The March Group

Your best course of action is not to throw your money away! the telemarketers are even licensed. Starting in November anyone in U.S. dealing with investments is going to have to have a securities license....Not one of those telemarketers has a license....it's a boiler room..tht's all...the feds should close them down...

I used to work there. No I am not a disgruntled employee just can't moraly do that kind of work...It's all about deception with lies of omission..They do not have a buyer for your business but the telemarketing script makes it sound like they do...Wake up!

Jackie wrote:

Has anyone worked with The March Group to sell or acquire a business? The spiel sounds good, but would like to hear if anyone has had experience with them - either good or bad!

I had considered selling my company for more than five years, even investing time in attending two M&A seminars. I put a great deal of energy into preparing the company to be sold, but was worried about finding an honest group of people that would understand my concerns and work with me to make the best decision for my business. It wasn't until I attended a 2005 seminar hosted by The March Group and met with your team one-on-one that I actually decided to sell my family-owned business, Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply, LLC.

I selected The March Group because of your experience, dedication and personalized approach. Your team helped me understand the M&A selling process and took the complex issues and challenges that arise during any sale off of my shoulders. I appreciated your honesty and attention to detail, and I always felt confident in your knowledge and abilities.

Also, I was consistently impressed by your professionalism, follow through and genuine interest in me and my company. Your team understood the emotional factors that play a role in the sale of a small, family-owned business, and you were quick to provide the support I needed. The level of respect, combined with the intuitive nature that your team possesses, is hard to find these days.

I considered working with The March Group such a joy that I presented my managing director with a thank-you gift at our celebration of closing dinner. I would highly recommend your team to anyone who is considering selling their business.

Best Regards,

Gary Moore

I had considered selling my company for more than five years, even investing time in attending two M&A seminars. I put a great deal of energy into preparing the company to be sold, but was worried about finding an honest group of people that would understand my concerns and work with me to make the best decision for my business. It wasn't until I attended a 2005 seminar hosted by The March Group and met with your team one-on-one that I actually decided to sell my family-owned business, Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply, LLC.

I selected The March Group because of your experience, dedication and personalized approach. Your team helped me understand the M&A selling process and took the complex issues and challenges that arise during any sale off of my shoulders. I appreciated your honesty and attention to detail, and I always felt confident in your knowledge and abilities.

Also, I was consistently impressed by your professionalism, follow through and genuine interest in me and my company. Your team understood the emotional factors that play a role in the sale of a small, family-owned business, and you were quick to provide the support I needed. The level of respect, combined with the intuitive nature that your team possesses, is hard to find these days.

I considered working with The March Group such a joy that I presented my managing director with a thank-you gift at our celebration of closing dinner. I would highly recommend your team to anyone who is considering selling their business.

Best Regards,

Gary Moore

Dear Fellow Business Owner,

Last year, my partner and I decided to sell our six-year-old network consulting company. After attending a March Group seminar, I decided to sign with them because I thought they seemed the most professional.

When I went to the (The March Group) workshop, they said to expect it to take a year and half to two years to sell the company. They knew what they were talking about because it took about 19 months from start to finish.

It was my first time going through this process. Naturally, I wanted it to go faster. There was so much prep work up front.

Early on, it’s hard to know where you’re driving to. You know what you’re trying to get to, but until you start getting the offers, you don’t really feel like you are really in play, the way that you want it to be. You want it sooner. But there are certain things that you have to go through like recasting of financials, the questions, the marketing, and the CBR. It’s a lot of work.

We were ready to close at the end of December (2007). Everything was in order, everything was given to the bank and then the bank dropped the ball. It just dragged. It was the bank, so what can you do but wait? That’s just the process.

It was frustrating, but we closed in April. The guys at The March Group understand that a lot of the challenges are during the funding phases so the buyer can come up with the cash to make the buy. The March Group stayed with us. We got the deal done in the end. I found everybody to be really nice and professional.

