Satisfying the Client

The sale of a business involves many elements of opportunity by the seller. The specific purchase price is only a part of the overall result. The buyer is often "focused-in" on this aspect. While the buyer may not be willing to meet the seller's asking price head on, he can, through proper negotiations, actually satisfy the seller's total financial requirements in other ways without feeling that he paid "too much."

>The Gottesman approach takes into account all of the elements of the financial transaction. Some of these are:

1. purchase price;
2. down payment and balance of payments;
3. interest on notes payable to seller;
4. liabilities assumed by buyer;
5. sale or lease of premises owned by seller or associated company;
6. employment contracts;
7. consultant's fee paid to seller;
8. outstanding loans to officers;
9. non-compete agreements;
10. current assets of business allowed to be retained by seller;
11. percentage of future sales paid to seller;
12. share of ownership retained by seller;
13. licensing agreements between seller and buyer;
14. special "perks" obtained for seller and/or his family, etc.;
15. other

The total sales price is properly considered to be the total financial package obtained by the seller. This total is the true measure of Gottesman's accomplishment in bringing the right combination of Buyer & Seller together!