Business Consulting Services

Selling A Business

Sellers need sound advice, and our clients always work directly with our firm’s advisors for proper guidance. You may also use your own investment banker to prepare a sales memorandum and we will work alongside them to represent your interests. Timing is essential in a sale process and to obtain the best price and consideration, and we are your best consultants to accomplish that.

More than a century of combined experience, brought to bear on the sale of your life’s work.

Buying A Business

Merchant Banking has become a sophisticated business of advising and consulting on all matters relating to acquisitions, takeovers, mergers and strategic alliances, even bridge loans. Often Merchant Banking advice helps buyers of all types. Our firm concentrates on advising your business on how to pursue annual revenue growth of 40%, 50%, or even 100% through strategic acquisitions. These are growth targets, not guarantees. We then implement a plan toward that objective by referring you to intermediaries having hundreds of businesses for sale. Outcomes depend on deal availability, execution, financing, and market conditions.

For instance, if your company traditionally has a weak first quarter due to your industry’s business cycle, we will assist you in “timing” a gain through a sale for that first quarter to improve your operating results in that particular quarter.

We can provide all related consulting services such as financial restructuring, balance sheet enhancement, merger evaluation, fairness opinions and management consulting or as you may further request, relating to any contemplated transaction.

Our Managing Directors and Principals have been involved in a wide range of assignments and ownership in the following business criteria: Manufacturing, Trucking/Transportation, Retail, Mechanical Contracting, Commercial Printing, Wholesale Distribution, Banking (commercial banks and thrifts), and even real estate loan restructuring/negotiation.

What is a Merchant Banker?

Merchant Banking has become a sophisticated business of advising and consulting on all matters relating to acquisitions, takeovers, mergers and strategic alliances, even bridge loans. Our firm concentrates on advising your business on how to pursue annual revenue growth of 40%, 50%, or even 100% through strategic acquisitions. These are targets, not guarantees. We then implement a plan to do so. We may co-invest with the buyer on select transactions.

How can acquisitions accelerate growth?

Increasing revenues through internal growth is difficult at best. Your sales force has to compete with similar high-quality companies for the same customers daily, thus achieving revenue growth is difficult simply through internal business increases. We, as your Merchant Banker, will introduce your company to acquisition opportunities that can support faster growth. This growth can be achieved through “strategic acquisitions” or through “investment acquisitions,” each of which will be directed to fulfilling your growth plan.

Management Consulting & Business Advisors

Our experienced group of senior managers will provide your “instant response” team for any problem situations involving operations or cash flow. We don’t just make recommendations; we follow through by implementing the solution.

Whether you have a management problem, financial problem or marketing weakness, call the “instant response” team. Call us.

One call reaches the principals, not a switchboard.

Public Relations

We handle it all. Whatever your needs to publicize, we have a solution. We can handle product promotion press releases, corporate events and structure the perfect publicity for your event. All event relations are designed for impact, to get you results and publicity. We also have critical, catastrophic event relations.

Read the Firm’s Press Releases →

No matter your goal, whether local news, national talk shows, national cable news, or newspapers, we can help you pursue earned media exposure. We can get you or your story noticed by key news decision-makers. We design your campaign from start to finish to get you the results you want.

Advertising / Marketing Consultant

From the IMPACT 77 Archive

We are unique in that we act as your consultant. Traditional advertising agencies handle ad billings through them, collecting a fee directly from the ad placement sources. Often the rates for ad agency business are “marked up” to reflect the fees or discount. You, the customer, are the loser. You pay more than you have to.

Our structure is designed to save you money: we negotiate directly with the media source you will be using, you pay the negotiated rate, and our fee is billed to you separately, so there is no markup hidden inside your ad placements.

We specialize in advertising with IMPACT: the biggest bang for your ad dollars. We use interesting, unforgettable and highly memorable advertising to bring you sales results. We are pioneers in “comparison” ads, showing your product or service as compared to a well-known competitor. Let us show you how “impact advertising” can support your sales objectives. There is no obligation, and our initial analysis is provided at no cost.

What is “IMPACT” advertising and how is it better than usual advertising?

We believe that the purpose of advertising is to stimulate and increase revenues for the business on whose behalf it is being arranged. Thus we use “Direct IMPACT” as our means of improving its results.

Our focus is to increase revenues and awareness of the business or product, not to win awards for catchy phrases with no product remembrance. What’s the point of a catchy ad if nobody remembers the product?

IMPACT advertising focuses on driving sales through cost-efficient media penetration and publicity that can build valuable name recognition. With all the possibilities today, from radio, television, and internet to email, direct mail, celebrity representations, and special events, we use them all to position your business or product for maximum advertising IMPACT.

We get your business “the biggest bang” for your advertising budget.

Book Publishing

Our Publishing Division produces an entire range of services needed by authors, from cover design and copy editing to ghost writing. We specialize in biographies, whether for an individual executive, a family, or a business, crafted into private or public books that capture achievements, experience, and legacy.

