How Can a Broker Help Sell Your Business?

If you’re looking into selling your business, you've probably realised that there is quite a lot of work that comes with doing so. It can feel pretty overwhelming, but there are ways to redistribute the stress and workload.

One of the best ways to make the whole process easier is to employ a business broker who has the expertise and understanding to sell your business quickly and get you a good price.

Whether you’ve already considered a broker and want more guidance or you’ve never heard the term before, we can help. Below, we’ve summarised the key responsibilities of a business broker, how they help you sell a business, and the pros and cons of working with a broker.

Take a look now to learn more.

What is a Business Broker?

A business broker is an expert who can help you to buy or sell a business. They bring their knowledge of the legal and government requirements when buying or selling, helping to make the process more straightforward and compliant with regulatory requirements.

In addition, a business broker can offer advice about profitability, ways to restructure your business to make it look more attractive to buyers, and market trends in your industry. All of this makes the business selling process much less stressful.

When choosing a business broker, it’s a good idea to look at their professional credentials and reputation; you may want to speak with past clients and get referrals to ensure they’ll help you where you need it. You may also want to discuss it with friends, family, and your business partners.

How Can a Business Broker Help Me Sell My Business?

The business broker is essentially the middleman between you, the seller, and the potential buyer. They facilitate the overall transaction and have a few key jobs to carry out. These are as follows.

• Valuation: Many people can value your business, including you. However, a business broker has the knowledge and understanding of the industry to set an attractive price that still gives you a good profit.
• Preparation: We mentioned above how business brokers can help you with things like restructuring. This is great for improving any financial issues you may face and can help the business look more attractive. They may also update your business plan and even organise repairs at your facilities.
• Marketing: If you hate marketing, then working with a business broker is always going to be beneficial to you. They can get the word out that your business is for sale, promote it to potential buyers, and even create listings on marketplaces like Eden Exchange.
• Qualifying buyers: Whether they already have a list in mind of contacts they know are looking to buy or they come from online listings, a business broker is a great person to have around when you’re qualifying business leads. They can screen buyers for you and give you a whittled-down list of potentials, so you don’t have to take the time to do it yourself.
• Negotiations: Never been a top negotiator? A business broker can help. As the middleman, they can facilitate the whole negotiation process between you and the buyer, fixing terms like the price, financing, and contingencies in the contract.
• Closing: A business deal requires many technicalities, including legal and financial responsibilities. To ensure you don’t miss anything, a business broker can take over this aspect of the transaction to ensure everything is as it should be when you close the deal.

Pros and Cons of Using a Business Broker to Sell My Business

A broker can take a lot of the legwork of selling a business off your hands, meaning you have time to continue running it. But what are the pros and cons of working with a broker? We’ve summarised them all below to help make the decision easier.

Pros:

• A broker will already have a network of potential buyers that they can use to find leads for your business. This means instead of you trying to market your business to any and all buyers; a broker can use their contacts to facilitate a quick sale.
• Brokers are experts in the buying and selling of businesses. This means you have someone on your side who knows exactly what they’re doing. You can avoid missteps and ensure all legal requirements are met before closing the sale.
• Working with a broker gives you more chances of getting a good deal. While you may have great negotiation skills, a broker does this day in and day out. They’re going to know exactly how to get you the highest price.
• You can avoid all the paperwork, which is a highly attractive prospect to many. The sale of a business takes time and lots of work, so handing it off to someone else can save you lots of stress.
• You have time to continue running your business. Selling a business is time-consuming; someone needs to continue running your company while you’re getting it ready to sell. A business broker ensures that you have this time.

Cons:

• You will have to pay a broker fee. This is usually a percentage of the total selling price and is something you should consider before you choose to work with a broker. Keep in mind that you can sell your business without the help of a broker. So, if the cost of a broker outweighs the benefits in your mind, you may choose to avoid working with one altogether.
• Highly specialised brokers may be difficult to find. It can take time to find the perfect match, but it is even harder if you’re working in a newer industry that many brokers don’t have experience in. Sometimes, your knowledge of the industry far outweighs that of a broker.

Final Thoughts

A business broker can offer you a stress-free business selling process. They can do most of the heavy lifting that comes with selling a business, get you a good price, and even offer advice to make your business look as good as it can. However, there is a cost and a few other drawbacks to consider.

If you’re looking to sell your business, then Eden Exchange is a great place to start. We offer all of our members' access to our platform and a network of thousands of active buyers already looking through our listings. We’ve already facilitated the sale of many businesses and offer exemplary guidance to all our members.

Get in touch now to join the platform and sell your business today!