With warmest regards,

Dan Riekes,

Dear Mr. Reikes & Mr. Moore,

Would you consider talking to me regarding the sale of your business? Were you happy with the valuation and how many time EBITA did your business close for?

Best regards,

Cautious Bus Owner

I too would like to spend just a moment on the phone with you gentlemen as I am on the hook with the March Group. Are you folks both out of Lake Mary?

it's a boiler room, there are no buyers for your business..the people on the phones aren't even licensed in investments...of course all those 'good reports' are from their marketing dept which spends a great deal of the day removing negative comments.
I am not a disgruntled employee, just didn't have the stomach for it

Gary's use of "your" is a flag. This is more like a letter written to TMG. He is not talking to "us". A F E, I believe you!

Our success is founded on the success we achieve with our customers – something which is clearly demonstrated by the fact that nearly all our growth is through work expanded upon by existing clients, or with new customers referred to March Group by those who have worked with us.
group

Here are a selection of comments from some of those people:

“March Group assimilated into our culture surprisingly quickly and engaged in what we call courageous conversations which sometimes told us things we did not want to hear.”

“They seem to enjoy strategic change initiatives and what we liked about them was that they were able to side-step traditional leadership paradigms and cascade models.”

“March Group’s unusually strong links with national and international academic and professional networks have given us access to the latest thinking and research.”

“They appear to personally care about us and the service they provide, we quickly came to trust their judgement knowing that they would not try to sell us stuff we did not need.”

“March Group excelled in understanding our needs and creating real ideas that actually work!”

“March Group were able to offer us a total solution – integrating change management, leadership development and a full spectrum of HR services.“

“March Group have made a positive difference within the team at organisational and individual level within our company.”

News: Press Releases

MARSH NAMED BEST GLOBAL BROKER BY REACTIONS MAGAZINE

New York, October 1, 2009 — Marsh, the world's leading insurance broker and risk adviser, has been named "Best Large Global Broker" by Reactions magazine.

Dan Glaser, chairman and CEO of Marsh Inc., said: "We are proud to receive this recognition from the industry and Reactions. It reflects our uniform focus to provide clients in all parts of the world with industry-leading service and solutions, especially as they work to navigate the challenges presented by the global economic recession."

Reactions, a leading business intelligence service that provides detailed financial and global coverage of the insurance and reinsurance industries, presented the award during its 2009 Global Awards dinner held recently in New York.
The Reactions Global Awards, now in their eighth year, recognize superior performance and innovation within the global insurance industry, rewarding companies and individuals who have helped raise client service standards. The peer-nominated program polls more than 4,800 risk managers, brokers, reinsurance/insurance managers, directors and CEOs from across the insurance and reinsurance markets.

About Marsh
Marsh has over 23,000 employees and provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in more than 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with more than 53,000 employees and annual revenue exceeding $11 billion. MMC also is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, the risk and reinsurance specialist; Mercer, the provider of HR and related financial advice and services; Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy; and Kroll, the risk consulting firm. MMC's stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges.

A great environmental transaction!
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.--The nation's leading tire recycling company, Liberty Tire, purchased Texas-based Able Tire Company, and The March Group represented the seller. Liberty and Able Tire’s merger represents a partnering in the Texas and Oklahoma scrap tire market. The estimated number of waste tires produced in America annually is one per person, making the task of recycling or disposing of scrap tires a significant business. The industry is under strict state regulations; however, both Liberty Tire and Able Tire have established methods for turning old tires into new profits as well as innovative materials. For over 16 years, seller Able Tire has worked with major tire retailers to dispatch, collect and track the disposal of scrap tires. Major new tire retailers have relied on Able Tire to handle an estimated 15 million tires generated annually through disposal or reuse.
Seeing the opportunity to reclaim this valuable material, Able Tire has handled its scrap tires in one of three ways: resold them or used them as fuel or fill. Often, the condition of the scrap tire collected determines the method of recycling. Resale has become the preferred re-use method in the industry. The resale value of used tires for vehicles is determined by its tread. However, cement kilns also rely on the clean-burning properties and concentrated energy of scrap tires to replace coal, and tires-as-fuel actually improves the exhaust air quality from the kilns. The third method, as approved by Texas environmental regulators, is to fill land with buried tires and dirt to restore property for new uses and developments.
The March Group worked with Able Tire owner Gary Humphreys to consummate this synergistic sale. With the acquisition, Liberty Tire will take advantage of significant savings and efficiencies while retaining the company's leadership team. Through the company's leadership, expertise and innovation, Able Tire established a paperless manifest system, a cradle-to-grave tire tracking system that includes the filing of paperless records with the Texas State environmental authorities.