Our services include the production of a book of any type and making it ready for publication, as a private work or available for worldwide distribution through all online book sellers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Wal-Mart, Target and others.

In addition, you as the author set the price; you get all the royalties you set. We keep none of your funds; you get 100% of all the profits from your book less the direct printing, publishing, publication costs, and retail store discounts. You control all the processes and direct all the marketing. Our fee is all-inclusive or priced “a la carte” as you may desire.

Elon Musk: The Entrepreneur Who Redefined Innovation

Warren E. Buffett: Two-Class Empire

Nancy Pelosi: The Woman Who Broke the Marble Ceiling

Buffett & Ellison: Two Minds, Two Paths, Two Legacies

Too Rich to Ignore: J.B. Pritzker’s Fight for Power

Mary Barra: The Woman Who Reinvented General Motors

Berkshire Hathaway Subsidiaries

Website & IT Services

Support & Development Services: PHP & MySQL. Upgrade PHP versions, maintain PHP sites, and set up new websites. Set up and maintain CMS websites: WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla site maintenance, quick installation and optimization, and periodic version upgrades. This basic service also allows for personalized emails at your own domain. We can optimize your site to be found by the major search engines as you may require.

Your website can be upgraded or enhanced by our analysis and suggestions to improve your present website or domain sites. We are your one stop shop for all your web needs. We can also be your remote-access IT department, with no need to maintain your own expensive full-time staff.

Other Web Services

• Domain registration in any suffix, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .us
• Personalized domain and website with your own email
• Optimize, analyze, and submit your web pages to key search engines
• Secure data (SSL Certificate): secure certificates with 256-bit encryption
• Whatever your web needs, we can provide it, even your own services

IT Services

Unlimited access 9am – 5pm business days (Monday – Friday) for consulting or full service needs. The best value. When you need assistance due to computer or software malfunctions, we are your team. We can access your system remotely, instantly and quickly be “on site” for you: install new software, diagnose problems, set up emails and networks to function seamlessly. Save employee costs, minimize downtime.

Internet Marketing

Now that you have a website, can people find it? Are you able to generate income from your website? There are many ways to market on the internet. You’ll want to use promotional marketing methods that drive your ideal clients continually to your website: quality traffic. Our internet marketing techniques are cost-effective. If your internet marketing is done correctly, it will continually drive traffic for years.

Open Source Solutions & Custom Programming

We are active in the open source community. We provide open source guidance to fully utilize the most stable, cost-effective solutions available. We also provide custom software solutions and will work through your entire software development life cycle to design software that meets your business needs. We program in VB, VB.net, HTML, PHP, and all of the other internet programming languages.

Business Loans · ABL & SBA

We will introduce you to lenders for financing your business or a possible new acquisition on a cash flow basis. In some cases, qualifying add-on acquisitions of businesses similar to yours may be eligible for up to full financing, subject to lender approval and underwriting.

We are your one-stop source for consulting assistance and referrals for any business financing or refinancing. We will help you to structure the loan and terms as well as the purchase price structure for any acquisitions to best provide you with the most advantageous terms possible.

Over the years we have developed an extensive list of direct lender contacts as well as providers of mezzanine debt/loans, second lien financing and a variety of financing sources for literally any type of deal you may be contemplating.

What are Asset Based Loans (ABL)?

ABL is an alternative form of financing utilizing the company’s assets as collateral. Usually the term applies to working capital financing; the availability to borrow is based on receivables and inventory. It may also involve longer-term financing such as real estate or equipment. ABL is a valuable tool when bank lines are not available to the borrower, or are insufficient for its needs. ABL lenders are also NON-bank lenders, which means they may have a lot more flexibility to make a loan.

The typical advance rate on A/R is 80%–90%. The typical advance rate on inventory is 50%–75% of cost. Rates and charges vary among lenders depending upon the size, quality and financial condition of the borrower, from a few points over the Prime Rate to 12% or more. We assist in negotiating the best rate by receiving quotes and proposals from several interested lenders.

SBA Business Expansion Program

The SBA Business Expansion Program is a specialized initiative offered by the Small Business Administration, aimed at assisting small business owners in acquiring their competitors or growing their existing footprint. With the SBA’s guarantee behind participating lenders, the program may reduce upfront capital requirements for qualifying buyers, subject to SBA and lender criteria. The business activity code (NAICS number) for your business, as reported on your corporate tax returns, must match EXACTLY the business activity code for the company you are buying.

Sterling Cooper, Inc. will introduce you to lenders. An SBA loan is a business loan that is guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The most common, the standard 7(a) loan, allows businesses to borrow up to $5 million. The interest rate you’ll pay is the prime rate plus a spread.

Financing is arranged through third-party lenders; all loans are subject to lender approval, underwriting, and program eligibility.

Due Diligence Guide

Download the 21-Section Due Diligence Checklist (PDF) →

Selling your business. We are prepared to provide you with an immediate indication of the value of your company, from a financial standpoint. Our response time typically requires 5 days after receipt of sufficient information with which to prepare a valuation for your consideration.

