The worth of a company is partly dependent on the industry it operates in. For instance, cloud-based software companies are generally valued more than printing companies these days. However, even when we compare businesses within the same industry, we still see significant variations in their valuation. To explore this, we analyzed the data available to us from our partners at The Value Builder System™ and identified 10 things that can make a company more valuable than its industry peers.

1. Recurring Revenue
The more revenue you have from automatically recurring contracts or subscriptions, the more valuable your business will be to a buyer. Even if subscriptions are not the norm in your industry, finding some form of recurring revenue will make your company much more valuable than those of your competitors.

2. Something Different
Buyers buy what they cannot easily replicate on their own, which means companies with a unique product or service that is difficult for a competitor to knock off are more valuable than a company that sells the same commodity as everyone else in their industry.

3. Growth
Acquirers looking to fuel their top-line revenue growth through acquisition will pay a premium for your business if it is growing much faster than your industry overall.

4. Caché
Tired old companies often try to buy sex appeal through the acquisition of a trendy young company in their industry. If you are the darling of your industry trade media, expect to get a premium acquisition offer.  

5. Location
If you have a great location with natural physical characteristics that are difficult to replicate (imagine an oceanfront restaurant on a strip of beach where the city has stopped granting new licenses to operate), you’ll have buyers who understand your industry interested in your location as well as your business.

6. Diversity
Acquirers pay a premium for companies that naturally hedge the loss of a single customer. Ensure no customer amounts to more than 10 percent of your revenue and your company will be more valuable than an industry peer with just a few big customers.

7. Predictability
If you’ve mastered a way to win customers and documented your sales funnel with a predictable set of conversion rates, your secret customer-acquiring formula will make your business more valuable to an acquirer than an industry peer who doesn’t have a clue where their next customer will come from.

8. Clean Books
Companies that invest in audited statements have financials that acquirers generally view as more trustworthy and, therefore, worth more. You may want to get your books reviewed professionally each year, even if audited statements are not the norm in your industry.

9. A 2iC
Companies with a second-in-command who has agreed to stay on post-sale are more valuable than businesses where all the power and knowledge are in the hands of the owner.

10. Happy Customers
Being able to objectively demonstrate that your customers are happy and intend to re-purchase in the future will make your business more valuable than an industry peer that does not have a means of tracking customer satisfaction.

Like a rising tide that lifts all boats, your industry typically defines a range of multiples within which your business is likely to sell; but whether you fall at the bottom or the top of the range comes down to factors that have nothing to do with what you do, but instead, how you do it.