What should your business broker do for you to successfully sell your small to mid-sized business? Well, there's many things that a qualified business broker can and should be doing for you. Besides keeping you in the loop during the entire process, the broker or agent needs to make sure your interests come first and foremost.
Here are a few key points brokers should be doing for you when you sell your business:
Keep a Secret: Your broker should be good at keeping a secret. Keeping a sale confidential is essential to your success. A business broker should ensure all safeguards are in place to protect your company. One word to your suppliers, employees, or customers that you are selling the company can have repercussions on your business operations.
Make sure your Broker is Cooperating with other Brokers & Agents on your listing: 70% of California Business Brokers don't cooperate with other Brokers and agents - make sure your representative does! If they aren't they are not reaching over 50% of the California marketplace. It's unfortunate that Intermediaries don't cooperate - they have their reasons - you just don't want to be a statistic (failure to sell)!
Deliver an Effective Marketing Plan: Just because a business is for sale doesn't mean it's going to sell itself. Selling your business is all about the right marketing. Properly positioning the sale of your company to attract and motivate as many business buyers as possible should be your goal.
Allow You to Avoid the Pressure: Selling a business is not an easy decision and once that decision has been made the process doesn't get any easier. A Business Broker should assist you and let you take the time to learn and clarify all uncertainties to avoid the pressure you may feel in a complex transaction.
Keep Costs Low with No Heavy Front Fee: Business broker fees typically range from 10 to 12% commission of the sales price OR a flat fee of $8-$15,000 if the business sale price is less than $100-$150,000. Avoid any broker asking you for a large, upfront fee to assess your business value or start an application process.
Curious to see what other ProIntermediaries and ProAdvisors feel about this topic, - please get in touch with me if you would like to contribute to this topic!