Since we are advisors in each transaction, there are no brokers or middlemen for you to deal with, nor commissions due to anyone, thus increasing your total sale consideration. However, if you have your business listed for sale already, we will fully cooperate with your agent, or assist your investment banker.

Prior to engaging in any merger & acquisition, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive examination and assessment of the target business. This meticulous process, known as M&A due diligence, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that companies involved in the transaction are equipped with the necessary information to make informed decisions.

The 5 Types of M&A Due Diligence

• Tax Due Diligence. A comprehensive examination of a company’s tax matters, verifying that all tax obligations have been met.
• Legal Due Diligence. A comprehensive examination of all legal aspects pertaining to a business and its contractual relationships with stakeholders.
• Financial Due Diligence. A comprehensive assessment of a company’s financial performance, focusing on the accuracy and sustainability of the numbers.
• Operational Due Diligence. An assessment focused on analyzing the inner workings of a company and its ability to efficiently transform inputs into outputs.
• Information Technology Due Diligence. A comprehensive assessment of a company’s IT infrastructure and operations, emphasizing security measures.

Sterling Cooper, Inc. is a business consulting company in the USA with over 100 years of combined experience. Our seasoned team leverages a meticulous selection process, financial acumen, and industry expertise.

Read the Full M&A Due Diligence Guide →

Blockchain & AI Digital Infrastructure

We help businesses, institutions, and governments unlock new economic opportunities through the strategic adoption of modern digital infrastructure. Our advisory services help clients evaluate and implement blockchain, artificial intelligence, tokenization frameworks, decentralized physical infrastructure networks, and digital settlement platforms to improve operational efficiency, increase transparency, and expand global market access.

For forward-looking organizations, the larger opportunity is not any single technology. The real opportunity is modernizing the infrastructure that powers payments, financial systems, supply chains, telecommunications, logistics, data coordination, and digital commerce, with blockchain providing the rails and artificial intelligence providing the intelligence that runs on them.

Why Sterling Cooper. Sterling Cooper translates emerging digital infrastructure technologies into practical, results-driven strategies that deliver measurable operational improvements and long-term enterprise value growth. Our leadership brings experience across global technology partnerships, digital financial systems, and business execution, helping organizations reduce risk while entering modern digital infrastructure markets with a clear plan.

Joint Ventures

We specialize in providing expert guidance to firms seeking the right joint venture partners for strategic business arrangements. Whether you are looking to expand your operations, enhance market presence, or collaborate on innovative projects, our advisory services help you connect with the ideal partner. Our extensive network and industry expertise allow us to identify and facilitate partnerships that align with your business goals.

We go beyond traditional matchmaking, conducting in-depth research and due diligence to align potential partners with your objectives. Whether expanding into the U.S., Europe, or China, we provide tailored solutions to navigate international collaborations, mitigate risks, and streamline negotiations. From legal and financial planning to cultural integration, we provide comprehensive support for a smooth and successful collaboration.

Joint ventures built on trust, compatibility, and shared vision.

Asset Purchases / Disposals

We provide comprehensive assistance in the purchase and sale of assets that align with your business acquisition criteria. This includes a wide range of assets such as trucks, tractors, trailers, and various inventories, which can be acquired through a direct cash purchase, debt assumption, or via public auctions.

We also specialize in certain sectors, including printing equipment and new retail inventories, where we offer targeted advice and market insights. Our long-standing relationships with major liquidators, buyers, and auctioneers give us direct access to a vast network of resources, enabling us to locate the right buyers or sellers quickly and effectively. Whether you are looking to liquidate excess inventory, acquire new assets, or dispose of outdated equipment, we keep the process streamlined, strategic, and designed to maximize value.

Effortless asset purchase, strategic disposals, maximized value.

Doing Business In China & Hong Kong

Our firm has entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at supporting international companies in acquiring businesses, establishing operations, or creating sourcing and manufacturing partnerships in China and Hong Kong. Whether a company is looking to acquire an existing business, set up an operational presence, build manufacturing relationships, or establish production facilities, our team provides end-to-end guidance.

Through this collaboration we offer acquisition strategy and guidance, comprehensive financial due diligence, audit and tax consulting, and regulatory and licensing support, drawing on an extensive network of over 3,500 professionals, including accountants, attorneys, and support personnel, with collaborative representative facilities in key business hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

The giant deals. Typical acquisition transactions facilitated through our collaboration range from $50 million to over $500 million, and often involve transactions with publicly listed companies in Hong Kong. For such high-stakes transactions we provide expert assistance with financial structuring, legal and accounting firm referrals, and support for navigating regulatory registration processes.

Cross-border services are provided through a strategic collaboration with independent local professionals; every transaction is subject to evaluation, agreement, regulatory approval, and closing conditions.

See the China & Hong Kong Desk →

Growth Through Acquisition

Business Valuation Services. We will help you locate a business to buy, provide an independent view of your own company’s value, and build a practical plan for growth through strategic acquisition.