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One of the biggest challenges when selling your WordPress agency is helping clients see the benefits of the merger/acquisition. If you fail at this, you risk losing big accounts, which can impact the sale price.
That’s why you’ll want to take active steps to keep clients happy. This involves providing reassurance and increasing confidence in the new owner. You also have to deliver the news appropriately and address any concerns.
In this post, we’ll discuss eight strategies to manage client relationships during the sale of your WordPress agency. Then, we’ll show you how to ensure a smooth transition. Let’s get started!
How to manage client relationships when selling your agency (8 strategies)
Whether you’re carrying out a business acquisition or merger, you’re dealing with a lot of uncertainty.
Plus, it can be a huge source of stress and anxiety for clients, who may feel shocked, unsettled, or even saddened by the news.
So, here are eight strategies to help you navigate client relationships during the sale of your WordPress agency.
1. Notify key accounts first
Naturally, you’re going to need to share the news across the board, but it makes sense to prioritize your most important accounts first.
There are various reasons for this. First, key accounts are often long-standing clients who have shown repeated loyalty to your agency. Therefore, it’s a sign of respect to notify these customers as early as possible.
It also gives them plenty of time to formulate questions or voice their concerns. Long-standing clients may have more complex needs, so there might be additional challenges to overcome, compared to smaller (or newer) accounts.
These clients usually play a critical role in the financial strength of your agency. This is especially true if they contribute to a large percentage of your company’s recurring revenue, which is often one of the things buyers look for.
In this case, you must ensure that clients stay on board and see the transition through to new ownership. By prioritizing these accounts, you’ll give yourself ample time to convince them of the benefits of the sale.
2. Time the announcement wisely
After you’ve shared the news with key accounts, you’ll need to inform your remaining clients. Then, you might make a public announcement on your website, social media, business publications, etc.
When it comes to this stage, timing is everything. You don’t want to share the news too soon, when you might not have enough details to respond confidently to client concerns.
But if you leave it too late, clients may find out from media outlets, competitors, and other sources. While this isn’t a good look for your agency, it can also hurt the selling price.
If clients feel upset that you didn’t deliver the news personally, they might make rash decisions (like leaving the business). This can impact the value of your WordPress agency and harm the ability of the new owner to succeed.
3. Address concerns honestly
Once you share the news with clients, there are going to be questions and concerns.
Rather than telling people what they want to hear, it’s important to communicate clearly and honestly. This way, you can maintain positive relationships with clients and increase their confidence in the move.
Here are some things you might like to address early on:
- Does the new owner already run a business?
- What are the new owner’s qualifications?
- How will the agency’s relationship with the client change?
- Will you (the current owner) still be involved with the business going forward?
- What prompted you to sell the agency?
- How will you (and/or the new owner) handle outstanding pricing arrangements, warranty agreements, etc?
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives you a good starting point.
You’ll also want to encourage clients to get in touch if they think of more questions in the weeks leading up to the sale. This level of availability and transparency can go a long way in keeping clients happy during an uncertain time.
4. Be positive about the future
Clients will look to you to formulate their thoughts and feelings about the sale of your WordPress agency. If you want them to feel assured and enthusiastic, then you have to adopt a positive attitude.
Of course, you might not feel totally happy about selling your business. You’ve likely invested lots of time and effort into bringing on clients and delivering quality work. But regardless of the way you feel about it, it’s important to convey a sense of confidence in the new owner’s ability.
You can concentrate on the buyer’s vision for the future, which might be beneficial to your clients. You could also highlight specialist knowledge/skills or new technologies that the new owner might bring to the table.
If you’re carrying out a business merger, clients may also be concerned about the transition process. Therefore, you could discuss the company culture, or the availability of an in-house support team to ensure a smooth handover.
5. Ensure projects/services aren’t disrupted
One of the main things clients will be worried about is whether or not their projects will continue as usual.
If you can confidently make assessments about the consistency of your services, it can be hugely reassuring for them. It’s also a key way to keep clients on board.
Many clients won’t care whose name is above the door as long as they continue receiving the same services. This goes for project deadlines, prices, and even the standard of work. Therefore, it’s beneficial to discuss post-sale adjustments with the new owner.
