{"id":2431,"date":"2025-11-03T16:59:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salkin.nl\/selling-your-it-secondment-agency\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:30:25","slug":"selling-your-it-secondment-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salkin.nl\/en\/selling-your-it-secondment-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling your IT agency?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Selling your IT secondment agency? How Investors Judge Your Value \u2014 and How You Lift the Price Up <\/h1>\n

The market for white-collar IT secondment is mature, dynamic and mercilessly rational. Investors do not look at “crowds on the floor”, but at quality of turnover, predictability of margins and scalability without extra heads. The rest is noise.
Below, we’ll dissect their lens \u2014 and turn them into actions that visibly increase your valuation. <\/p>\n

1) Quality of turnover: not how much<\/em>, but how solid<\/em><\/h2>\n

IT secondment is all about spread (bill rate \u2013 pay rate), occupancy rate and duration of engagements. Investors want proof that your turnover will remain when the wind turns. <\/p>\n

What they zoom into:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    Spread per profile<\/strong> (cloud, data, security, software). A consistent spread > for several quarters outweighs one top client with exceptional rate. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Utilization<\/strong>: Billable hours per FTE, including bench management. A structurally slim crate without putting out fires is golden. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Contract quality<\/strong>: duration, notice periods, indexation clauses (CPI\/CAO), rate cards, SOWs with fixed deliverables.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Concentration risk<\/strong>: top 3 customers <40\u201350% of turnover is healthier. Not just numbers of customers, but depth of the relationship (MSAs, preferred supplier status, framework agreements). <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Actions that add value:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • \n

      Formalize rate cards with indexation + scarcity surcharges per niche (e.g. cloud security).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Bundling short assignments to SOWs or deta-fixed with exit fees \u2192 higher predictability, better multiples.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Renewals start up and contract 6 months before the end date.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      2) Delivery engine: Your real IP is your sourcing and matching system<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      IT secondment seems like human work, but investors praise the machine<\/strong> behind it.<\/p>\n

      What they look out for:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • \n

        Time-to-submit \/ time-to-fill<\/strong> per discipline and channel (talent pool, referral, outbound, communities).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Hit-rate<\/strong>: ratio of proposed candidates \u2192 interviews \u2192 placements.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Candidate retention<\/strong>: churn among consultants\/self-employed persons; Average number of renewals per placement.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Near\/Offshore leverage<\/strong>: can you source and pre-axis 24\/7?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Process automation<\/strong>: ATS\/CRM, semantic search, CV parsing, skill taxonomies, automated reference and compliance checks.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Actions that add value:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • \n

          Make your funnel metrics public<\/strong> in the data room (transparency = trust).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Standardize intake \u2192 shortlist within 48\u201372 hours; show graphs on SLA performance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Build private communities<\/strong> around key stacks (Azure, AWS, SAP, Salesforce, data) with events and content; That is your defensible supply.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          3) Positioning and pricing power: choose a narrow ledge and rule there<\/h2>\n

          Generic “IT secondment” provides generic margins. Specialists are given pricing power. <\/p>\n

          What they look out for:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • \n

            Depth<\/strong> in one to three<\/em> areas of expertise (e.g., CloudSec, DataOps, SAP S\/4HANA), with case studies, certifications (AWS\/Microsoft\/SAP partner levels), and consultants wearing exam badges.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            Vertical focus<\/strong> with repeatable use cases (finserv KYC, utilities smart-meter data, government cloud migrations).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            Thought-leadership: white papers, contributions to OSS, talks; this lowers CAC and increases willingness-to-pay<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Actions that add value:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • \n

              Produce 2\u20133 repeatable packages (e.g., “Cloud Landing Zone in 6 weeks”), delivered by secondees if necessary but sold as SOW \u2192 higher multipliers than pure body-lease.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              Capture certification roadmaps (AWS\/Azure partner tiers, ISO 27001\/SOC 2) and demonstrate pipeline impact (win-rates \u2191 with certified team).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              4) Compliance & risk: invisible… Until it goes wrong<\/h2>\n

              IT customers (finserv, government) test strictly. Zero-surprises is the standard. <\/p>\n

              What they look out for:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • \n

                Contract discipline<\/strong> (IP rights, non-poach, subcontracting, data processing).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

              • \n

                Screening & security<\/strong>: VOG\/BSN processes, data classification, role-based access, ISO 27001 practice, SOC reports for MSP\/SOW work.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

