The M&A deal cycle sure comes with a lot of perks for B2B SaaS companies that range from tapping into new markets and audiences, boosting market shares, scaling your company or business, and acquiring a whole different company, among many others. Thus, with the right steps taken at the stage of M&A lead generation, you focus your attention only where it is likely to be met with the same level of consideration.
If this is something you wish to dive into, then you’ve come to the right place, because here, you shall understand what it means to acquire M&A outbound leads, while streamlining and managing your M&A pipeline in the most lucrative manner.
What Is Meant By M&A Outbound Lead Generation?
The first step to any successful merger and acquisition between B2B SaaS companies is for them to find each other on a level footing, which, in this context, means finding outbound leads that are also looking for what you offer, even if they are not aware of your company or offer yet. Now, we shall understand all you need to know about the M&A outbound lead generation process and the approaches you can use to find the one that fits like a missing puzzle piece:
1. Define The ICP
ICP stands for Ideal Client Profile, and this is formed by evaluating the industry, size, organizational structure, audience, and more of the company you wish to merge with or acquire.
2. Market Research and M&A Lead Generation
This is the step where the M&A pipeline management process actually begins, with researching, vetting, and reaching out to potential companies that resonate with your ICP.
3. Shortlisting Best Matches
Then, the best companies will get picked out of the long lists to narrow the options down to the most viable and fit companies in terms of potential synergies and overall compatibility.
4. Strategic M&A Lead Generation
Then, your M&A team will need to come into contact with the representatives of the potential B2B SaaS companies using M&A lead generation tactics, such as cold calling and emails, social selling, and referral marketing, to present your vision and prospect to them.
5. Fruitful Leads
Lastly, you will need to remove all uninterested and mismatched options from your list of leads to get the companies that are actually looking forward to what you offer to proceed further into the sales funnel.
What Comes Under The M&A Pipeline Management?
Managing the M&A pipeline includes everything from M&A lead generation to systematically contacting and overseeing potential deals, beginning from lead acquisition to complete integration between the two B2B SaaS companies in the following manner:
1. Strategy and M&A Outbound Lead Generation
This involves defining the ICP and approaching companies that seem compatible and meet the set criteria for a merger or to be acquired by another larger B2B SaaS company.
2. Evaluation of Leads
After outsourcing the leads, the next step is to run a check on their financial health, legal standing, culture, industry, structure, and overall working environment to see if they fit.
3. Proposal and Negotiation
If all your requirements and expectations are being met, you will then need to create a proposal stating deliverables and more from both parties and negotiate to strike a leadership deal.
4. Paperwork and Closing
After finding the right fit and negotiating all terms, you’ll be drafting up the paperwork for approvals, financing options, and more, to legally support the deal after getting it signed.
5. Integration
After having the whole merger or acquisition ready on paper, you will need to implement the right strategies and steps to combine both cultures, systems, and operations to run both companies harmoniously.
The Value Of M&A Lead Generation For The Whole Pipeline
When it comes to setting the M&A pipeline in motion, what matters most is the quality and number of leads you get from the M&A lead generation process, as this is just what will give you the options to choose from to merge with or acquire. However, it is mostly the first step of any process that takes the most time, effort, and resources, and in this case, it is generating leads for managing your M&A pipeline.
