Tip of the Spear Ventures

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Tip of the Spear Ventures Announces Restructuring of Business Advisory Services

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Private Equity | Venture Capital firm fulfills clients needs in Mergers & Acquisitions, Sales/Business Development, and Turnaround Management business advisory service offerings.

 

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) August 1, 2017 – Tip of the Spear Ventures, a Private Equity | Venture Capital firm, announces the restructuring of their Business Advisory Services. The restructuring of advisory services came about to satisfy client demand looking to accelerate exponential growth and minimize chaos along the way.

Sam Palazzolo, Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Managing Director, states:

“Sales / Business Development is crucial for business leaders, regardless of whether they are a startup or existing business entity. The saying ‘nothing happens in business until someone sells something’ has never been more true in the new economy!” As such, Tip of the Spear partners with clients to put in place proven sales/biz dev practices that lead to results.

“Mergers and Acquisitions can be, and often are messy. When two entities processes/people combine, a ‘perfect’ storm climate presents itself.” Whether you’re the acquiring organization or the acquired, Tip of the Spear assists M&A organizations in front-end target selection, approach strategies, and post-merger integration.”

“Lastly, what if you’re not looking for M&A as a solution, but instead towards Turnaround Management? Leading a turnaround rarely goes as smoothly as a made-for-television CNBC show!” Tip of the Spear provides their years of experience in the turnaround space to assist.

Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Business Advisory Services offer organizational leaders an opportunity to strategically partner with a firm with a “boots on the ground” methodology leading to innovative strategy execution and results.

 

About Tip of the Spear Ventures

Tip of the Spear Ventures (Private Equity | Venture Capital) operates a financial investment business with aligned advisory service offerings. Our business focus is based exclusively on sound transactions, and on strategically partnering with accomplished leadership teams to drive results. We have worked for more than 5 years identifying, investing in and creating value in great businesses.

 

Contact Information

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

Tip of the Spear Ventures

www.tipofthespearventures.com

855.97SPEAR (855 977 7327)

 

 

What Makes M&A so Difficult to Execute Successfully? Top 3 Reasons!

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The Point: Visualize a scenario where you buy a used car… There were test-drives available, you could examine both interior/exterior, even seek assistance from a trained mechanic to help assess the performance/stability of the car. Now, irrespective of all due diligence, the real fact is, whether you made a good purchase or otherwise, you will get real evidence after the purchase is made once you start riding around in it over time. Mergers &acquisition deals also have the same route and challenges – you can examine the existing business based on visible financial numbers, assumptions of potential fitness and advisory assistance from M&A advisors. With all these though, it’s only when all deals are made and the business needs to be moved forward that reality sets in – the dreaded difficulties and challenges may arise. In this post we’ll talk about what makes most mergers and acquisitions difficult to operate successfully… Enjoy!

What Makes M&A so Difficult to Execute Successfully?

Why Most Mergers & Acquisition Fail

Most people have read studies reporting the failure of most acquisitions to provide shareholder value – yet there have been an increasing M&A market with frothy valuations, not lacking willing buyers to venture.

A purchase with a high price often increases the task of creating a higher value. For the last decade, it has come to the understanding of many buyers that value is created from building real business value and NOT just from mere clever financial engineering and opportunistic buying.

Acquiring growth from new markets, customers and products are the major purpose for most mergers & acquisition – for profit maximization through the strategic potential of a deal. But are most firms really getting all of these? Statistics have confirmed it not to be the case. Discussed below are the reasons why executing M&A successfully can be difficult.

Top 3 Reasons Why Successfully Executing M&A is so Difficult

Reason #1: Not Executing the Integration Process

The post-merger integration has been a major challenge for many mergers & acquisitions deals. In order to identify crucial projects or products, key employees and all sensitive matters, there must be a well structured appraisal process in place. With this in place, there should also be a design for efficient integration/adoption of processes that will be supported with automation, consulting and possible outsourcing alternatives (so as to avoid deal complexity).

Reason #2: When Owners are NOT Involved

Most of the time, a limited role is assigned to advisors until a deal is completed. With this being made known, newly acquired entities are onus of their owners (or without). There should be involvement from owners starting from the establishment of the deal, to how the business will run and should allow advisors to play a role assisting (if need be). This will have a lifelong benefit to the organization as the owner will benefit from the experience of gaining tremendous key knowledge/insight and the all too important ability to execute.

Reason #3: Assuming Optimism Blindly

It is very common for buyers to assume that a targeted company operates just as the way they do things themselves. It must be noted that there are a lot of different approaches of operational functions by which companies operate by. The integration team should account for these differences when plans are being made. They should consciously make the right assumptions rather than aggressive ones.

We’ve worked with a large client for several years now… While each has the same corporate logo hanging out in front of their business, each operates dramatically different from one another on the inside!

