As co-owner and CEO of BizNavigators, Marla DiCarlo helps business owners prepare for a successful sale. DiCarlo also helps buyers find healthy, profitable enterprises available on the market. This two-pronged approach has allowed Marla DiCarlo to experience tremendous success in pairing businesses for sale with the perfect buyer. DiCarlo utilized over 28 years of experience in strategic planning & projecting, calculating valuations, forecasting, and budgeting within the real estate and commercial development industries.
Business Challenges
Marla DiCarlo already had a steady flow of inbound leads interested in their services. DiCarlo’s biggest challenge was finding an efficient way to qualify leads, and assess if they were a good fit for her services. DiCarlo quickly discovered that following up with them on long phone calls was inefficient and time-consuming, and sought out a more effective approach. It was taking DiCarlo between two weeks to a month to determine if she was a good fit for that prospect’s requirements.
In addition, DiCarlo grew to empathize and understand how difficult selling a business was, and needed a tool to help better prepare owners for the sale. The biggest challenge DiCarlo identified was the inability of owners to objectively see their business’ weaknesses and take action to correct them. With these challenges in mind, DiCarlo needed a platform that enabled BizNavigators to efficiently qualify leads and better prepare business owners for a successful exit.
Why The Value Builder System™?
With The Value Builder System™, DiCarlo and her team at BizNavigators have found the perfect complement to their business.
Dicarlo first leveraged The Value Builder Questionnaire, a 13-minute assessment that gives business owners a summary of how valuable their business currently is. In the past, DiCarlo relied on time-consuming phone calls and interviews to qualify leads. With The Value Builder Questionnaire, DiCarlo cut the 15 to 30 day qualification period down to 15 to 30 minutes. In addition to time savings, Marla DiCarlo has streamlined the qualifying process resulting in a 30% increase in lead conversion, with up to 70% of prospects turning into customers.
Furthermore, with the questionnaire identifying specific areas of concern, DiCarlo can develop an actionable plan that works towards building value in the organization. By implementing The Value Builder System ™ at the onset with new clients, DiCarlo said, “it gives us the opportunity to look like heroes because we’re giving them the opportunity to fix anything that’s wrong with their business.”
With each new BizNavigators client, DiCarlo leverages the PREScore™ (Personal Readiness to Exit Score) assessment to find out if business owners are prepared to exit. In describing the impact of this tool DiCarlo said, “We are given the opportunity to talk about what to do after selling their business. With owners whose identity is wrapped up in their business - we can have that conversation earlier in the sales process. It makes such a difference and something that every advisor should go through with their client to prepare them emotionally.” Through the PREScore™, DiCarlo is able to establish trust with business owners right off the bat, and get them on a path to a successful exit.
As a consultant that also advises buyers, DiCarlo is often uniquely positioned to pair them with the most appropriate seller. Because DiCarlo has successfully helped businesses build value prior to listing, she has been able to help generate multiple offers from buyers thus driving the sale price even higher. When describing the impact on both buyers and sellers, DiCarlo said, “We use The Value Builder System™ to convey to buyers why certain businesses are exceptional and highlight strengths and weaknesses. This gives us the opportunity to be real from the beginning, helping us sell that business quicker and attract more buyers.”
The team at BizNavigators also uses The Value Builder System ™ as a tool to increase brand awareness and network with influential individuals. When connecting with CPAs, attorneys, and wealth planners, DiCarlo promotes The Value Builder Questionnaire and its ease of use to generate new referral leads. Having the Certified Value Builder™ designation has also provided BizNavigators boost their credibility and be recognized as thought leaders in the value building space.
Results
The Value Builder System ™ has provided BizNavigators a trusted tool that helps owners from the qualifying stage, all the way to the sale of their business. With The Value Builder System™, DiCarlo now has a constant flow of qualified leads in her pipeline, as well as a more efficient process for qualifying. In addition, by using the PREScore™, DiCarlo is able to better prepare clients for a successful exit on a personal level. With The Value Builder System ™, DiCarlo and her team at BizNavigators know they can rely on its repeatable and scalable methodology as the practice continues to grow.
