Sunbelt Business Brokers 1/26/24 Sunbelt Business Brokers 1/26/24

Understanding Your Business Is Critical for Business Brokers

Are you selling your business? You likely already know that hiring a business broker can make the difference between a good sale and a great one. However, you shouldn’t hire just any business broker. If you want to get the best sale price possible, it’s imperative that business brokers understand your business. Here’s why.

They Can Get an Accurate Valuation

Easy online valuation calculators can give you a general idea of your business’s worth. But if you want to get a great sale price, you need a highly specific, accurate valuation.

Valuing a business is an art, and it takes a skilled business broker to do it. If a business broker doesn’t have a deep understanding of your business and how it works, it will be impossible for them to get the most accurate valuation possible.

They Can Grasp the Value of Intangibles

Profit margins and your balance sheet aren’t the only things that influence your business’s sale price and how a broker markets it. There are many so-called “intangible” factors that you can’t attach a monetary value to — but they still make a difference in the overall worth of your business. Here are some examples:

Customer loyalty
Brand recognition
Goodwill between your business and others
Copyrights or patents

Intangibles can lure in potential buyers, so business brokers should have a solid understanding of the intangibles of your business.

They Have a Feel for Which Buyers Might Be Interested

A good business broker makes it their mission to understand your business, and they take time to understand what buyers want. Selling a business isn’t like selling a car. Buyers usually don’t contact business brokers out of the blue in response to an ad. Instead, brokers maintain a network of interested buyers.

When they understand both your business and their potential buyers, they can nudge promising buyers toward your business and increase your chances of a fast, profitable sale.

They Can Be Unbiased

You know your business better than anyone. However, for business owners — and especially owner-operators — emotions often get in the way, at least to some extent. Even if you think you’re being perfectly objective, there’s a good chance that your emotions are influencing you on a subconscious level.

That’s a natural reaction when you’re selling something that has long been a major part of your life. However, to negotiate a deal effectively, you need someone with an objective view of your business. When a broker takes the time to understand your business and combines that understanding with objectivity, you’ll be well on your way to a successful sale.

Take the Time to Choose the Right Broker

Selling a business is a complex venture, and in virtually every case, it’s beneficial to have a broker. Don’t rush your selection process! Choosing a broker who’s willing to really get to know your business is essential, and it takes a skilled and motivated broker to do that well. With a quality broker by your side, you dramatically increase your chances of a deal that suits you.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/29/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/29/23

6 Ways Business Brokers Can Save You Time and Net Higher Returns

If you’re fielding offers to buy your business or thinking about expanding by buying another business, consider hiring a business broker. Business brokers like Sunbelt Business Brokers can save you time and money by sorting through those offers or finding a business that fits your goals.

After all, you have a business to run. That business is the centerpiece of the deal and should be kept in peak shape to maximize its value and ensure that you have leverage in any transaction.

Business brokers have years of experience negotiating and executing the sales of various enterprises. They can handle your sale or purchase from beginning to end while guaranteeing that you comply with applicable state laws.

Here are half a dozen ways business brokers can save you time and net higher returns.

1. Making Connections

Business brokers have a vast array of business contacts and are intimately familiar with the environment businesses operate in. Having access to these buyers, investors, and others in your industry saves you valuable time and effort.Through the network of buyers and sellers many business brokers maintain, they can quickly find a buyer or seller that fits your objectives.

2. Advising You Before You Go to Market

The experience business brokers bring to the table also enables them to clarify your objectives and goals or even help you find improvements in your operations that could increase the value of your business, making you better prepared to sell or buy.

3. Valuing Businesses

Among other things, your broker will take stock of your company’s sales figures and competitors, what’s going on in the industry, and what’s important about your market. This ensures that you know exactly how much to ask for your business or pay for another.

4. Marketing Your Business

Making sure buyers and sellers know that you’re looking to buy or sell is essential to the work of business brokers. They know the industry and will create the marketing materials needed to show your business in the best light.

By publishing information about your company, business brokers generate interest among buyers and sellers, helping push the value of your business higher.

5. Maintaining Confidentiality

Through the many years business brokers have handled deals, they know how to keep your business information private. They’ll screen buyers, require non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and negotiate with discretion. All of this helps protect your business information, your employees, and your customers.

6. Coordinating Logistics

Many professionals will be involved in bringing the transaction to its ultimate close. Business brokers know which professionals are needed — financial advisors, accountants, lenders, attorneys, real estate brokers, and others — and will ensure that all the necessary players are in place to properly complete the deal.

