. For U.K. customers HubSpot’s service appears to be taking a dive. Watch this space.

http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/

Note: January 2013

After putting development effort into the ” Internet Marketing Ecosystem ” last year we adopted the Six Figure Mentors WordPress based  Digital Marketing System in August/September of 2012 . More information can be obtained on this by going to my WordPress based personal website >>>>HERE  <<<<. The S.F.M. Digital Marketing System is being promoted globally by the Digital Experts Academy.

Potential HubSpot partners in the U.K. may also like to consider the S.F.M. / D.E.A. system as an alternative.

The original and still the most important purpose of the M&A Rainmaker blog was to impart the lessons that I learned in selling businesses, particularly High Tech businesses.

The process is discussed here

http://mandarainmaker.co.uk/wordpress/selling-your-business-2/

in some detail.

I use the sale of 2 of my businesses Voyager Networks and 5i as particular examples in the selling your business process. One of the reasons for this is that one, Voyager Networks, was sold at the height of the High Tech, Dot Com Boom in 1999/2000 and the other, 5i, was sold in the depth’s of the global economic recession in 2008/9. Yet they both sold and sold well.

A very similar process was used in both cases although there were differences other than the economic backdrop.

When we started Voyager we had no clear strategy for it being a lifestyle business or an exit route business. It only became an exit route business after my meeting with Investec and after innumerable approaches to buy us. This was something like 1996, 3 years into the life of the business.

5i, on the other hand, was started with the clear intention of exiting ( sale or float ) 3-5 years later.

In fact both businesses sold around 7 years after thier start and in conversations with other people who have sold High Tech businesses this seems to be a typical lifetime for a business before it is sold.

In both cases we conducted a ” Beauty Parade ” to find the right M&A ( Mergers and Acquisitions ) partner. In the first case settling on Ernst & Young and in the second Norton Corporate Finance. ( Actually it was probably thier Rainmakers and thier teams that we settled on aswell as the companies ).

I remember that in the case of Voyager we discussed who was going to sell the company ( after we had decided to sell ) and put into the pot Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young and one other ( who I forget ). To get to the short list the three partners each put out feelers amongst thier contacts and 3 were chosen for presentations. Our accountants and our lawyers were consulted ( D & T were our accountants ). We ended up using Ernst and Young and our lawyers ( from Leeds ).

With 5i the lawyers and accountants were consulted; board members and shareholders put forward suggestions and a process was followed which resulted in Nortons Corporate Finance being selected.

I have to say that in my opinion both firms were exactly the right ones for us. The Nortons process and culture was similar to the one at Ernst & Young and this was a factor in the decision to go for Nortons.

Now, there are a great number of Corporate Finance and M & A companies to choose from and it is very important to find the right partner with the right processes and capabilities.

It is possible that the right people to use are your own accountants and lawyers but probably not. Or, at the very least, you should look for alternatives. If you are very experienced at selling companies then you may well have lawyers and accountants that you have used on a number of occassions. My advice is directed at people who have not had these opportunities.

In an ideal world you want to have decided wether you are a lifestyle business or an exit route business as early as possible. Also in an ideal world, you want to give yourself time to select the right legal and accountancy M&A partners for you and your business.