What’s Up With All Those Proxy Solicitors?

As The Equity And Deal-Markets Continue To Stagnate, And With Publicly Traded Companies And Their Registered Shareholders In Free-Fall.

Good question, we think…and now is precisely the time to start asking it, as proxy solicitors begin to “show their stuff”…or maybe not…since we’ve witnessed, and written a lot about all the “newbies” and low-level people at some solicitors whose “stuff” has fallen far short of what is needed.

There are a lot of similarities with the TA business these days, since they are both “service businesses” that often mistake their real mission by focusing their efforts on widget-pushing, misguided automation strategies (like robo-calling and computer-driven “targeting” and report-writing/tracking programs) and other cost-cutting and  sometimes  corner- cutting strategies… instead of on service.

And both businesses, as noted, have been severely impacted by a host of unfavorable marketplace, demographic and competitive factors…where, to put it plainly, there simply isn’t enough business to go around.

At least one big firm has been shopping itself around, while several others seem to be hell-bent on turning themselves into “finders of lost persons” – another business that had been seriously overcrowded…then blessedly not…until the big falloff in proxy activities.

The biggest difference vs. the TA world, as we’ve noted here often, is that “all of the talent takes the elevator down and goes out the door every day.” This is, basically, a “people business.”

And – since it’s “the talent” that is most valued by clients – and that typically resides with people who, rightly, have a high sense of their own self-worth, and who tend to be much in demand – bureaucratic, or worse, autocratic companies tend not to be the most favored places for such talent to work. To put it another way, it’s the most entrepreneurial companies that seem to attract, and retain, and to HAVE the top-talent in this business these days…or, at the least, to do the best job of portraying themselves as having it…And yes, for sure, show-business is a very big factor here.

Look for more consolidation in this industry too, we predict…and, exactly as we advise re: TAs…Start to do your homework here too.