The Advantages of Working With a Broker

Whether you’re looking to retire, move on to another venture, or expand your professional dealings, you naturally want to get the most out of selling your business or buying another one. A business broker can save you time and help you get the highest return possible for your business while you handle the important work of running it.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/27/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/27/23

12 Questions to Ask Your Business Brokers During the Initial Consultation

After years of long days and full weeks of building your business, you’re ready to sell your prized possession or buy another business, and you know you need a business broker. You’ve done some research online and created a shortlist. But you don’t know the best questions to ask to get the best business brokers for your company.

Selling or buying a business likely is the most important decision you will make. You have just one chance to get it right. Screening business brokers and finding the one that best fits your objectives and goals should be uppermost in your mind.

You should make a list of at least three business brokers. Most business brokers do not charge for the initial consultation, so you can sit down with more than one separately, ask the same questions, and compare answers.

Here are 12 questions to ask your business brokers during the initial consultation.

12 Questions to Ask Business Brokers

Your initial consultation with business brokers should solicit enough information to feel comfortable that you’ve found a broker or firm of brokers who will have your best interests at heart.

You will work closely with these business brokers for six months to a year, so you want to find someone you trust or believe will do the best job for you.

The following questions may not be all that you want to ask, but they can form a good foundation for finding the business brokers that will work for you:

How many years of experience do you have as a broker?
What types of deals have your business brokers worked on?
Have you worked to sell or buy businesses similar to mine?
What is your track record of successfully closing deals?
Do you have any testimonials or clients who can speak to your work?
Are you licensed to work in my jurisdiction?
How will you help me prepare my business for sale?
How will you value my business?
What is your process for finding potential buyers?
How will you help me negotiate the deal?
What is your process for closing the deal?
How much do you charge?

Business brokers should be able to easily answer these 12 questions to a level that helps you feel comfortable you’ve found the right ones. If not, move on to the next firm.

Your business is too important, and you’ve sacrificed too much to take a chance on business brokers you aren’t comfortable with.

Certification and Licensing

Like with some other professions, you might wonder about certifications and licensing. There is no national requirement to certify or license people to become business brokers.

However, the International Business Brokers Association recommends business brokers seek the group’s Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation to prove their expertise and professionalism.

In Florida, business brokers are required to obtain a real estate license to practice in the state.

Find Your Business Broker

Now that you know some questions to ask, you can create your list of business brokers. You can feel confident asking questions to reveal the right match to sell your business or locate a company to buy.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/25/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 12/25/23

Business Brokers Can Expedite the Sale of your Commercial Business

You may be great at selling your goods or services, but selling your company requires a breadth and depth of skills only found with business brokers. If you’re looking to sell your commercial business and it needs to be done relatively quickly, a business broker is the professional to call.

Many commercial businesses take between four and twelve months to sell. The process — from deciding to sell to signing closing documents — involves dozens of factors and decisions. As a commercial business owner, you are focused on your customers and won’t have time to attend to the details of closing a commercial business sale quickly.

Here’s what business brokers can do for a commercial business owner:

Determine the value of the business
Prepare nondisclosure agreements
Market the sale
Screen potential buyers and schedule meetings
Assist with proposals, negotiations, and the structure of transactions

Professional brokers from Sunbelt Business Brokers are ready to take on these tasks, expediting the sale of your small or medium-sized business.

Getting Guidance From Experience

No one knows your commercial business better than you. But to sell your business — and fast — you need to know how the companies around you are faring, what your competitors are doing, and what kind of market there is for your goods and services.

Professional business brokers maintain a wide-ranging network of buyers, sellers, and other professionals. They can help you gather the information you need while they quickly get up to speed on your business, drawing on their skills and background in selling similar companies.

Business brokers are often called intermediaries because they are at the center of the sale. To succeed in this complex role, they must possess a wide range range of skills:

Business valuation
Business management
Corporate finance
Economics
Financial accounting
Industry knowledge
Law and licensing
Negotiation
Sales and marketing

This deep and wide experience helps set clear expectations from the outset, keeps the deal from running afoul of the law, and ensures there are no problems even after the closing. The value a good business broker brings to your deal will far outstrip what you pay.

Getting Maximum Value

Even though you want to sell your commercial business fast, there’s a long list of to-dos before that can happen. You must understand your assets and liabilities, have a firm grip on your financial statements, supply details on equipment, and compile files on customers, orders, contracts, insurance, and licenses.

With a business broker on board, you will not only cut down the time needed to gather and understand that information but will also have someone who can help you use it to establish the maximum value for your company.

Finding a Buyer

One of the greatest values business brokers will add to your deal is the list of potential buyers they maintain. Business brokers can help you value your company to seek the maximum price in the market, and they also can evaluate potential buyers, market your business, and negotiate for you — tasks that could take you months to complete on your own.

