I met Danny at an event over the weekend.
After being introduced and finding out what I do, he pulls me aside with a big grin.
“George, is now a good time to sell? We nearly doubled our sales this year. I reckon I could cash out and walk away.”
He then told me how he already spent the money in his head, on the new villa in the Palm, the boat, the lot.
After he gave me that list, I asked him three questions that a buyer would ask.
How much of that growth came from one big client?
About half, he said.
Were the new sales as profitable as the old ones?
No, he admitted. He had cut his prices and thrown in extras to land the bigger deals, including one that brought in nearly half his sales.
And did any of it run without him?
He laughed. He was working more hours than he had in years, just to keep the plates spinning.
And then Danny went very quiet as he didn’t see that enthusiasm he thought I would display at his big wins.
“So what do you think?” he asked me hopefully but with much less confidence in his voice.
And I told him.
Yes he had doubled his sales, but had worked himself half to death in the process and ended up making his business worth less.
It was more revenue, but it leaned on one customer who could walk tomorrow. Even worse, he had shredded margins to win it. And finally, everything only held together because he never stopped hustling.
To Danny, that looked like real growth. To a buyer, it looked like more risk, more work, and becoming hostage to a man he could not easily replace.
Danny did not have a sales problem. He had a value problem, and his big year had quietly made it worse.
So before you celebrate the top line, make sure you know what a buyer sees underneath it.
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P.S. That is exactly what the Buyer’s Verdict shows you. A quick score on the four things that actually set your price, and not just how much you sell. Twenty questions, a straight answer back. Free.