I caught the adjective "your" in th previous post. Also puzzling is the previous entry, or whatever you call these communiques, for Marsh, Inc. Marsh?

Listen, I don't contest the fact that March Group has sold companies. It is the tactics that they employ to create exaggerated expectations on the part of prospective sellers on the front end. Using formulas taken enthusiastically from the seminar, I conservatively estimated my business to be worth 1.5 to 2 million USD.( I signed a document that said I had seen no ballpark figures during any of the meetings ). The $1000 per page business analysis put my business at $770,000 before selling fees!

I have never been so humiliated in my life. When I approached the March Group with this outrage they acted as if they had heard and handled it 1000 times. Smooth. These people are unreal. Silky.

I am beginning to this my only answer to a little peace of mind is some kind of Eli Lilly product.

Dear R B, You know that they have to sell a few, but it's the exception, not the rule, as they would have you believe.

Dear Reluctant Blogger,

This is Perry Sheraw, Senior Vice President at The March Group.

Again, we are sorry to hear your report of a bad experience with The March Group. Due to the nature of your posting, we are unable to reach out to you directly. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to work with you toward a resolution. I suggested this in response to your post on August 20. If you feel you have a legitimate complaint with us, please reach out to me directly at 866-663-5806.

Many thanks,
Perry

Reluctant Blogger wrote:

I too would like to spend just a moment on the phone with you gentlemen as I am on the hook with the March Group. Are you folks both out of Lake Mary?

MBilensky wrote:

I read another article the other day check it out on both the march group and another company called gw
http://www.mrmoneypatch.blogspot.com/

Well to the point

Hi Reluctant Blogger,

Is it correct that you signed up with them in 2006 originally? If so, is it true they still haven't sold your business yet? Any new resolutions?

I know during the seminar one of the things they tout is getting multiple valuations for the money. However, as business owners we are not interested in valuations, but the sale. This last time they contacted us, they very specifically said "we have a buyer that is interested in your business", but after further inquiry at the seminar there was no truth to it.

Regards,

Cautious Bus Owner

Dear Sarah Davies,(Oct 6 post)

Why don't any of your testimonials talk about the wonderful success of the sale of a business?

Regards,

Cautious Bus Owner

Caution Business Owner, thank you for your sanity! This is all quite comical. And that they're posting press releases from "Marsh, Inc.", an insurance brokerage firm. And the testimonials have clear errors/irregularities. But, The March Group knows that some people want so badly to believe the pitch that it does not matter that many see through the bologna, just that many drink the cool aid and pay fee.
Protect thyself. Control our own actions. That's all we can do.
Of course, I think we also have some moral/community obligation to try to help others but we cannot save them from themselves. They must want to be saved!
www.

Anthony wrote:

I sold my business through TMG and was very happy with the experience. They laid out my plan, followed it to a tee and sold it almost 1 year to the date of listing it. I think so many are hung up on the down payment which is applied to your sales commission anyway. That money simply does not dissapear. Remember your goal is to sell your business and i was thrilled with the results.

You are a liar! If you had sold your business with these guys you wouldn't be wasting your time posting on their blogs.

No, I'm a millionaire and have nothing better to do than help out my buddies at the MG