Case Studies: 
(If a case study echoes with your need, please call for details and other relevant references.)
SOS Case – Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions, a Sunbelt Franchise
Small companies often cannot afford the cost of selling their business. They find they must utilize real estate agents, who are unsophisticated in the elements of business. Yet, over 80% of small businesses do not sell; if they do, the due diligence, valuation, financing help, stakeholder management, and new owner training and support are all grossly substandard. In an effort to address such challenges in small business brokerage, SOS founded its sister company, Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions, LLC (SMA). After research into all of the available systems, SMA became a franchisee of Sunbelt, which is the nation’s largest business brokerage franchise. By using the Sunbelt forms and processes along with its mammoth database for buyers and sellers, SMA introduces a more sophisticated process used in larger mergers to even small businesses sales. SOS personnel are readily available to assist SMA with anomalies or adjustments as needed and provide oversight of (pawn), certified business brokers who are deeply knowledgeable of business—not simply agents with a week of training.
SOS Case – Cultural Due Diligence and Change Management
The process of an acquisition or merger should be structured as an exciting opportunity in which all fears and concerns are managed openly and honestly.. Employees can perceive when they are not informed of the whole truth and may consequently fear the worst-case scenario. SOS can assist with developing and managing the necessary changes, which range from organizational restructuring to operational optimization. SOS prides itself on many successful transitions. In one case, the buyer lost 308 employees overnight because it had neither performed due diligence on the culture nor openly managed the acquired employee base. SOS quickly communicated the goals and opportunities to all employees and conducted employee focus groups to restructure the organization into an efficient model. The employees then helped with finding or recovering a quality replacement workforce. The business progressed with its successful change in ownership, as it could resolve its challenge quickly and more profitably.
SOS Case – Change Can Mean for Some “Hitting the Highway”
Change can be scary to anyone. A unique learning opportunity to observe the powerful effects of change is when people are not “handcuffed” to an organization by payroll needs. SOS has witnessed the power of resistance to change, which has been most visible in churches and voluntary associations, where even the slightest change creates a major ripple. SOS has found that frank and honest communication that clearly and realistically addresses all fears—whether real or imagined—is mandatory when managing change.
In one case the follow actions were done:
- Identified ringleader who expresses opposition to change.
- SOS listened to and embraced the ringleader.
- Had frank and honest communication with the ringleader which was akey upper manager.
- Determined key upper manager was working to covertly destroy the company from within.
- After that measure failed to stop the undermining activity, visible and strong action was taken to end the destructive efforts.
This hard action became a significant rallying point for the new path, which eventually proved to be successful and allowed the company to grow and flurious.
SOS Case – Processes and Quality Matter
One small manufacturer was contending with quality control problems and lost much of its customer base. SOS to the following actions:
- Assisted with implementing an ISO certification and quality control measures.
- Identified processes that were more clearly defined as well as streamlined, and on-time quality products were delivered.
As a result of these actions the manufacturer gained the trust of the major suppliers in the semiconductor field. Now, it is considered a premier manufacturer for those major suppliers and enjoys profit margins in the top quartile of its industry in addition to nearly zero defects and over 99% on-time deliveries.