Kastrapeli and Grilc: In a Globalized World of Intense Competition, the Perception of Value is Sold

At one of the five workshops held during the 9th Lider Conference on Family Businesses, Damir Brkić, founder of Brkić and Partners, advised on how to (not) talk to bankers. Thanks to his two decades of experience in the financial industry, Brkić was able to explain firsthand to participants how a bank defines business risks when processing a loan application, what a bank actually is, and provide answers to some of the most common questions entrepreneurs have when seeking a loan from a bank, such as the reasons for the rejection of what they consider a good idea, the necessary preparations for a meeting at the bank, and which mistakes to avoid when presenting ideas to bankers.

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Entrepreneurial ideas usually do not receive support from banks, he said, because most are not original, but also due to a misunderstanding by bankers. On the other hand, entrepreneurs sometimes do not understand the purpose of a bank and the fact that it is a company that must make a profit, and when they present their plans, entrepreneurs often overestimate the assumptions on which they base their expectations from their business.

At the same time, co-owner and director Damir Podhorski explained to interested parties how branding works on the internet, or in the online world, which is fundamentally different from traditional, ‘offline’ branding. One of the main problems for entrepreneurs is navigating the large number of available channels, as well as the different rules from platform to platform. Using several domestic and foreign cases, Podhorski demonstrated how to shape and create a brand in the digital world.

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Before deciding to sell or buy a company, owners must answer several questions, believes entrepreneur and business consultant Kristina Ercegović, who led a workshop on the topic ‘How to Buy or Sell a Company?’. Before such a decision, it is good to define expectations, readiness, and reasons for selling, as well as what to do after such a decision. In determining the price, several factors should be considered, such as EBITDA, revenue, discounted cash flow, and the fact that demand determines price.

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– It is crucial in a sale to convince the buyer that the company operates without you; this is what the buyer checks first, and then they check whether their investment will return, emphasized Ercegović. She added that the employers’ job is to work on the business, while the employees’ job is to work in the business. – Today, there is a real battle in the market for quality personnel. For extraordinary results, we need extraordinary people, said Ercegović, highlighting that everything should be documented because people learn in three ways – visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically.

Gordana Kastrapeli and Mario Grilc from the Circle of Excellence offered an answer to the question of what companies actually sell in their workshop ‘Communication with Customers to Increase Sales’. According to them, in a globalized world of fierce competition and high customer awareness, trust, or the perception of value, is primarily sold. Based on this, the consulting duo explained why and how to sell trust.

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How to select, retain, motivate, and develop quality employees was revealed by Barbara Ružić, HR consultant and trainer at Artis Rei, at the fifth workshop during the Lider Conference on Family Businesses. Ružić pointed out that all companies in Croatia have a problem finding quality employees, and that one of the misconceptions is that smaller companies struggle to find quality staff. Presenting certain good characteristics sought in employee selection, Ružić questioned whether we are actually looking for a ‘superman’. She emphasized that the assessment of candidates actually involves their SWOT analysis and that situational questions should be posed to candidates regarding key characteristics during job interviews. She also revealed how to attract and retain the best employees, and what attracts, retains, and engages them.

Authors: Ana Gavranić and Vanja Figenwald