An Interview with Dave McComb
Dave McComb and his brother, Doug, sold their Fort Wayne, IN, firm, D.O. McComb & Sons, to SCI in March of 2016. D.O. McComb & Sons serves the client families of Fort Wayne across seven funeral homes and one cemetery. We sat down with Dave to discuss his experience and provide advice to others that may be considering a sale.
How did you come to a decision to pursue a sale?
For our family, the primary issue was that my brother and I did not have anyone in the next generation interested in the business. We both have three children and they have gone on to other things. So it was not a question of "if" but rather "when." Big picture, if you look at the baby boomers, the demographics of the future are good, however those same baby boomers are going to live longer and longer so their impact is a ways in the future. We had two really good years in a row and we felt it was a good time to get a deal put together. We also spoke to several industry experts, including Tom Johnson, who said it was a good time to sell. We wanted to sell on our terms and we have no regrets about the path we chose.
What led you to select SCI for your sale?
We had gotten to know the team from SCI over the years at various industry events and had really come to respect them. We knew others that had sold to them and had a positive experience. So we were comfortable with them. Additionally, they are the leaders in our industry and they have other operations in the Fort Wayne area, so they knew our market and were setup to easily transition our team into their world.
What was your experience working with SCI during the sale process?
It was a fairly smooth process. It was really about collecting the data that SCI needed to put the deal together and complete their diligence. I worked closely with my attorney and my CPA on things. I did not involve anyone else from the funeral home, but I was familiar with all of the numbers and knew them well. Confidentiality was a key for us as well as SCI. I am pleased to say there were no leaks from either side over the three months we pulled this together, so I would have done it the same way again.
What has your role been since the sale?
I have stepped back to more of a consultative role. Before we sold, our GM and ran operations while I ran strategy, preneed and marketing. So I worked with the transition to move those functions over to the GM and his team and they very capably took those over. I still go to funerals of people I know in Fort Wayne, but I do not go to the funeral home on a day to day basis anymore, which is nice. When I am in town, I pop in a few times per week to see the staff and check-in which I enjoy. Our team was one of the best in the business and they have taken over extraordinarily well.
How has your team and firm adapted to the sale?
As I mentioned, our team has done very well. We only lost one associate during the transition itself out of approximately 110 full and part time employees. And the change has created opportunities for the leaders in our firm and they continue to grow.
One of the things I have done since the sale is to talk to our client families in the community to check on our service levels. And I hear firsthand that they are just as high as they were before we partnered with SCI. And that makes sense, as we have the same staff directing and leading the charge.
What have you most enjoyed about selling your business?
It has certainly given me more flexibility to travel both personally and for other business interests I have. I do not feel the pressure to be visible at the funeral home anymore. An additional benefit has been that now when our family gets together we act more like a family without the business issues dominating the conversation, which has been a nice surprise.
What advice would you have for others considering a sale?
Everyone needs to have a succession plan of some kind with their family or shareholders. And it does not have to be perfect…any plan is better than no plan. That plan should have an exit strategy and the trigger points to get there, such as a health issue, a death or a child opting out of the business. We had a plan and it worked for us. We would not do anything differently if we had it to do over again.
How did you come to a decision to pursue a sale?
For our family, the primary issue was that my brother and I did not have anyone in the next generation interested in the business. We both have three children and they have gone on to other things. So it was not a question of "if" but rather "when." Big picture, if you look at the baby boomers, the demographics of the future are good, however those same baby boomers are going to live longer and longer so their impact is a ways in the future. We had two really good years in a row and we felt it was a good time to get a deal put together. We also spoke to several industry experts, including Tom Johnson, who said it was a good time to sell. We wanted to sell on our terms and we have no regrets about the path we chose.
What led you to select SCI for your sale?
We had gotten to know the team from SCI over the years at various industry events and had really come to respect them. We knew others that had sold to them and had a positive experience. So we were comfortable with them. Additionally, they are the leaders in our industry and they have other operations in the Fort Wayne area, so they knew our market and were setup to easily transition our team into their world.
What was your experience working with SCI during the sale process?
It was a fairly smooth process. It was really about collecting the data that SCI needed to put the deal together and complete their diligence. I worked closely with my attorney and my CPA on things. I did not involve anyone else from the funeral home, but I was familiar with all of the numbers and knew them well. Confidentiality was a key for us as well as SCI. I am pleased to say there were no leaks from either side over the three months we pulled this together, so I would have done it the same way again.
What has your role been since the sale?
I have stepped back to more of a consultative role. Before we sold, our GM and ran operations while I ran strategy, preneed and marketing. So I worked with the transition to move those functions over to the GM and his team and they very capably took those over. I still go to funerals of people I know in Fort Wayne, but I do not go to the funeral home on a day to day basis anymore, which is nice. When I am in town, I pop in a few times per week to see the staff and check-in which I enjoy. Our team was one of the best in the business and they have taken over extraordinarily well.
How has your team and firm adapted to the sale?
As I mentioned, our team has done very well. We only lost one associate during the transition itself out of approximately 110 full and part time employees. And the change has created opportunities for the leaders in our firm and they continue to grow.
One of the things I have done since the sale is to talk to our client families in the community to check on our service levels. And I hear firsthand that they are just as high as they were before we partnered with SCI. And that makes sense, as we have the same staff directing and leading the charge.
What have you most enjoyed about selling your business?
It has certainly given me more flexibility to travel both personally and for other business interests I have. I do not feel the pressure to be visible at the funeral home anymore. An additional benefit has been that now when our family gets together we act more like a family without the business issues dominating the conversation, which has been a nice surprise.
What advice would you have for others considering a sale?
Everyone needs to have a succession plan of some kind with their family or shareholders. And it does not have to be perfect…any plan is better than no plan. That plan should have an exit strategy and the trigger points to get there, such as a health issue, a death or a child opting out of the business. We had a plan and it worked for us. We would not do anything differently if we had it to do over again.
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