I was in 12th grade when I first laid eyes on her.
I was at a party where a number of kids from the rival high school had been invited. Jennifer Beresford came in with a gaggle of friends, and I decided she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen.
Wearing a red-checkered shirt I had just bought, I felt so confident, I thrust out my hand to introduce myself. The girl of my dreams replied, "Nice shirt. What -did you steal someone's tablecloth?"
It was an inauspicious beginning to what would become a courtship of sorts. I would manufacture any reason to show up at parties I knew Jennifer would be attending. I canvassed her friends to find out their weekend plans and made sure I had a reason to be there. I even went to her place of work hoping to "bump into her."
After months of what Jennifer believed to be serendipitous encounters, I finally mustered the courage to ask her out on a date, and amazingly she accepted.
Male peacocks display their feathers to attract the attention of the opposite sex. Their courtship routine is a lot like selling a business. First, you identify the company whose attention you want to attract - one you think makes the most sense to buy your business. Then you put yourself on display: manufacture reasons for the potential acquirer to learn about your company without actually saying you're for sale.
Like dating, part of selling a business is the dance - showing your feathers, raising the desire of the acquirer, but remaining aloof enough to keep the interest high in order to get the best possible terms. Ideally, you show up at the same conferences and social events. The potential buyer hears about your success from other people and asks to meet.
You break bread and build trust, all the while letting key people know you're open to a discussion without actually looking desperate to sell.
Special to the Globe and Mail
John Warrillow is the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell . Throughout his career as an entrepreneur, Mr. Warrillow has started and exited four companies. Most recently he transformed Warrillow & Co. from a boutique consultancy into a recurring revenue model subscription business, which he sold to The Corporate Executive Board in 2008. He is the author of Drilling for Gold and in 2008 was recognized by BtoB Magazine's "Who's Who" list as one of America's most influential business-to-business marketers.