E269: How to Sell Your Business for Top Dollar – Secrets from an Acquisition Expert - Watch Here

About the Guest:

Dolores Hirschmann is the founder of Masters in Clarity, a business strategist, speaker coach, and acquisition entrepreneur. With a background in marketing and communication, she helps business owners clarify their message to scale and exit successfully. She previously ran one of the largest TEDx events on the East Coast and co-founded a company that she later sold to Grant Cardone. As an active buyer of small professional services businesses, she works with founders to structure successful exits while preserving their companies’ legacy.

Summary:

This episode of How to Exit dives into the power of communication and marketing in business sales and acquisitions. Guest Dolores Hirschmann, founder of Masters in Clarity, shares her expertise on crafting clear messaging that attracts the right buyers, partners, and investors. She breaks down the importance of strategic storytelling, leveraging public speaking, and using platforms like podcasts and events to increase business visibility—crucial for both selling a business and making acquisitions. Hirschmann also shares insights from her experience running a TEDx event, selling a business to Grant Cardone, and helping entrepreneurs build their stage presence to drive business success.

Key Takeaways:

1. Marketing is the Foundation of Business Success – Without clear messaging and strategic marketing, businesses struggle to grow, scale, or exit successfully. It’s not about throwing money at ads—it’s about human-to-human connection.

2. Public Speaking as a Business Growth Tool – Whether you're selling or buying, putting yourself on the right stages (conferences, podcasts, networking events) can position you as an authority and attract opportunities.

3. Clarity Drives Deal Flow – Whether pitching investors or marketing a business for sale, clear communication about what you offer, who you serve, and your vision is key to getting the right people engaged.

4. The Power of Out-of-Category Marketing – Sometimes the best opportunities come from speaking to audiences adjacent to your industry—where you stand out and capture attention.

5. The Seven-Step Speaking Framework – Hirschmann lays out a structured way to craft a powerful talk, from grabbing attention to delivering a strong call to action.

6. Legacy and Liquidity in Acquisitions – As a buyer and consultant, Hirschmann helps business owners structure their companies to sell while preserving their brand’s legacy.

7. Networking is Key in M&A – Building relationships with CPAs, attorneys, and industry insiders can lead to acquisition opportunities that aren't publicly listed.

8. Content Lives Forever – A single speaking engagement or podcast appearance can be repurposed into multiple pieces of content, creating long-term value.

Article:

How Clear Messaging Can Boost Business Valuation and Exit Potential

Most business owners think about selling their company in terms of revenue, profit margins, and balance sheets. But there’s a hidden factor that plays a crucial role in valuation—clarity of messaging and brand presence.

That’s where Dolores Hirschmann, a communication strategist and acquisition entrepreneur, comes in. In this episode of How to Exit, she breaks down how strategic storytelling, public speaking, and well-positioned marketing can significantly impact a business’s attractiveness to potential buyers.

“You can have the best business in the world, but if no one knows who you are, it’s like throwing a party without sending invitations,” Hirschmann says. She emphasizes that businesses looking to sell (or even attract investors) need to make themselves visible and compelling.

The Secret Weapon: Public Speaking and Content Strategy

Hirschmann outlines her seven-step framework for crafting a powerful talk—a process she’s honed while coaching TEDx speakers and growing her own businesses. The key is to structure presentations in a way that hooks an audience, builds authority, and drives engagement.

“Speaking is a form of marketing that has an immediate impact,” she explains. Whether it’s a podcast interview, an industry conference, or even a local networking event, the right speaking engagements can generate leads and increase the perceived value of a business.

For acquisition entrepreneurs, she highlights a smart but often overlooked strategy: out-of-category marketing. Instead of pitching yourself in expected spaces, go where your target audience gathers but doesn’t expect you. For example, a business buyer interested in acquiring manufacturing firms might get more leads speaking at a CPA conference rather than a manufacturing trade show.

The M&A Connection: Clarity in Acquisitions

Hirschmann is no stranger to acquisitions herself. As a buyer, she focuses on professional service businesses—such as marketing agencies, CPA firms, and coaching businesses—because they’re notoriously difficult to sell. Many of these businesses are founder-dependent, making them unattractive to traditional buyers.

Her solution? Helping business owners “transcend themselves” so their companies can survive and thrive without them. “A business that’s built around the owner’s personality is hard to sell,” she warns. “But with the right clarity and positioning, it can become an asset rather than a liability.”

Her experience in selling a business to Grant Cardone underscores this. She helped grow a business focused on placing speakers on stages, later negotiating a deal where she transitioned out of the company while ensuring its continuity.

Networking, Content, and Relationships: The Long Game in Acquisitions

One of the biggest takeaways from the episode is that content has a long shelf life. A podcast interview, a well-positioned speech, or even a well-crafted LinkedIn post can generate leads months or even years down the road.

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Hirschmann stresses the importance of networking with the right intermediaries, such as CPAs, attorneys, and business brokers, to uncover off-market deals. “The best acquisitions happen through relationships,” she says.

For those looking to build deal flow, Hirschmann and Skelton both agree: getting on the right stages—whether digital or physical—can make all the difference.