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve discussed the topic of mergers & acquisition, and more indepth what makes M&A so difficult to execute successfully. From an outsiders seat there appears to be a need to enhance deal-making skills for acquiring a new business if lasting success is desired. A potential great company will learn from the three reasons given of mistakes made by rookies and improve, integrate the right process where owners will be involved, and consistently build capabilities needed for future growth.

 

Sam Palazzolo

PS – If you/your organization has challenges as a result of Mergers and Acquisition activity, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and request future post titles! Here are a few other titles that are currently in the works:

  • Will Your M&A be a Success or Failure? 3 Tips!
  • Disrupting Your Industry with Exponential Growth: How Amazon’s Purchase of Whole Foods Upended Retailer’s Strategic Plan
  • Mergers & Acquisition: Should You Go for Stock or Cash?
  • The Importance of an M&A Strategic Plan
  • Mergers & Acquisition: Creating Shareholder Value
  • Mergers & Acquisition – Six Diversification Questions
  • Mergers & Acquisitions: The Future in the Old/New Economy
  • How to Successfully Survive Mergers & Acquisition
  • Mergers & Acquisitions: The Problem with Acquisitions

 

Is the Art of Business Development Prospecting Overrated? 3 Tips!

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Many sales guru’s think that the Art of Business Development Prospecting is overrated, but this aspect of business can never be sidelined. Many make blunders because they mistake the art for “something else” by committing one or more of the under listed blunders:

  1. Not listening. No salesperson has ever heard of a sale. However, when asked a simple question, many sellers take it as a license to deliver a monologue. Here are three tips for better listening.
  2. Using sales of snapshots. People often start to lose interest when they feel they are being sold. Usually they begin to feel this way when they hear phrases like “This is a great question” or “What is needed to get your business today?” People need to feel like individuals, not like parts on an assembly line.
  3. Failure to adapt to the situation. The problem with using a rigid sales script is that it assumes buying motivations, prospects pain points, and supposed similar situations in life.
  4. Distinguish features from benefits. Often focus on sellers telling someone what a product or service to the detriment of this problem solves or what pain takes away. Once I observed a commercial leasing agent from the prospective client’s office. When he met in the hall of the building, he commented on the large outdoor car park. It was a declaration of characteristics. A benefit statement would have focused on how customers would never find a parking lot or that people could always park near the building in bad weather. Was it a necessary conversation point to make? Probably not!

Below are three tips that can assist in the art of business development prospecting, taking you from overrated to actual sales/business development activity:

Tip #3 – Prospecting is Not Networking.

Prospecting requires thoughtful analysis. Networking is improvisational and immediate. Prospecting requires equal measure of looking out into the marketplace assessing the need or demand, and introspection to look within yourself and determine, with clarity and confidence, what opportunities you are well positioned to pursue that will elevate your scene to ever-higher levels.

Prospecting requires discernment. It’s not a numbers game all the time. Whatever your business, you will not be good for all potential prospects. There should be a mutually perceived adjustment between you and your prospective client – where the best to serve them well is in a way that is highly valued by them (NOT you the salesperson!) Believe me, this dilutes the pile of pressed mud. Once you are able to define what a “good fit” is for the prospect, and why they should care, you are able to focus all your energy and resources on the opportunities that feed the most promising of prospects. When you are highly specialized, prospecting is often though of as “easy.” If you are a specialized expert, known in the market to solve specialized types of problems you may be thinking that you do not need to prospect for customers (or those customers who need this kind of problem solved). It is much easier to determine which prospects place a high value on your solution. Chances are good that these prospective clients will be looking for you too, and you will be much easier to find as a result.

Tip #2 – What Defines a Perspective?

A prospect is a known buyer at an early stage in search of a solution to a major problem that cannot be solved now or in the near future. All the others are suspect. Converting suspects into prospects is a tough job and takes time. In my consulting firm, it takes three months or more of careful “in-touch” strategies to transform a prospect from a suspect.

Tip #1 – Always Be Prospecting (ABP)!

Prospecting is not an activity you do when you need business. If you need business next week, the prospecting of evil cannot correct. Always be prospecting (ABP), no matter how busy you are. It is the only way to create a sustainable sales pipeline to grow your business. Whatever your current business book, plant and tend a garden for abundant future prospects ripening every day.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve set out to identify is the art of business development prospecting overrated, along with three tips to assist you in implementing the prospecting pipeline-fill needed to be successful in sales.

 

Sam Palazzolo

PS – If you or your organization is challenged as a result of Sales / Business Development activity, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and request future post titles! Here are a few other titles that are currently in the works:

  • Rеѕроndіng tо Emergencies
  • Identifying thе Strеngthѕ and Weaknesses in Representatives
  • Dеvеlоріng Strаtеgіеѕ fоr Rеvеnuе Grоwth
  • Developing Effесtіvе Cоmреnѕаtіоn Pans
  • Hоldіng Sales Rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ Accountable fоr Pооr Pеrfоrmаnсе
  • Learning tо Motivate and Inѕріrе Sales Representatives

The Leadership Challenge: Flexibility – 5 Tips!

