The financial aspects of selling a business such as valuations, deal structures, and earnouts, receive considerable attention. But what actually happens after the deal is done? This often receives far less attention, despite being hugely consequential in terms of a business’s longevity.
Understanding what a transition looks like after a deal completes can help sellers evaluate whether a buyer’s longer term plans align with goals around legacy and business sustainability. Below, we share what happens in the first three months of a Genshare ownership transition.
The transition window
Our acquisitions include a handover period during which the outgoing owner shares essential information and insights with the new leader. This typically lasts a few weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the business and the owner’s preferences. It can also include a shadowing period.
The knowledge that makes a business function isn’t always written down. The imparting of institutional knowledge is key for business continuity and success. For example, which customers are the most sensitive to change? Which supplier is most reliable? Which team member needs flexibility for family obligations? This institutional memory transfers most effectively through open dialogue and conversation, not handover notes. This formal handover period means we don’t have to depend on guesswork to figure things out when the founder has moved out of the business.
Structured support
Support, for both the new owner and the outgoing founder, is essential. That’s why we created the role of the Business Support Partner (BSP).
BSPs are hand-picked industry experts who bring a depth of knowledge and experience to our business acquisition process. A BSP is assigned to every Genshare acquisition to facilitate the ownership transition, and to support ongoing business success. They act as a conduit between Genshare, the business seller and the new leader, to ensure a cohesive transition process.
The BSP is there to help throughout every stage of the transition following acquisition. Some of their responsibilities include:
- Collaborating with the business seller, Genshare and new leader on a transition plan
- Collaborating with new business leader and Genshare on the Year 1 business plan
- Monthly check ins with the new leader, and quarterly board meetings
- Mentoring
- Supporting L&D opportunities for the new leader and their teams
We recognise that a successful transition extends beyond any formal handover period. The adjustment continues for months, sometimes longer, and support structures should account for that reality.
Communicating with staff
Clear and transparent communication to teams is a non-negotiable, not only to ensure trust is built from the start, but to ensure they feel a sense of job security, optimism and confidence. Rumours and speculation fill any vacuum left by inadequate communication.
Before the deal is complete, we embark on extensive transition planning with the business seller, new leader and BSP. As part of this planning, we determine how and when to engage team members, so that they’re brought along for the journey. We provide ongoing communications and ensure there are forums in which teams can engage in dialogue with Genshare and ask questions.
Our ethos is all about keeping good businesses in business, enabling them to continue doing what they’re already doing – because we know it already works. This approach means we can communicate to teams with confidence and conviction that it will be business as usual, despite the change in business ownership.
Essential to these plans is conveying to teams that jobs are secure, roles are the same, and we’re committed to business continuity. Put simply: we don’t want to dismantle what already works.
Communicating with customers
Like with teams, we want to ensure the customers of the businesses we acquire receive the same level of care and transparency when it comes to transition. While the nature of the service or product they’re receiving won’t change, there are some circumstances in which customers should be informed of a change in ownership, particularly if their main point of contact was the outgoing founder. In these circumstances, we inform customers within the first weeks, typically through a personal introduction from the outgoing founder to the new leader. The communication can take a number of forms, depending on the nature of the relationship, so we assess the situation on a case-by-case basis. This ensures that key relationships carry over naturally, rather than leaving customers to navigate the change on their own.
Evaluating Intentions
No amount of documentation can eliminate the uncertainty involved in selling a business you’ve spent years building. We encourage owners can examine whether a buyer’s actions actually align with their words and intentions.
Acquirers who value continuity tend to demonstrate it through their process: asking questions rather than issuing directives, carefully planning communication, providing structured support, and connecting prospective sellers with owners who’ve already experienced their transitions.
If you are considering a sale and want a clearer sense of what the process looks like, we are happy to talk it through. We can also connect you with founders who have already been through a Genshare transition — often the most useful conversation you can have.
Reach out to us here.
