Searcher Website: Worth It or Skip It?

searcher profile

August 04, 2022

by a searcher from University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School in Minneapolis, MN, USA

I've seen a lot of searchers who have created nice websites explaining their stories, investment theses/criteria, target industries and geographies, and professional credentials. Are such websites actually useful in attracting sellers, brokers, and investors? Maybe I'm missing something but I'm a bit skeptical. I'd appreciate any opinions supporting either side.

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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from University of Texas at Austin in Austin, TX, USA
I met with a niche manufacturing (CNC machining) owner and two searchers this weekend for an on-site. Initially, the business owner was very turned off by the searchers website and I had to do some convincing - getting the searchers to put together bios and resumes. Their website looked like a very traditional search website, making them look PE-firmish.

If you are targeting a lower-middle market business, especially in the more industrial or blue-collar sectors, you might want to tailor your website to speak to your audience.

After the searchers left, we were chatting - and he said - those guys are way better in person than their website. If you hadn't brought them, I wouldn't have given them the time of day. "Their website made them look like over-educated bean counters."

This ONE guy doesn't make a representative sample - but your seller will check out the site if they're doing homework. Individuals that have built a business from scratch and operated it for###-###-#### years (through 9-11, 2008, pandemic, etc.) just have a different perspective.
commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from University of Southern California in North Palm Beach, FL, USA
Only the most naïve or inexperienced people do not Google anyone trying to influence them, before replying to pitches. Google yourself. If searchers don’t appear among the top results, in a way that favorably influences whomever is trying to learn about them, those searchers shortchange themselves. A searcher website is one of the numerous (easy and inexpensive) ways to become easily and favorably seen###-###-#### before people risk exposing themselves to searchers. Keep in mind the multitude of unprepared or ill-advised searchers who continually bombard owners/sellers/lenders/brokers with “RESPOND TO ME.”
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