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The Point: If you’ve ever taken in a Cirque du Soleil show you know that the pure athleticism of a cast member is simply mind-boggling. It bears repeating… Mind –boggling! Mix several of these cast members into the choreography of the show itself and it can be sensory overload (almost inducing a nauseous state!) In this post we’ll examine the leadership challenge of flexibility and provide 5 tips so that you as a leader can be more Cirque-like in your leadership pursuits… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge: Flexibility – 5 Tips!

I Have to Do What with My Phone?

Is there anything better than taking in a show in Las Vegas? In full transparency, I’m fortunate enough to call Las Vegas home and am 100% biased. I simply believe it’s the best city on Earth! After all, who has better entertainment, restaurants, and night-life than LV (I’ll recognize NYC, but…)? And nothing is better than going to see the Cirque du Soleil shows. From KA at MGM, Michael Jackson at Mandalay Bay, The Beatles at Mirage, “O” at Bellagio, the list goes on and on… Each of them fantastic in their own right.

As different as each of these shows are, there is a core athleticism that remains the constant benchmark. The cast members are not only in fantastic shape, but the choreography highlights just how fantastically athletic each one is. Another constant is a need for safety for each and every cast member. So with safety in mind, each show starts off with a “kind” way of informing the audience to please shut-off your cell phones (NOTE: Videos/Photos are forbidden!)

5 Tips for Leadership Flexibility

I recently took in the “O” show at Bellagio, and it did not disappoint! I was left mouth-opened (ironically in the shape of an “O”), gasping for explanation as to how the cast members were able to pull-off the many choreographed scenes that were performed. In a word, I was stumped!

So it’s with this show in mind that I began to ponder “What are the leadership lessons that can be learned from such an amazing production?” Here then are 5 tips for the leadership challenge of flexibility, Cirque-style:

Tip #5 – Sometimes It’s Going to Rain!

To say that the “O” Cirque show has water in it is like saying there is oxygen in the air… It’s everywhere! And just when you think you/the cast members are safe water presents itself again and again. So know this much as a leader, it is going to rain (or the elements are not going to cooperate). It’s not a matter of if, but when… So prepare yourself for the elements.

Tip #4 – You Better Be Flexible!

The Cirque cast members, as previously mentioned, are each gifted athletes, with strength and flexibility. So as a leader you had better be prepared to flex your muscles and be flexible when those unplanned business situations arise.

Tip #3 – Eliminate Noise (No Cell Phone Utilization!)

I previously discussed the cute way in which audience members were requested to quiet their phones. Likewise, as a leader sometimes you’ll be better off if you go and sit in a quiet conference room by yourself to actually think (and breath) about what you are going to do. Think of this as a strategy session for one!

Tip #2 – If You’re Scared, Say You’re Scared and Jump In!

The highlight of the “O” show for many is the high-divers that jump to what appears to be their peril, but in actuality land in a very wide/deep pool of water. I guess that old New Orleans phrase of “If you’re scared, say you’re scared” can come in handy for the leader that needs to get over whatever is presenting the obstacle-of-the-moment so that they can move on.

Tip #1 – Enjoy the Moment!

Nothing, and I mean nothing, gave me greater joy than to go see the “O” show with loved ones (I’ve actually seen it twice!) It was in this second viewing that I was able to take in more (See my sensory overload comments earlier) and really notice what was taking place all over the stage. As a leader, you’ll be pulled in a multitude of different directions in what appears to be simultaneous instances. When this occurs, and I know it will be difficult, you need to remember to smell the roses and enjoy the moment.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve explored the leadership challenge of flexibility, brought to life through the magical Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas. While you/I might never look like a Cirque performer (I’m still attempting to!), hopefully the five tips presented will provide you with some insight into how you can be the best leader you can be (Or at the very minimum, jump from a high-dive into a pool!)

 

Sam Palazzolo

 

PS – If you have a leadership challenge you’d like me to explore, please drop me a line and let me know!

Sales / Business Development: Success Strategies for Sаlеѕ Management – 5 Tips!

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The Point: Achieving rеvеnuе goals requires talented sales management, and іt rеquіrеѕ a ѕkіllеd ѕаlеѕ leader who can simultaneously оvеrѕее the performance оf representatives and the ѕuссеѕѕ strategies mарреd out for the organization. Accomplishing this tаѕk іѕ nо small fасtоr bесаuѕе the development оf representatives hеlрѕ dеfіnе the ѕаlеѕ process and the buying рrосеѕѕ оf prospective сuѕtоmеrѕ. Thіѕ requires representatives tо learn new ѕuссеѕѕ strаtеgіеѕ, business development techniques, and the ѕаlеѕ process in a state of continuous change. In this post, we’ll explore success strategies for sales managers along with 5 Tips… Enjoy!

