What is a Business Broker?
A business broker is one who is engaged in the business of facilitating the sale of a business which is up for sale in the market. He serves as the mediator between business sellers and business buyers in all the stages of processing the transaction.
How Can a Business Broker help in a Buying/Selling a business?
- The Pre-screening Process.
A good business broker only accepts listings that are properly documented, i.e. business owners are required to provide a complete financial disclosure particularly for those businesses that are being sold way up above the fair market value. An experienced business broker can “smell” the bad risks and can protect the business buyer, most especially the first-time buyers, by pointing out these avoidable risks.
- Zero in on target goals.
Not all buyers wanting to have a business of their own are intelligent business buyers. A business broker comes in handy when analyzing what the business buyer may really need based on his interests and skills. Most often, professional business brokers act as matchmakers, helping the buyer select the right business and satisfying the business seller’s asking price.
- Negotiations.
The process of negotiating the business sale is the most crucial stage. This is when both parties would come to appreciate the business broker’s support in the discussions leading to a successful compromise in finally closing the deal. As a professional negotiator, he can thresh out the differences in opinion and regulate the transactions without taking sides to come to a unified solution for everyone at stake.
- Documentation
Closing the business sale is just the beginning of a long paper trail in completing the deal. Professional business brokers are adept in going through the whole caboodle of obtaining business permits and licenses. Needless to say, a business buyer’s wisest decision to make is to hire the best business broker to do the paper work. Government rules and regulations are tough to beat but business brokers have mustered their way through all the “red tape”. For a minimal 5-10% broker’s commission, a business buyer gets peace of mind knowing that he had purchased the right business for the most reasonable price while the business seller gets full satisfaction of getting back his business’ worth and more.
Where to Find a Business Broker?
Congratulations! You would not have read this far if you did not take the initial step in finding a business broker. You may have gone through checking the newspapers ‘classified ads or “leafed” through the yellow pages but the quickest way to finding the best business broker is just a click away in this worldwide web.
If you are still in doubt, then ask for referrals from other business sellers, seasoned business buyers who have hired experienced business brokers . Ask your friends, friends of friends who may know bankers and financial institutions that come in contact with professional business brokers.
What to Look for in a Good Business broker?
A good business broker’s worth is gauged on how fast he can help both business seller and buyer in closing a business sale. He basically acts as a sounding board between both parties. An experienced business broker can easily facilitate a productive discussion as he represents a neutral ground where buyer and seller may come to agreeable terms and conditions prior to closing a sale
Buyers on the look-out for an existing business for sale can use a good business broker that will go an extra mile in knowing the buyer’s specific needs such as target location, business size, the industry niche and all other parameters. At the end of the day, it is still the “gut” feel that matters, like “love at first sight”, you know you have found the right business broker when communications do not end with “Goodbye!”