397 - You Cannot Master Acquisitions Without Practicing The Craft!

0:00Bruce Whipple:One of the things I see over and over again in business acquisition is this. People want the outcome, but they do not always want to practice the craft. They want the acquisition. They want the seller financing. They want the deal. They want the financial freedom. They want to replace their income. They want to build an empire. But they do not always want to do the repetitions necessary to become good at this. and that's a problem. Business acquisition is a craft. It is not theory. It's not something you master by watching a few videos, reading a few books, or listening to a podcast once in a while, even my podcasts.

0:45You have to learn the steps. You have to practice the steps. You have to role play the conversations. You have to make the calls. You have to write the letters. You have to follow up. You have to talk to sellers. You have to talk to bankers. You have to talk to attorneys, accountants, board members, industry experts, and potential deal sources. And you have to do it over and over again. That is how you are going to get better. Think about any serious craft. A boxer does not become a boxer by watching fights on television. A golfer does not become a good golfer by buying expensive clubs and reading Golf Digest.

1:28A surgeon does not become a surgeon by reading one textbook and saying, I understand this concept. No, they train, they practice, they get corrected. They make mistakes in controlled environments before the stakes are too high. They develop muscle memory. And in business acquisitions, you have to do the same thing. You need acquisition muscle memory. You need to know what to say when a seller says, I'm not interested. You need to know what to say when the seller says, send me proof of funds.

2:03Bruce Whipple:You need to know what to say when the seller says, my business has worked 10 times earnings because my friend told me so. You'll hear that a lot. You need to know what to say when a banker asks how much equity you're putting in. You need to know what to say when an attorney gives you advice that may be technically correct, but commercially useless. You need to know how to listen. You need to know how to ask better questions. You need to know how to slow down. You need to know not to sound like every private equity group, broker, and tire kicker who has already annoyed that seller. Essentially, you don't want to sound like a bot.

2:47Bruce Whipple:And you do not learn that by theory alone. You learn it by doing the work. You learn it by practicing the craft. And that is why role plays matter. I know some people don't like role plays. They get nervous. They feel like they're not good on their feet. All those reasons. They think it feels awkward. Good. That means you're probably doing something useful. It is far better to be awkward in a role play than to be awkward on the first real seller call with a business owner who might have the perfect acquisition candidate. Role plays expose what you do not know. It exposes weak language. It exposes rambling.

3:31Bruce Whipple:It exposes whether you're talking too much and listening too little. It exposes whether you're focused on yourself instead of the seller. It exposes whether you understand the steps or whether you're just pretending you understand the steps. And that is valuable. Because once you see the weakness, you can fix it. But you cannot fix what you refuse to practice. This is why being around the right people matters. If you're trying to acquire a business and everyone around you is telling you it cannot be done, that seller financing is impossible, that you need millions of dollars in cash, that business owners will never talk to you, the banks will never support you, and no one sells businesses this way, you are going to have a problem.

4:21Bruce Whipple:Not because they are right, but because you're allowing the wrong environment to shape your thinking. You need to be around people who are doing the work. You need to be around people who understand this process. You need to be around people who are writing the letters, making the calls, building the boards, contacting professionals, speaking with sellers, and moving deals forward. That is one of the great values of group coaching, the VIP mastermind group, or any serious environment where people are focused on the same objective. You get sparring partners, you get examples, you get accountability, You get exposed to situations that you have not seen before.

5:04Bruce Whipple:You hear from someone else how they handled a seller objection. You hear how someone else found a board member. You hear how someone else got a banker interested. You hear how someone else made a mistake, and if you're smart, you learn from it without having to pay the price yourself. That is how serious people get better faster. They do not isolate. They do not drift. They do not reinvent the wheel every week. They get around people who keep them front sight focused. And that phrase matters, front sight focused. Because one of the biggest dangers in acquisitions is drift. You start out excited.

5:46Bruce Whipple:You watch the videos. You say, this is what I want. You pick an industry. You start working on your board. You draft a letter. You make a few calls. Then life happens. business happens, family happens, fear happens, confusion happens, and suddenly you are no longer executing. You're organizing, you're researching, you're thinking, you're planning, you are reworking your spreadsheet, you are changing industries for the third time, you're waiting until you feel more confident and months go by or longer. That is drift, and drift kills more acquisition dreams than lack of intelligence ever will. Most people do not fail because they're not smart enough.

6:30Bruce Whipple:They fail because they stop following the steps. They fail because they stop practicing. They fail because they stop reaching out. They fail because they lose momentum. They fail because they confuse motion with progress. Internal work feels productive. It does. But it does not touch another human being. And therefore, although important, it does not count in terms of moving the needle. At some point, the letter has to go out. The call has to be made. The follow-up has to happen. The seller has to be contacted. The board prospect has to be approached. The banker has to be spoken to. The professional has to be engaged.

7:14Bruce Whipple:And you cannot acquire a business in your head. You acquire a business through external action. So I hope that what you're doing is tracking external actions every week, every day, and then to record, pay attention to, and understand what is it that happened on those calls. What objections did I see? What did I learn? What could I have done better? And as you go through that process, you will get better. You will find the solutions that work. there's not that many objections and you will be surprised how quickly you become proficient at handling them. So I hope that helps you to remain front sight focused and that you are working the external commitments because that's where the magic is going to happen.