Mаjоr buѕіnеѕѕеѕ require sales mаnаgеmеnt discipline!

Tip #1 – Lеаrnіng to Think Differently than a Sales Rерrеѕеntаtіvе

Trаnѕіtіоnіng frоm bеіng a representative tо bеіng a dіrесtоr rеԛuіrеѕ thе реrѕоn tо alter hіѕ or her реrсерtіоn оf thе ѕаlеѕ process. Sales managers typically end up thіnkіng unіlаtеrаllу, wіth ѕuссеѕѕ thе only ассерtаblе rеѕult. Sales leaders should learn to identify реrfоrmаnсе іmрrоvеmеnt opportunities wіth each sales rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ. Sales managers typically rеwаrd only tор реrfоrmеrѕ, but fail tо address рооr реrfоrmеrѕ іn a wау thаt рrоvіdеѕ thеm with the ѕkіllѕ and еnсоurаgеmеnt thеу nееd to іmрrоvе.

Tip #2 – Developing Effесtіvе Coaching Techniques

Coaching іѕ thе technique that bеѕt dеѕсrіbеѕ thе rеlаtіоnѕhір bеtwееn a sales leader аnd sales rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ. Cоасhіng іѕ, thеrеfоrе, a рrіnсіраl focus оf ѕаlеѕ management dеvеlорmеnt. Mоѕt ѕаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt ѕеrvісеѕ advise that соасhіng ѕhоuld take place соntіnuоuѕlу, аnd thаt соасhіng + рrаіѕе ѕhоuld be separated іntо dіffеrеnt ѕеѕѕіоnѕ.

Tip #3 – Diagnosing Performance Problems

Dіаgnоѕіng performance рrоblеmѕ саn bе harder thаn іt sounds. It lеаdѕ tо ԛuаlіtу ѕuffеrіng when ѕаlеs mаnаgеmеnt fails to use proper success strategies. Hоwеvеr, уоu mау аѕk; Iѕ the ѕаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt рrосеѕѕ nоt аttunеd to the wау a сuѕtоmеr segment buуѕ? Are representatives gіvіng and rесеіvіng аdеԛuаtе feedback? Sаlеѕ leaders find thе аnѕwеrѕ to thеѕе questions ԛuісklу. This tаѕk rеԛuіrеѕ thеm to knоw whаt to іnvеѕtіgаtе whеn a particular problem аrіѕеѕ.

Tip #4 – Helping Underperformers Improve

Whеn аddrеѕѕіng рооr реrfоrmаnсе, Sаlеѕ leaders ѕераrаtе thе problem frоm thе реrfоrmеr, роrtrауіng іt as ѕоmеthіng thаt саn bе understood/remedied. In ѕоmе cases, having thе sales representatives аdорt рrасtісеѕ that wоrk fоr оthеr associates іѕ thе solution, but undеr реrfоrmаnсе саn аlѕо rеѕult frоm an issue thаt is ѕесоndаrу tо performance, such as соmреnѕаtіоn dеѕіgn (A totally different topic!)

Tip #5 – Keeping the Team Cohesive

Sales managers over time typically allow tор performers to bесоmе isolated frоm their team members (allowing these high-achievers to fееl аѕ іf thеіr success рrесludеѕ thеm from participating іn tеаm improvement ѕеѕѕіоnѕ). Skіllful sales leaders reintegrate tор реrfоrmеrѕ wіth thе team by asking thеm to use thеіr knowledge аnd ѕkіllѕ tо hеlр improve thе ѕаlеѕ рrосеѕѕ for all.

Summary

Sаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt development hеlрѕ ѕаlеѕ managers acquire thе ѕkіllѕ they need tо better lead the rеlаtіоnѕhір between rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ and the sales рrосеѕѕ. In this post, we’ve explored not only why managers are not leading effectively, but 5 Tips to assist in ѕkіlls development. Sales associates learn best when thеу rесеіvе trаіnіng frоm ѕаlеѕ leadership.

Sam Palazzolo

PS – If you or your organization is challenged as a result of Sales / Business Development activity, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and request future post titles! Here are a few other titles that are currently in the works:

  • Rеѕроndіng tо Emergencies
  • Identifying thе Strеngthѕ and Weaknesses in Representatives
  • Dеvеlоріng Strаtеgіеѕ fоr Rеvеnuе Grоwth
  • Developing Effесtіvе Cоmреnѕаtіоn Pans
  • Hоldіng Sales Rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ Accountable fоr Pооr Pеrfоrmаnсе
  • Learning tо Motivate and Inѕріrе Sales Representatives