The Business Method: Interviewing Billionaires, Billion Dollar Founders & the World’s Most Successful People 🎧🔥

Ep.532 ~ Your Business Will Fail if You Don’t Have a Built to Sell Model w/ Top-Podcaster & Best-Selling Author, John Warrillow

Dec 8, 2021

John Warrillow, best-selling author of 'Built to Sell' and host of 'Built to Sell Radio,' shares his wisdom on creating businesses with sellable value. He emphasizes the importance of having a long-term vision and developing an 'options strategy' over just focusing on exits. Warrillow stresses the necessity of specialization, discussing risks of relying on single clients and the advantages of productizing services. He also highlights establishing a solid financial foundation and navigating the complexities of business sales to maximize value.

01:21:12

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Say No to Enhance Specialization

Say no to projects outside your specialization to reinforce your niche.
Focused offerings attract more referrals and help transition towards scalable recurring revenue models.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Hire Product Sales Experts

Hire salespeople with product-selling experience rather than custom solution skills.
Product sales skills allow showcasing fixed offerings effectively without constant customization.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Show Two Years Financials to Buyers

Prepare at least two years of consistent financial statements before selling.
Stability in revenue and profits decreases perceived buyer risk and improves sale terms.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Building for Value: Insights from 'Built to Sell'

03:57 • 13min

chevron_right

Optimizing Performance Through Specialization and Wellness Supplements

16:59 • 3min

chevron_right

Specialization for Success

20:00 • 23min

chevron_right

Building a Solid Financial Base for Business Sales

43:26 • 6min

chevron_right

Navigating High-Stakes Business Acquisitions

49:09 • 4min

chevron_right

Navigating Post-Exit Entrepreneurship

53:24 • 24min

chevron_right

Concluding Insights and Resources for Entrepreneurs

01:17:40 • 2min

chevron_right

#6633

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

Finish big

How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top

Bo Burlingham

In 'Finish Big', Bo Burlingham addresses the often-overlooked topic of how business owners can exit their companies successfully. The book is based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs across various industries and identifies key factors that distinguish happy exits from unhappy ones. Burlingham outlines a four-stage process for exit planning: exploration, strategy, execution, and transition. He emphasizes the importance of starting early, building a sellable company, and preparing for the emotional challenges of leaving a business. The book also introduces the Sensibility Scale, a tool to help owners view their companies objectively from different perspectives.

#689

• Mentioned in 49 episodes

Built to sell

Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You

John Warrillow

In 'Built to Sell', John Warrillow provides practical advice on creating a business that can operate independently of its owner. The book is structured around a story where a business owner, Alex, is guided by his mentor Ted to transform his marketing agency into a sellable business. Key lessons include running the company as if it will last forever but being ready to sell at any moment, focusing on a specific, non-customizable product or service, creating a positive cash flow cycle, and hiring a sales team to remove the owner from the sales process. The book emphasizes the importance of making the business repeatable, valuable, and teachable to attract potential buyers.

#4716

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

Small Giants

Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big

Bo Burlingham

In 'Small Giants', Bo Burlingham explores companies that have rejected the pressure to grow endlessly and instead focus on more satisfying business goals. These companies, termed 'small giants', prioritize being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing excellent customer service, making significant contributions to their communities, and finding fulfilling ways to lead their lives. The book highlights examples such as Anchor Brewing, Righteous Babe Records, and Clif Bar Inc., and discusses the benefits and challenges of maintaining a smaller, more personalized business approach.

#25042

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

The Art of Selling Your Business

John Morillo

#5265

• Mentioned in 9 episodes

Lost and founder

Rand Fishkin

#6995

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

The Automatic Customer

John Warlow

Today on the podcast we have the best-selling author of the legendary book Built to Sell, a book that has been helping thousands and thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world build their businesses. He is the host of Built to Sell Radio, a podcast ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s 10 best podcasts for business owners! He has started and exited four companies himself, including one acquired by a public company. He is the business model expert sought out by the likes of Tim Ferriss, CBS and Inc Magazine for his proven methodology in adding millions upon millions of dollars to the value of businesses globally! His name is John Warrillow and he is on the podcast today!

Today we are going to talk about his book, his methodologies, how to remove yourself from your company and why every entrepreneur should set out to build a business worth selling, even if you decide never ever sell it!

03:55 Who is John Warrillow?

06:45 The Importance of Having the End in Mind for Entrepreneurs

15:25 Build Your Business to Have an Options Strategy as Opposed to an Exit Strategy

Built to Sell Tips to Build Your Business

18:50 Tip #1: Don’t Generalize in Business - Specialize

24:35 Tip #2: Relying Too Heavily on One Client is Risky & Will Run Off Potential Buyers

25:25 Tip #3: Owning a Process Makes it Easier to Pitch and Puts You in Control

Be clean about what you are selling and potential customers will be more likely to buy your product.

When people are the main assets of the business and they can come and go every night, the business will not be worth very much

29:10 Tip #4: How to Create a Personal Brain that is Sellable?

Don’t become synonymous with your company

31:40 Tip #5: When You Have a Product - People Expect to Pay for it in Advance

Make your service a product/productized!

34:40 Tip #6: Don’t Be Afraid to Say No to Projects

Prove you are serious about specialization by turning down work that falls outside your area of expertise - the more you say no the more referrals you will get to people who need what you have.

39:10 Tip #9: Hire People Who are Selling Products - Not Services

These people will be better able to figure out how your product can meet a client's needs rather than agreeing to customize your offering to fit what the client wants.

43:45 Tip #11: You Need at Least 2 Years of Built to Sell Financial Statements Before you Sell

46:15 Systemization & Offers That Distract Companies From the Niche Focus of Their Business

49:10 John’s Advice on the Starting Stages of Speaking with Potential Acquirers & Soliciting Offers

53:25 John’s Recommendations for Entrepreneurs Post-Sell of Their Business

56:55 Discovering Recurring Needs for Subscription Products

59:50 Selling a Non-Productized Premium Fit Business

1:08:45 Do Not Prioritize Just Focusing on Sales

1:12:45 Finding The Freedom Point in Your Business

Contact Info:

Built to Sell Website: https://builttosell.com/method

Subscribe to the Podcast:

🎧 Website: