As time passes, we look forward to different things in life. Every agency will face changes in leadership as founders and partners look to partially or fully retire. Planning for the future success of your agency helps secure what you’ve built, your ongoing financial well-being, and that of the people who will continue to work at the agency for years and decades to come. So how can you plan for the future?
It begins with identifying your specific goals for the agency. Do you want to grow? If so, how much? Do you want to maintain, change, or expand your services? What resources will you need to accomplish this? Will you benefit more from an internal transition or an external sale? What do those scenarios look like? Are there other options?
Internal transition can reduce the churn and trauma for an agency. Relationships are already established, the culture and expectations are known to all, changes will generally occur at a slower and more stable pace, and there will likely be less turnover. External sale can bring new ideas and resources to the table. New leadership tends to help bring in new business, new teams, and new strategies, often at the cost of losing old/current clients, team members, and institutional knowledge.
A third approach is partial acquisition, in which a portion of the agency is sold to a larger entity that can introduce new resources. Yet this path also involves internal transition, as leadership and agency culture stay primarily localized, rather than becoming absorbed by a single large organization.
Which path will best fit you? That can depend on the current talent in your agency and the strength of your sales pitch to external entities. But if you’re looking to grow and gradually divest while maintaining a culture you’ve nurtured and teams you’ve built over years, partial acquisition is often an ideal solution.
To be a good candidate for partial acquisition, you’ll need to be a market leader in your sector, geographical area, and specialty. Want to learn more? We’re happy to help you assess your situation.