Through their experience and knowledge, business brokers offer the fastest path to selling your commercial business.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/16/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/16/23

Do Business Brokers Charge a Commission or a Flat Fee?

Your business is humming along, and you’re thinking about selling it or buying another. Either way, you will need someone to help you find a buyer or seller and navigate state regulations, the valuation of your business, and tax implications. That person is a business broker.

While you know what business brokers can do for you, there’s one thing you might not have explored: Do business brokers charge a commission or a flat fee?

Most Business Brokers Charge a Commission

Instead of a flat fee, many business brokers work on commission, or a “success fee,” as it is known in the business broker world. It’s called this because you pay a percentage commission to the business broker only after the deal is successful. This fee structure is similar to working with a real estate agent, who gets paid at the closing of a sale.

The commission for business brokers is typically between 10% and 15%, depending on the price and size of the business. Generally, the smaller the sale or purchase, the higher the percentage commission; deals worth more than $1 million might see commissions slide toward the lower range of the scale.

Good business brokers should always work in your best interests, trying to get the most value they can for you. Working on commission can be an added incentive.

Some Business Brokers Charge a Flat Fee

Generally, a flat fee structure doesn’t give business brokers an incentive to increase the value of the transaction. But there are reasons business brokers might charge a flat fee.

Some business brokers charge a flat fee of $10,000 to $15,000 for sales and purchases of smaller businesses. These small businesses might generate around six figures in annual sales or less.

For businesses valued at less than $100,000, the flat fee might seem high, but the value of hiring a business broker — finding a buyer or seller, adding value to the business, and marketing the deal — might be worth it.

The opposite end of the spectrum is another time business brokers might charge a flat fee. Large, multimillion-dollar deals or transactions that take 12 months or longer might require a flat fee as a retainer.

Other Fees You Might Encounter

While typical commissions are around 10% to 15% and flat fees are often at least $15,000, there are no set prices for business brokers. You can negotiate the commission or flat fee.

One thing to keep in mind when researching business brokers is that you might be charged additional fees, even if you’re paying a commission. Business brokers handle a lot of tasks, and they might charge fees for some of those tasks in addition to their usual commission or flat fee. For example, a business broker might charge you additional fees related to legal work, accounting, and marketing. Whether you pay a commission or a flat fee, find out up front whether these additional fees or others are included in your payment agreement.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/14/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/14/23

How Beneficial Are Business Brokers for Selling My Sole Proprietor Business

Building a business from the ground up as a sole proprietor can be incredibly challenging. But if you’ve done the work, you might decide that it’s time to sell and move on to your next business venture.

You likely already know that business brokers are essential when it comes to selling larger businesses. But what about sole proprietorships? Here’s a look at how business brokers can make a major difference in the sale process.

They Know How to Find Buyers

Business brokers maintain a network of buyers who are eager to purchase businesses. When it comes time to sell yours, your broker will connect you with enthusiastic potential buyers.

What if you already have a buyer in mind? You’ll still benefit from working with a broker because they help with more than just finding buyers.

They’re Expert Negotiators

Since you’ve worked so hard to build up your sole proprietorship, handling the negotiations yourself isn’t a great idea.

Negotiating a sale price for a business isn’t like haggling at a flea market. Business brokers sell businesses day in and day out, so they’re well-versed in the difficult art of negotiation. They’re also familiar with changing trends in your industry, so they will be able to tell you whether an offer is worth taking.

They Can Help You Minimize Tax Liability

Most business owners sell with the goal of getting as much profit from the sale as possible. However, the more profit a sale generates, the more you’ll owe in capital gains tax.

The way a sale is structured can make a dramatic difference in the amount of tax you owe, and business brokers can help you design a deal structure that keeps your tax liability as low as possible.

Tax code is difficult for most people to understand, and the fact that it’s constantly changing doesn’t make it any easier. Brokers keep track of changes in tax code and can use that knowledge to execute successful sales.

They Save You Time

If you’re going through the process of selling your business while you’re also running it, you may have already found that it’s a challenge to manage both. This is particularly true during the due diligence process, where the buyer can request many types of documentation:

Bank statements from the past 3 to 5 years
Tax returns from the past 3 to 5 years
Financial statements from the past 3 to 5 years
Any relevant leases or contracts
Insurance policies
Employee handbooks and official protocols

Business brokers can help you find and compile this information ahead of the due diligence process. You can trust them to handle the logistics of the sale so you can dedicate your time to your business.

Are Business Brokers Right for You?

