Mergers and Acquisitions For Dummies (38 page)

No contact:
Before I start my calls, every target has a “no contact” in the last results column. My goal is to make sure every single target has something other than this initial “no contact” by the end of my calls.

Left message:
For inexplicable reasons, some people never return your call. Knowing who hasn't called you back allows you to try a different tack in trying to contact them. But if someone hasn't returned your call after five or eight messages, I think the old adage “My lack of response is my response” applies.

Sent e-mail:
If making calls fails to result in a live conversation, I may decide to send an e-mail, preferably to a specific person rather than a general “info@” address. I don't usually expect replies from “info@” addresses, but fortunately, very few of my targets end up in this category.

In contact with parent:
Sometimes the person I need to speak with works at the parent company, so I use this designation instead of simply deleting or writing over the name of the person at the subsidiary.

In contact with subsidiary:
This category is the flip side to “in contact with parent.” Sometimes I speak with someone at the parent company, who informs me I need to speak with the subsidiary.

In contact with broker:
I use this note when a company has an M&A intermediary. This way, I have a record that I spoke with the actual company before shifting efforts to the broker (or investment banker).

Not a fit (no contact):
After I begin making calls, I discover some targets aren't suitable fits, in most cases because the target is out of business.

Conversations:
I end up speaking with most of my targets, so most last results columns have this entry at some point.

Teaser sent:
I usually end up e-mailing more than 50 teasers during a sale process.

Offering document sent:
When selling a company, I typically allow access to the offering document (or deal book) from anywhere between 25 to 50 targets.

Indication of interest:
After a target reviews the deal book, I record how many indications of interest I get; it's typically 5 to 15.

Management meeting:
I usually end up conducting five to ten meetings.