Let’s say that you’ve agreed to deliver a WordPress development project in five months, or you routinely carry out ongoing work for clients such as WordPress maintenance. In these cases, you’ll need to know what the owner plans to do if the deal is set to close before the work is complete.
6. Leverage your best employees
While clients want reassurance that their projects won’t be disrupted, they also want to know that they can expect the same level of quality.
Let’s face it, the standard of your work largely comes down to the skills and experience of your team members. Perhaps you have employees who provide specialist services such as Divi theme design. Or maybe you’ve acquired top-tier account managers who’ve nurtured strong client relationships.
In these instances, the best way to keep clients happy is to promise consistency.
If you guarantee that your clients’ needs will still be taken care of by the people they trust most, it will be much easier to instill confidence in the move. It also provides a bit of familiarity and stability during a period of great change.
7. Request client feedback
Not all clients will feel comfortable raising concerns. And even if they do, how do you keep track of their thoughts/feelings leading up to the sale?
One of the best ways to keep clients happy is to request feedback. This enables you to identify the main concerns and respond appropriately.
For example, you might find that clients are worried about the new owner’s ability to run the agency. So you could provide more information about the buyer including past experiences and qualifications. You could even introduce the new owner to them (which we’ll discuss next).
You can ask clients about their concerns during meetings or check-ins. But you might also want to keep feedback anonymous by issuing surveys or polls across your website or via social media/emails. Clients may feel more confident opening up anonymously.
We recommend checking in with them multiple times throughout the process to see how their feelings change.
8. Introduce the new owner
The final way to keep clients happy when selling your WordPress agency is to properly introduce the new owner.
As we’ve discussed in previous sections, you might provide details about the buyer’s skills, experience, and qualifications in the early stages. This can convey the ability of the new owner to successfully take over the reins.
But as the close of the deal nears, clients may require more information. As the situation becomes a reality, they may start wondering about the buyer’s vision for the future or how their accounts will be handled.
Clients may even wonder about the personality, work ethic, or communication skills of the new owner. If you’ve always made yourself available to clients, they may begin to worry that the new owner won’t have the same policies.
The easiest way to reassure clients is to bring in the new owner and allow them to address concerns personally. Buyers should make themselves available to clients at some point throughout the process. And, you can always meet with your most important clients, along with the buyer, to present a unified front.
How to ensure a smooth transition for your clients
The happiness of your clients is vital for a successful business sale. It can also help preserve your reputation and legacy within the agency.
While we’ve discussed various strategies to reassure clients throughout the process, you also need to think about what happens when the deal closes. Will clients be onboarded properly? Will they receive care and support?
One of the biggest mistakes when selling a business is failing to consider the type of buyer you want to take over. If your clients’ needs are important to you, it’s a good idea to sell to an experienced buyer like Freshy:
Freshy has over 15 years of WordPress experience including ecommerce development, SEO, maintenance, security, and more. Therefore, you can rest assured that your clients are in highly capable hands.
Not only that, but Freshy has a strong track record of successful acquisitions and mergers. We have the necessary processes in place to ensure a smooth transition. For example, your clients will benefit from the personalized care of a dedicated in-house support team.
If you’re concerned about the standard of work that clients can expect, our portfolio will provide an understanding of the scope, size, and types of projects that we deliver. When you’re ready to begin discussions, all you have to do is fill in this quick form and a member of the team will be in touch.
Conclusion
When it comes to selling your agency, you don’t want to leave on a bad note, especially when client relationships can be years in the making. But you’ll also need to ensure that clients remain with the business, since losing some of them may impact your agency’s value.
To recap, here are eight strategies for keeping clients happy during the sale of your WordPress agency:
- Notify key accounts first.
- Time the announcement wisely.
- Address concerns honestly.
- Be positive about the future.
- Ensure projects/services aren’t disrupted.
- Leverage your best employees.
- Request client feedback.
- Introduce the new owner.
At Freshy, we have a long history of successful acquisitions and mergers. We also have a highly skilled team of WordPress experts who can fulfill a wide range of client needs. Complete this form today to begin talks!
Featured image credit: Pexels.