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144 • The 100 Greatest Ideas for Building the Business of Your Dreams

it. You will be involved in a sales campaign even though the objective is to buy
something - so think through the objections from their point ofview.

If your first thought was, 'Well they will have to find somewhere else to appor-
tion the costs that used to be apportioned to the part of the business I am buying, or
cut back on some overhead expense', you are not treating the organisation as a
collection of individuals. That objection is completely logical but may very well not
cross the decision-maker's mind. Think, therefore, about the decision maker. How
will this deal affect his or her performance this year? Is there some way that this deal
will improve his or her performance against their key indicators? It has been known
for a deal to be struck which did not do the selling company much good, but which
enabled the managers responsible for the unit being sold to meet their profit targets
for the year. That is, they were able to take into their profits all of the income stem-
ming from the one-off phenomenon of disposing of an asset. Yes, I know it's no way
to run a business but that is how it is often done.

Remember also that a lot of middle and quite senior managers have no respon-
sibility at all for cashflow. This can be very helpful as you trade an improvement in
their putative profit position (an opinion) for an improvement in your cashflow
(reality). Delaying a sum of money passing from you to them may not be against
their interests at all, while it may be the difference between life and death to you.
Conversely, money coming in up-front is worth a whole lot more than money in a
year's time to you but makes precious little difference to a middle manager's ability
to shine.

Now think about the staffing side from their point of view. The thing the man-
agers will miss more than the business you are buying is you. So start working on
this objection at an early stage. You should already have been grooming the likely
person to take over from you. You will have been modestly talking him or her up for
a while before the exit negotiations start. Send them to the international conference
in your place - remember you do not need the high profile but they will if they are to
be seen as a seamless transition into your job when you leave. Get this wrong and