Tips on Picking the Best Business Broker

Posted by William White on March 18th, 2020

Thinking about selling your small business? Are you among those fearless entrepreneurs who think they can advertise, negotiate and close a deal by themselves or are you going to take the more logical path of working with a business agent? If sanity prevails and you are going to work with a pro, here are a couple of things to search for to find the ideal business agent.

1. Get recent references

Ignore all the hype a broker firm places in their literature and request recent references and then follow up and actually check them out. If you are handling a larger company agent, get references in the agent you'll be working with. Big offices will constantly have rookies and you also want to insure that the agent you get knows their stuff.

2. Work with licensed agents

Many countries require that business brokers maintain a real estate license but just having that license doesn't signify that the agent always knows anything about buying or selling a business. In fact a number of realtors turn"business brokers" if the housing market gets slow. Everything you should be looking for is certification in the International Business Brokers Association that grants a certificate as Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) after conclusion of an extensive educational course.

3. Don't be fooled

If the reason that you're considering selling is because you obtained a letter or email from a broker with the message"We have a buyer for you" then think again. This is only one of the most frequent advertising and marketing ploys used in this business. Without question these agents probably have people interested in getting a business but not necessarily yours.

4. Do not rush to a decision

Promoting your business is a huge deal and one you would like to be certain you do right. In your dialog with agents ask them if today is a fantastic time to sell. Ask for an opinion of value. Coming up with this may take a little bit of time and if the broker is reputable, they may advise you to not put the company on the marketplace but instead make suggestions on what to do to improve the value. A agent who makes this proposal is looking to make either of you a bigger buck by making the business more attractive.

5. Decide on a broker with expertise in your business

Look at current listings that the agent has. Check out both the size and types of businesses to insure he or she has experience in your market position. Again, don't rely on marketing material find out the facts yourself.

6. How does the broker market

Ask what the broker's marketing plans are and ask to see samples. If he simply puts an advertisement in the paper or articles it to one site you likely are not getting the exposure you deserve. Good brokers have networks they can tap to find interested and qualified buyers.

7. Avoid packed services

At some point in the sales process you're likely to require the services of an attorney and a professional accountant. Your broker will probably offer those services but in many instances what he or she is doing is outsourcing to someone else. If you have your own attorney and CPA simply stick with them. Otherwise it could be less expensive to discover and deal directly with those professionals instead of getting them through the broker.

Locating the ideal business broker isn't really that difficult it merely requires some time and effort in your part. But getting the best broker makes a massive difference in how the experience plays out and the total value of the offer.

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