Presenting the right CIM, CBR or Brochure for your listing

Our duty as Brokers is to showcase our business listings with as much detail and accuracy as possible so as to wow the Buyer. One way to do that is through the preparation of a Confidential Business Review (CBR) or a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM). These two terms are often intertwined and used in the same manner. The difference between these two documents is that the CIM is usually prepared by Investment Bankers and M&A Advisors for Mid-Market and Medium Size Business offerings. CBRs and CIMs reflect the heart and soul of the business. They are time consuming and can only be put together once all the relevant information on the particular business has been obtained by the broker, including research on the industry and the market where it operates.

What’s the purpose of a Confidential Information Memorandum?

A Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) is a professionally prepared lengthy summary of your business that is presented to prescreened buyers who are interested in purchasing your business. The CIM addresses the buyer’s questions quickly and efficiently, saving countless hours. It includes information regarding company history, products, services, licensing, and competition. It also includes a financial summary, information about operations, lease terms, the value of assets and inventory, an employee summary, and terms of the sale. The purpose of the CIM is to help the buyer decide if they would like to take the next steps and learn more about the business. The CIM will not address every question the buyer may have about the business. Rather, it allows the buyer to take the next steps in the transaction.

What is included in the CBR (20-40 pages)?

Here are the major topics typically covered:

What’s included in a CIM (50-150 pages)?

In addition to the above, it may include these additional topics:

As you may have noticed this is an extensive and comprehensive portrait of the business that requires accurate and detailed research and analysis of all information gathered from Seller and online. These documents answer most questions Buyers will have. They are one of the most important marketing tools we have to showcase our listings. But you don’t always need to have such an extensive portrayal of a business if it’s not that sophisticated. Smaller valued businesses can also be showcased using a Confidential Summary Booklet (5-10 pages) or a 2-3 page flyer/brochure. Regardless of what type of Memorandum or Flyer you decide to use, make sure it’s colorful, insightful, with graphs, tables and valuable content, in other words “eye candy”. Sometimes less is more in order to trigger the Buyer’s interest and curiosity. Therefore, make it a habit to impress both Buyers and Sellers with your professionalism, expertise, value and effort you place in the marketing of your listings. CIMs can cost anywhere from $500 to $2500 to have it done professionally, if you do not possess the skill.

If you’d like to see samples of CIMS or CBRs feel free to email me at mhabib@theroyalcrowngroup.com so I can share some of them with you.