Do You Need a Business Broker to Sell Your Business?

During my career, I dedicated my time to creating and nurturing businesses. However, my journey took a significant turn after receiving private education in leverage, private banking, and both public and private commerce. This led me into the realm of mergers & acquisitions (M&A) after a successful tenure as a business owner in the trucking and logistics sector.

I distinctly remember one of my early conversations with a prospective seller who inquired about my background. When I mentioned my previous roles as the owner of a trucking and logistics company and a perfume company some years earlier, she humorously remarked, "Well, you've certainly jumped from one spectrum to the next, haven't you? How did you navigate in numerous industries?" The truth is, I was trained to. I am an industrialist, and as such understand many differing industries

Until now (because I am sharing the secret), business owners and founders too often thought they needed to get a business broker to sell their business because that’s what they were told to do, similar to the real estate/agent paradigm. The truth is, owners and founders can prepare their business for successful transition, get more than the business is worth at sale, avoid costly broker fees, keep their business’ business private, retain more of their wealth, and so much more to list when collaborating with a team of professionals and all they do is valuations, growth and scaling assistance, and private transactions. 

This mindset comes from a very simple place, we were told by others how to handle a situation; yet what is to say that that person(s) was accurate? What makes a business broker so qualified to sell a business? I posited myself this question years back after learning that the majority of the brokers we interacted with had no experience in owning their own business, buying a business, or training in business valuation - How on Earth is this person qualified to facilitate such a huge transaction on my behalf?

Take a look at some of the myths we have been trained to believe about business brokers, as I have personally discovered in my years of business.

• Business brokers have a special license to sell businesses - False. There is no regulatory body that oversees this sector. They would need a real estate license if real property is involved and there is no real estate agent on the team.

• Business brokers have experience in business - False. As I’d mentioned, more times than not a broker has never owned their own business or managed another’s. The harsh reality is that they are recovering real estate agents who are seeking another means of a commission check or burned out from the grind of real estate.

• Business brokers are working for my best interest - Not always true. Too often when searching for businesses to add to our  network, we see that brokers are placing asking prices far out of range for the specific industry multiple. Consider this, when the broker takes your listing to sell your business, all they envision on the other side is the commission check. If you as the owner, have not had a valuation performed or don’t know how to do it yourself, how do you know the broker isn’t overpricing your asset so he can get a bigger check, which would leave your business exposed in the marketplace for an extended time, and open to your competitors. It can be hard to ascertain for sure if the broker is out for your best interest or just trying to get a bigger check without pricing the asset accordingly and helping the seller to structure an advantageous deal for all parties involved.

During your business owner journey, you might have encountered an unscrupulous business/real estate broker in the past, leaving you feeling icky, like a greasy, car-salesman’s commission check. This is precisely why, if you were to ask me why you should entrust me to help you prepare your business for sale and then help you sell your business, my answer would be the same:

You shouldn't... if you can sell it yourself and you understand the myriad of variables that a qualified buyer would be looking for and the actions that must happen during a transaction.

I understand, you are probably scrolling to the top of the article thinking, "I thought this was to help me avoid using a business broker?" This is where the terminal caveat lies, let me explain. Most business owners I collaborate with have never sold a business before, and in many cases have never bought a business, they are the founder of their own. How does one learn the intricacies of such a complex process without any prior experience? The answer is simple: you learn by doing. The most important question here is, do you really want to risk your most valuable asset on a transaction that you've never attempted before? After a decade in this field and involvement in countless deals, it is evident that many business owners first lack the knowledge required to effectively grow, scale, and prepare their business for the successful and fruitful sale of their business-dreams, selling their own business could be damaging.

Principled Women in Business (PWIB), and our team not only helps founders to prepare for their big exit, we also buy businesses with the sole intention of growing them 3x-7x to continue the seller’s legacy and positive impact in the community.  

What if you did not need to enlist a costly business broker who sees you as a commission check, did not need to open your finances to public scrutiny, could get more than your business is worth today, and create generational wealth; all by working with a team of M&A professionals, private bankers, industrials, and conscious business owners? 

Selling a business represents a unique challenge unlike any other, but it does not need to be.  Business owners and founders now have access to a network of private, professional buyers, whose sole mission is to enhance the socioeconomic status of humanity, continue the founder’s legacy, and to keep healthy what made America’s economy so great- small to medium private businesses, 

When considering if you need a professional to help you prepare and sell your business consider this:

• Have you been keeping fantastic records?

• Have you policized your processes and regulations?

• Have you gone through the preparation checklist to become the business any qualified buyer wants to buy?

• Do you want a private transaction that does not expose your business to your competitors?

• Do you possess the expertise to determine the value of a business?

• Do you understand how to find potential buyers for your business?

• Do you know whose interests the bank represents when they are presented with a deal?

• Have you ever negotiated on price and terms?

• What information should you provide to potential buyers during initial conversations?

In summary, while it's true that some business owners may possess the skills to sell their own businesses successfully, the vast majority will benefit significantly from the expertise and guidance of Principled Women in Business, a premier mergers and acquisitions firm, who also has access to a vast network of professional, qualified buyers. Enlisting a business broker does not guarantee a successful sale, a mutually synergistic transaction for buyer and seller alike, or even that your company will get the price estimated to you. 

The PWIB team understands how difficult and stressful selling a business can be, which is why we create customized paths and plans to help business owners enhance your corporate valuations, so you can get more than the business is worth upon sale, avoid costly broker fees, and can retain more of your wealth from the transaction. Principled Women in Business is currently offering a complimentary discovery call, which will uncover the immense value that we offer your business, will give you a plan and a path to get you to your destination, and will show you what your company valuation could be. Secure your discovery session here. 

If you have any more questions or need further insights into the world of business sales, growth plans, and private business sale, please feel free to ask.

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