Investing in the right CRM for M&A is critical to successfully managing arduous and complex corporate M&A deal processes. With deal activity in 2022 expected to remain strong, the time is right to invest in companywide systems and process management solutions. According to the latest DealCloud Dealmaker Pulse survey report, 89% of investors surveyed predict the same level or increased deal closings in the coming 6 months as they experienced in the previous 6 months.
Numerous individuals at every stage of the M&A deal process bring different priorities, expectations, concerns, and goals — and they need to efficiently work together. To effectively balance the needs of corporate development teams and the nuanced relationships behind every corporate deal, it’s vital to choose CRM software that helps companies seamlessly organize, share, and analyze deal pipeline information.
The system a company chooses for its M&A CRM must reflect real-time, actionable insights at every stage of the M&A process, ensuring deal participants stay on the same page. Dealmakers should also prioritize a system that meets their company’s unique needs. Deals in healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and consumer products are distinct from one another, and corporate development teams must therefore deploy flexible, configurable software that can address the nuances of their industry.
Read on to review the key reasons why purpose-built CRM for M&A is crucial for sourcing and originating deals as well as managing the deal lifecycle and post-close analysis. We’ll also explore the different technical capabilities companies need to remain competitive.
Sourcing and originating deals
To stay competitive in the fast-paced M&A environment, it’s imperative to deploy a CRM that provides transparency and insights for sourcing and originating new deals. Corporations that have an active M&A strategy must access a single source of truth to quickly capture potential and current deals, deal stages, and stakeholders. By streamlining the initial stages of pipeline management, corporate development professionals can invest energy in strengthening new and existing relationships rather than wasting time manually updating data or searching through unreliable spreadsheets.
Organize Corporate M&A Transactions by Deal Stage to Help Corporate Development Teams Quickly and Easily Assess Progress to Goals
Whether your firm is having initial exploratory discussions, hosting management meetings, or performing final due diligence, CRM software can help by giving dealmakers a real-time, precise visual overview of the M&A pipeline.
Corporate Development Professionals, C-Suite Staff, and Other Stakeholders Can Easily Surface Key Deal Information
It’s important to get granular at the initial stages of a new deal, especially given the likelihood that a given deal will fall apart or not close. CRMs built specifically for M&A provide detailed summaries of every deal, ensuring that all stakeholders can access the information they need — including risks and opportunities — at any given time.
Corporations Can Track Deal Flow by Transaction Type to Assess Progress Towards Overall M&A Strategies
Corporate development professionals know that every M&A deal is unique. Purpose-built CRM for M&A can capture deals by transaction type so corporations can effectively manage diversified strategies.
“We have a large group of people who devote a significant amount of time to sourcing and developing acquisition opportunities,” said Sean Alford, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Ziff Davis. “As a result, we have a robust pipeline of deals in many different stages across many different geographies and in many different sectors of the TMT space. DealCloud has been critical in helping us to organize, monitor, and manage this pipeline.”
Managing the deal lifecycle
Once the M&A deal process is underway, firms can leverage a range of customizable functions within CRM platforms, empowering stakeholders to track and accelerate every deal in every stage of the pipeline. To successfully close deals, corporate development teams must constantly collaborate and communicate. Purpose-built technology like DealCloud gives companies the cloud-based software tools they need to update deal details regularly, allowing team members to work diligently and meet both personal and team goals.
Tracking deal progress is also vital for accountability. A company’s CRM should provide legal, IT, accounting, and deal teams visibility into targets and key deadlines.
Corporate Deal Team Members Can Assess Outstanding Work by Various Departments to Help Close Corporate M&A Deals
It’s important — especially in merger scenarios — to have quantifiable and measurable processes that successfully capture both internal and external workflows. For example, having oversight into key integrations and the tasks needed to complete them is relevant for all M&A stakeholders.
Corporate Development Leaders Can Easily Track Progress Toward Mergers and Corporate Integrations
The right CRM for M&A will organically break down silos that separate data, people, and processes, thereby accelerating deal pipelines and wins for your corporation.
Post-close analysis and reporting
Investment insights should be actionable at every stage of every deal, even after transactions close. Dedicated CRM platforms with advanced data capabilities make both historical reporting and forecasting for future M&A transactions seamless. DealCloud DataCortex, for example, offers a fully integrated solution that quickly produces complex reports, analyzes industry trends, and evaluates potential synergies between companies. DealCloud DataCortex also helps every individual within the M&A deal process make data-driven decisions based on past, present, and future opportunities.
A CRM for M&A deal processes
The M&A deal process is multifaceted at every stage, and requires a CRM built to address all its complexities. DealCloud is purposely designed to help corporate M&A teams effectively manage their deal pipelines and relationships. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, DealCloud offers a flexible, configurable system that can meet the unique needs of M&A transactions and the teams that manage them.
As relationship dynamics, due diligence workflows, and pipeline management processes become more complex, you need a CRM that provides transparent, visual overviews of both roadblocks and progress. DealCloud offers a single source of truth throughout the deal lifecycle, including the early stages of sourcing and originating deals when it’s pivotal for all stakeholders to remain in the know.
Schedule a demo today to learn how DealCloud’s purpose-built CRM for M&A can help you manage the complex M&A deal process more efficiently, and remain competitive in the future.