You've worked extremely hard. You built a valuable business. Now you're thinking, 'maybe it's time to sell and reap the reward of all this hard work.'

In today's show, international investment banker Rob Follows discusses how business owners can prepare their company for a sale, present it in the best possible light, and sell it to a strategic buyer who might pay as much as 300% more than a financial buyer.

You only get one shot at making a great sale so it's critical you arm yourself with all the information you need to maximize your return and minimize your taxes.

Regardless of your company's size, you'll find great advice on how to make your company more valuable even if a sale is a few years away.

In this episode, you'll discover:

•       The best time to sell your business (hint, it's NOT when any of the "6 D's" are present).
•       How to skip the financial buyer and sell directly to a strategic buyer for a much higher price.
•       How to understand and strengthen the "critical enablers" that will lead strategic buyers to "fall in love with your business."
•       Why a recurring revenue business leveraged by technology could find immediate interest from strategic buyers.
•       Why starting the process to sell your company one or two years ahead of when you want to sell is important to maximizing your sales price.

How do you go from having a great idea to turning that idea into a thriving company that ultimately gets sold for a substantial amount of money to an S&P 500 company?

In today's episode, we discuss how virtual phone service company Grasshopper did exactly that.

Don Schiavone helped lead Grasshopper as it grew from a small startup to a high-growth company and he shares the six strategies that formed the core of Grasshopper's rapid ascent.

You can apply these strategies too and propel your company to a higher level of growth.

“I’m tired of making the same mistake I made in the past.” Mark Moses

So what mistake did CEO Coaching International founding partner Mark Moses make? Not hiring the absolutely best person for the job. 

The fact is, a great service or a gee-whiz product is nice, but if you don’t have “A” players to execute and make things happen, your company will be a second-tier player.

Not mincing words, Mark said, “I want to hire the people that have been there, done it, got it. I know they will perform. Those are the kind of people I want to bring on my team. I’m too tired to be giving somebody a continuous shot at a high-level role. I’m not going to do it.”

With that in mind, Mark discusses in practical detail how you can find and hire the very best performers who will give your company an “unfair” advantage in the marketplace.

In today’s episode, you’ll learn:

• The two places to look when you’re trying to hire a C-suite type person.
• The three-step process used to vet new hires so you end up with only “A” players.
• The three attributes new hires must possess in order to be successful at any company.
• Key questions to ask when interviewing a new hire.
• The importance of checking references and how to get around the reference check gatekeepers.
• How to create a scorecard for your company that measures leading indicators not lagging ones so your team stays focused on their most important priorities.

In our latest podcast, Rich Balot, Chairman and Co-CEO of a $750 million company, discusses how he brought his company back from the brink of disaster and turned it into a juggernaut. Rich’s business almost went belly up a few years ago when Verizon Wireless bought Alltel and the industry shifted to the iPhone. At the time, Rich’s company was Alltel’s largest agent. Overnight, he went from king of the hill at Alltel to a nobody at Verizon. In today's episode, you’ll learn: The three steps Rich took that led to his remarkable turnaround. How one statement from Rich's coach, Mark Moses, caused Rich to up his game and “start acting like a CEO.” Why “hire slow, fire fast” is one of the most important management ideas you can implement. The 5 keys things every CEO should focus on and how they lead to top-line growth and increased profitability.

CEO Coaching International coach Sheldon Harris goes in-depth on this critical idea of becoming a more transparent leader. Sheldon is a successful entrepreneur, business leader, and coach who draws on a lifetime of real-world experience to provide specific, actionable coaching guidance. In today's episode, you'll learn: Why you're really only in one business--the people business. What integrity in communication really means. Why in addition to being a good truth teller, you have to be an equally good truth receiver. Why leaders have to be mindful of what percentage of their sentences in leadership communication end with a period or an exclamation point, as opposed to the percentage that end with a question mark.

Jack Daly, a leading entrepreneur, executive, and sales trainer, says 50% or more of sales has nothing to do with product, price, service, strategies, or tactics. He says half of sales success has to do with getting up in the morning and saying God bless the competition, I'm going to kick their butt. In other words, they have GRIT. He also says great salespeople understand it's about executing on the basics. 

Welcome to our new podcast On Your Mark, Get Set, Grow! The podcast is designed to help entrepreneurs and CEOs grow their business, develop their people, and elevate their own performance. We’ll share what the best of the best are doing as it relates to entrepreneurial success, best practices, leadership, sales, marketing, personal development, and solving the challenges that business leaders face. You’ll hear from CEO Coaching International’s coaches, leading entrepreneurs, and other experts in a wide range of fields who have value to add to your work. If you’re an entrepreneur, CEO, or other business leader, this podcast is for you.