              • \n

                Vendor management<\/strong>: audit trail on hours, rate changes, and change orders<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Actions that add value:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • \n

                  Convert your compliance into sales asset: one security file, reusable per customer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                • \n

                  Automate timesheets and approvals \u2192 fewer disputes, DSO down (Days Sales Outstanding).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                • \n

                  Guarantee IP allocation and non-solicit in every contract, also for self-employed employment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  5) Unit economics and cash: without cash flow, there is no scale<\/h2>\n

                  Investors pay for verifiable cash.<\/p>\n

                  What they look out for:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • \n

                    DSO \/ DPO \/ Net Working Capital<\/strong>: how fast does money come in vs. what do you pay out?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                  • \n

                    EBITDA quality<\/strong>: add-backs that are truly one-off vs. cosmetics.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                  • \n

                    Sales efficiency<\/strong>: Net Revenue per Recruiter\/Account Manager<\/em>, Gross Profit per placement<\/em>, LTV\/CAC<\/em> per customer segment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                  • \n

                    Forecast reliability<\/strong>: “book-to-bill”, open positions, renewal probability modeled.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Actions that add value:<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • \n

                      Cleverly use factoring\/working capital lines to decouple growth from cash stress (but contractually ensure that margin remains intact).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                    • \n

                      Manage weekly on spread x hours x occupancy; Make variable remuneration directly linked to this.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                    • \n

                      Have a QoE-light (quality of earnings) performed before you go to market; Cuts out noise and increases confidence \u2192 better multiples.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      The value ladder: where does your multiple fall approximately?<\/h2>\n

                      Without claiming absolute numbers (multiples move with the market) you can see the ranking like this:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. \n

                        Body-lease, generic<\/strong>: lowest bandwidth.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                      2. \n

                        Niche secondment with a strong spread and low concentration<\/strong>: clearly higher.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                      3. \n

                        Productized services \/ SOW work (repeatable, IP-like):<\/strong> even higher.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                      4. \n

                        Managed services with contractual lock-ins and tooling<\/strong>: highest bandwidth within “people-based” models.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        Your goal in the 6\u201312 months pre-exit: from 1 \u2192 2 (minimum), preferably 3 on parts.<\/p>\n

                        90-day valuation lift plan (concrete and achievable)<\/h2>\n

                        Month 1 \u2014 Measuring and Formalizing<\/strong><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • \n

                          KPI suite live: spread per skill, utilization, time-to-fill, renewal rate, DSO.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                        • \n

                          Reviewing Top-10 Client Contracts: Indexation, Notice Period, Non-Solicit, IP, SOW Options.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                        • \n

                          Implement tariff discipline; no discount without give-get<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          Month 2 \u2014 Increase predictability<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • \n

                            Activate Renewal calendar and win-back<\/em> flows (120\u2013180 days in advance).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                          • \n

                            Productize at least 1 niche proposition (e.g., “Azure Landing Zone Sprint”).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                          • \n

                            Finalize the Security & Compliance file (ISO 27001 in the making? Put the roadmap in it).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            Month 3 \u2014 Demonstrate scalability<\/strong><\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • \n

                              Automate where it hurts: ATS search, reference checks, timesheets \u2192 invoice.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                            • \n

                              Community activation in your core niches (webinars, referral program); CAC.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                            • \n

                              Setting up QoE-light and data room; position the management team visibly next to the founder.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              Result: higher spread, better predictability, lower customer and founder risk, demonstrable scalability. Exactly what investors pay. <\/p>\n

                              Value Pillar Checklist (Summary)<\/h2>\n
                                \n
                              • \n

                                Revenue quality<\/strong>: distribution of customers, contract duration, indexation, SOWs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Margin & efficiency<\/strong>: spread per niche, utilization, bench management.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Delivery machine<\/strong>: time-to-fill, hit-rate, automation, near\/offshore leverage.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Positioning<\/strong>: narrow niche, partner certifications, productized services.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Compliance & risk<\/strong>: security, IP rights, audit trail, zero-disputes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Cash & forecasting<\/strong>: DSO low, QoE-ready, KPI-driven forecast that comes true.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

                              • \n

                                Team independence<\/strong>: proven 2nd echelon, sales and delivery not founder-dependent.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                Those who score on these pillars move convincingly up the value ladder \u2014 and negotiate from strength.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

                                <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

                                <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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