Selling your sole proprietor business is a major event, and it’s something you need to plan with caution. When you work with a business broker, you have a professional on your side to take charge of finding a suitable buyer, getting a fair sale price, minimizing your tax liability, and ultimately, saving you time.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/3/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/3/23

Top 4 Ways a Business Broker Benefits the Sale of a Business

You may have had friends or business contacts recommend that you use a business broker when selling your business. But few people know just what a broker can do unless they have direct experience with the profession. Here’s a look at some of the main ways a business broker can make things easier for you during the sales process.

1. You’ll Get a Quicker Sale

Most brokers maintain a list of active buyers looking to purchase a business as soon as possible. They also typically have contacts at banks, so if a buyer is ready to commit, the broker can likely help them secure financing.

As a result, when you work with a business broker, you’ll likely be able to make a sale much faster than if you were to go it alone.

2. You’ll Have a Guide Through the Process

From negotiating a deal structure to choosing the right attorney to assist with closing, completing a sale has many more steps than you might think.

You may be new to the ins and outs of selling a business, but it’s something business brokers deal with every day. A good broker will help you through the process and make sure you don’t miss any crucial steps.

3. You’ll (Probably) Get a Better Price

Because business brokers are often in contact with numerous would-be buyers, they can help you find and choose a buyer quickly. Having such an extensive selection of contacts also means they can usually get a better price for your business.

How? Business brokers almost always have multiple buyers interested in a single business, and they use that fact as leverage when communicating with potential buyers. While it’s not an auction per se, the buyers will often try to outbid one another for your business.

By contrast, it can be challenging to find just one interested, qualified buyer when selling your business on your own, let alone several.

4. You’ll Save Time

Many people who sell a business for the first time are surprised at how long it takes. Between marketing, meeting with potential buyers, negotiating deals, and moving through the closing process, selling your business leaves little time for anything else.

If you’re deeply involved in running your business, you may find it impossible to keep up with your typical duties while attempting to orchestrate a sale. Even if you aren’t involved in day-to-day operations, handling a sale yourself can be a massive investment of time and energy.

You still need to be somewhat involved in the process when you work with a broker. However, they can handle the responsibilities of marketing and interacting with buyers for you, leaving you free to run your business or pursue other interests.

The Right Broker Makes All the Difference

Selling a business is a complicated process, but skilled business brokers can help you navigate it. Of course, selling on your own is always an option. More often than not, however, working with a broker pays off — both financially and otherwise.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/1/23 Sunbelt Business Brokers 11/1/23

Is It Worth Contracting a Business Broker When I Sell My Company?

Selling your business is an exciting time, as it likely means you’re retiring or moving onto a new venture. All too often, though, making a sale is harder than it sounds.

Some business owners are determined to stick it out and make the sale alone. Others call in business brokers.

If you’re like many business owners who are preparing to sell, you might find yourself wondering whether contracting a business broker is worth the trouble. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you make this key decision.

Do I Have a Buyer in Mind?

Many business owners who sell independently do so because they already have an interested buyer lined up. If you plan on selling your business to an employee or existing contact, you may not need to hire a broker — you can simply work out the details with your buyer and make it official.

On the other hand, if you’re ready to sell but don’t have a prospective buyer, a broker can be a tremendous help. Brokers maintain networks of eager, qualified buyers. And because your broker is invested in getting you the best sale price possible, they can encourage interested parties to bid against one another.

Do I Have the Time to Coordinate the Sale?

Selling a business isn’t like selling a car. It’s a sustained effort with endless loose ends to tie up.If you’re an owner-operator or are otherwise deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of your business, you’ll likely find it overwhelming to add managing and coordinating a sale to the mix. However, if the role you play is relatively hands-off, you might be able to find the time.

Am I Familiar With the Sales Process?

One of the primary advantages business brokers offer is that they know exactly what steps must be taken to make a successful sale. A good broker will be able to ensure that you get an accurate valuation and help you negotiate a deal with the buyer you choose. They’ll also be able to guide you through the closing process.

In all the intricacies of the sale itself, it’s easy to forget about another important element: taxes. If you’ve never sold a business before, you may find it challenging to fully grasp the resulting tax consequences.

Taxes aren’t an area where you want to make a mistake, either. If you don’t file all necessary paperwork with the IRS or pay the appropriate amount, you could be charged with tax fraud. A good broker will help you handle all taxes associated with selling your business.

Take Time to Consider Whether a Business Broker Is Right for You

In nearly every situation, a business broker can facilitate a faster sale (and get you a better price) than if you sold your business on your own. That being said, not all business brokers are created equal.

Before committing to one, make sure you do your due diligence. When you take the time to find the right broker, they’ll be able to find you the right buyer in turn.

Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/29/19 Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/29/19

South of Houston Street

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Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/28/19 Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/28/19

Summers in Manhattan

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Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/26/19 Sunbelt Business Brokers 5/26/19

Life in the City

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