Working in a small mm, and I do a bit of sourcing and I have been getting better at it via the phone, but I know I still have a lot to learn. I am making phone calls to small-to-middle market companies and asking to speak to CEOs to see if they are interested in a financial partner or selling.
What are the questions you would ask when sourcing a deal??
"Questions you would ask a CEO about their company?"
Why did you make Erin Callan the CFO? You knew she wasn't a heavy weight, despite being very talented. Why did you let Joe get to you on that important of a decision?
That's a broad ass question ... I would probably start with what is your plan for the next 12-24 months for the company. Dude may be jumping ship
Here are a few that I've been starting off with and then following up at the right moment. I'm still learning, so some of these may be pretty obvious to you and I don't mean to tell you how to suck eggs.
Direction they see their industry heading and how they plan to take advantage of / protect from that move. Pretty general one to start with, but after letting them talk for a bit, it can uncover a lot of ideas.
Quality of their register? Has there been significant churn or recent movements. Talk about cleaning up their register or introducing some new investors.
Major upcoming projects? Do they need cash to fund that new opportunities that they'd like to explore?
How they're getting on with competitors? Maybe they're just a bit crap and need to be taken out of the business.
Business model, organic vs. inorganic growth (past acquisitions), quality of revenue, GM, EBITDA, services vs. product split, IP, clientele, recurring revenue, client concentration, F500 clientele, geographic presence of clientele, shareholder expectations in regards to an exit, how niche is the service/product offering(s), following year strategy/plan/predictions, etc.
Don't ask any of these questions directly, incorporate them into a casual conversation. A lot of individuals won't be comfortable sharing such information until post NDA. To extract the most information you have to understand the sector well. If you can infer or if you are told EBITDA margins are 15% and industry average is 30%, you know you have a problem.
Any other tips?
What would you ask your CEO? (Originally Posted: 04/09/2013)
I will have an extremely rare opportunity to have a sit down with my company's CEO (high profile PE firm). He said he wants to help me bc I sent him a thoughtful email. I want to apply for b-school and would also be interested in transitioning into another dept. How can I lead the discussion? Also, what are some good questions to ask? Thanks guys.
this is cheesey--- but just ask him what you really want to know?
You sent him a thoughtful e-mail but you don't know what to talk about? Let it flow naturally.
Why are you asking what you already know?
When are you announcing your departure so I can buy some call/put options?
^^^ LOL two solid posts in a row^^^
I would ask him if he's ever considered having a protege and see if he bites.
Regards
Questions for Chairman/CEOs of global financial and professional institutions (Originally Posted: 10/30/2010)
I have an opportunity to ask open questions to the chairman and very senior officers of large global financial/professional service firms. I was wondering if anyone had any interesting, thought provoking questions that they would ask given the opportunity to speak to the Lloyd Blankfeins and Warren Buffetts of the world.
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