Is Your Business Ready to Sell? Lessons from a Year of M&A in Building Materials
- Ryan C. Brown
- May 25, 2021
- 2 min read
2020 was a landmark year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the building materials industry. Major deals like the BFS-BMC merger and multiple acquisitions by private equity firms reshaped the competitive landscape. With nearly 500 locations changing hands and more than 40 companies actively buying, the industry is consolidating faster than ever.
But the real question for owners is this: Is your business ready to sell—or ready to thrive in a market dominated by bigger players?
That’s the focus of a recent episode of Building the Future, hosted by Brett Thorne and featuring Ryan Brown of Next Level Essentials. Ryan helps business owners prepare for sale, maximize profitability, and future-proof their companies—whether they plan to exit or stay independent.
Why Preparation Matters More Than Ever
According to Ryan, preparation goes far beyond cleaning up financials right before a sale. Even if you have no intention of selling, staying competitive in a consolidating market means continually improving profitability and operational efficiency.
Ryan explains his approach using a “driver tree”—a visual map of a company’s revenue, costs, and key financial metrics. By breaking down every branch of the business, he identifies where owners are leaving money on the table and how small changes can have a big impact on EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).
Where to Start: The Three Big Buckets
Ryan highlights three areas that most directly impact EBITDA:
Revenue Discipline – Evaluate rebates, buybacks, pricing strategies, and discounting. Every dollar saved here flows straight to the bottom line.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) – Materials, labor, transportation, and warehousing costs often hide inefficiencies that add up over time.
SG&A and Operating Expenses – Travel, vehicles, insurance, and bonuses can balloon over the years without proper controls.
Using a structured process, Ryan helps owners find the “holes in the bucket,” benchmark against industry standards, and prioritize the few changes that will make the biggest difference.
Transformation Over Incremental Change
Ryan stresses that business owners often improve in the wrong areas—or celebrate wins while still lagging behind industry averages. Without benchmarks and a clear roadmap, it’s like “having a map without a compass,” he says.
His mission is to provide the framework and process while leveraging the owner’s knowledge and experience—the “raw materials.” When combined with his A+ process, the result is stronger profitability, better positioning for a sale, or simply a more resilient independent business.
Takeaway for Owners
Whether you plan to sell in the next few years or remain independent, the time to prepare is now. With M&A reshaping the industry, companies that don’t optimize their operations risk falling behind.
As Ryan puts it:
“If you’re tired of incremental changes and scratching around the margins, it’s time to focus on transformational change.”
This post is based on an episode of the Building the Future Podcast. Listen to the full episode to hear more about preparing your business for sale and thriving in a rapidly consolidating industry.
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