How to Build a Business Buyers Want With Mark Osborne [Ep.193]
Release Date: 11/18/2025
Empire Flippers Podcast
AI tools are already answering your customers’ questions. The real question is, how do you ensure your business is part of those answers?In this episode, we sit down with Sergey Lucktinov, an AI search visibility expert who has spent more than a decade navigating algorithm shifts and rethinking how businesses get discovered online. Sergey breaks down how visibility works in the age of AI and what business owners need to do to make sure their brand is actually being mentioned, not silently skipped. We explore how AI has fundamentally changed SEO. The focus is no longer on keywords and...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
You don’t need to drain your bank account to buy a business. In fact, many of the best deals are done with very little personal capital. In this episode, Greg breaks down how buyers structure acquisitions using financing instead of their own money. There are two buckets of money you can draw from when buying a business: your own personal funds and external financing. One of the most powerful external financing tools Greg highlights is seller financing. This approach allows you to structure deals where the seller essentially lends you the money, often interest-free, and can be combined with...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
Buying an online business can feel overwhelming, especially if you are new to acquisitions. In this week’s podcast episode, we sit down with Matt Raad, a seasoned digital business buyer and coach who has helped countless first-time buyers navigate the acquisition process with confidence. Due diligence takes center stage as Matt explains what really matters when evaluating an online business and how skipping this step can turn a promising deal into an expensive mistake. For beginners, he breaks down the types of businesses that are best suited for first-time buyers and why simpler models...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
Buying a business is one of the biggest financial decisions most entrepreneurs will ever make. For many first-time buyers, it’s terrifying. You're putting a meaningful chunk of your net worth on the line and hoping you’ve chosen wisely. So what actually makes a business safe to buy? In this episode, Greg Elfrink breaks down the realities of business risk and shares practical criteria buyers can use to separate stable, reliable businesses from the ones that keep you up at night.Greg starts by reminding us that there’s no such thing as a risk-free business. But some businesses are...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
If you want to squeeze more revenue out of your existing traffic, this week’s podcast episode is a must-listen. We’re diving deep into one of the most misunderstood, yet most profitable, parts of ecommerce growth: conversion rate optimization. CRO expert Jasper De Munyk joins Greg to break down the fundamentals of Shopify CRO, including what a healthy optimization process actually looks like and why it’s far more than “changing button colors.” If you’re wondering where to even begin, we cover what to tackle first when doing CRO, plus the stage of growth when investing in CRO makes...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
If you know exactly what problems your customers face before and after they buy from you, you could build offers that practically sell themselves.In this episode, Greg breaks down his simple but powerful “before and after” formula. It starts by understanding the before: the frustrations, questions, and roadblocks your customers face long before they make a purchase. Solve that, and you earn the sale. But once you’ve solved it, new problems appear, and that’s your opportunity to build trust, add value, and guide customers deeper into your ecosystem. We also look at how to map the...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
Your revenue may be rising… but your business value might not be. And for founders planning an exit, that’s the only number that matters. In this week’s podcast, Greg is joined by Mark Osborne, author of Are Your Leads Killing Your Business? and one of the only Certified Exit Planning Advisors focused specifically on sales and marketing. Mark breaks down the most common exit-planning mistakes founders make long before they think about selling. We dive into why sales, marketing, and customer success shouldn’t operate as silos, but as a single value-building engine, plus the...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
What you do after buying a business determines whether it becomes a winner or a money pit.The best way to ensure success? Copy what private equity does. After all, they’re the most experienced post-acquisition growth specialists in the business. In our latest podcast episode, Greg explores the PE strategies that turn acquisitions into scalable, profitable ventures. Greg starts with the golden rule: stabilize cash flow before making any big moves. Once the foundation is solid, you can dive into creating leverage through efficiency and eliminating redundancies across departments. This ensures...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
If you’re thinking about selling your online business, there’s one part of the process that can make or break your deal: due diligence. Many sellers underestimate how important it is, and how much control they actually have over the process. In this week’s podcast episode, Greg sits down with Ahmed Raza, founder of Rapid Diligence, to unpack the realities of due diligence and how sellers can prepare to maximize their exit. Ahmed starts by breaking down what due diligence really is and the steps sellers should take long before they go to market. He explains which diligence requests...
info_outlineEmpire Flippers Podcast
Note: In this episode, Greg is interviewed on the . We’re sharing the interview here so that you don’t miss out on the useful M&A insights that Greg shares. Greg returns to the SirLinksalot's SEO Podcast to share his insights from selling over 2,400 businesses and playing a part in turning 90 people into millionaires. Few people have a front-row seat to the changing landscape of online business like he does. In this episode, Greg dives into what really makes an online business sellable today, drawing from years of experience watching deals happen behind the scenes. They also explore...
info_outlineYour revenue may be rising… but your business value might not be. And for founders planning an exit, that’s the only number that matters.
In this week’s podcast, Greg is joined by Mark Osborne, author of Are Your Leads Killing Your Business? and one of the only Certified Exit Planning Advisors focused specifically on sales and marketing.
Mark breaks down the most common exit-planning mistakes founders make long before they think about selling.
We dive into why sales, marketing, and customer success shouldn’t operate as silos, but as a single value-building engine, plus the quickest operational “wins” founders can implement to free up resources and accelerate growth.
Mark also outlines the key systems buyers care about most, and reveals the crucial difference between chasing more revenue and building true enterprise value.
If you’re planning an exit or want to build a business worth more tomorrow than it is today, this episode is essential listening.
Topics Discussed in this episode:
- Mark’s background - From managing unknown bands to helping businesses grow (02:13)
- How to choose the right software to aid your growth (07:32)
- Most common exit planning mistakes entrepreneurs make (10:40)
- Combining sales, marketing, and customer success(20:15)
- Big wins that free up resources to focus on growth (28:02)
- Key systems founders should focus on when exit planning (30:42)
- The difference between growing revenue vs growing business value (36:25)
- Are your leads killing your business? (40:40)
Mentions:
Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to transform your business into an asset that buyers will fight over.