When you are looking to sell a business there are a number of areas that you should focus on when interviewing a business broker.  Hint Price is NOT one of them.  But I digress.  While there are MANY business brokers that have the education that is required to sell a business.  Most do not have the expertise to be successful at actually the art of selling a business.

In a recent team planning meeting we discussed the topic of the common characteristics that are required for a good business broker (M&A guy, Business intermediary or whatever your preferred terminology). While the top business brokers (based on actual productivity) in the country were in that room, you might be surprised at what the FINAL list was:  

1. Honesty and Integrity – Yes this is a given but we couldn’t have made a list without at least putting this on it. But to be honest there are unsuccessful business brokers that are Honest.
2. Candidness – It is crucial for a good business intermediary that can confront either the business purchaser or the business seller on issue that will ultimately kill the deal. The process of selling a business is complicated and there is good news and there is bad news.  If you don’t have a business broker that can tell you the bad news then you don’t have a business broker that can sell your business.
3. Manage Expectations – As I mentioned it earlier if you are ONLY focused on finding a business broker that will tell you a price that you want to hear you are headed down the wrong track.  A good business sales professional will ALWAYS tell you the truth and not give you promises that they can’t deliver on.
4. Creative Problem Solver – There is certainly a trend in this list SO far.  But understand that there is no such thing as a easy sell of a business. There are always problems.  In fact,  the saying goes “every deal dies 3 times”. This is often the reason why For Sale by Owner is never successful.  If every deal dies 3 times (or more) then you need someone that has been here before that can have a team of professionals that will pull from their other experiences and creative thinking to develop strategies to get the deal back on track.
5. Understands Team Concept – I recently wrote an article on “Does Size Matter” “One Man Shows”.  In this article you can clearly see why having a team approach is critical to your success.
6. Good Listener – If your business sales professional doesn’t hear you or the buyer when they talk… How can you expect to have a business transaction that meets your goals?  The don’t even know what your goals are….
7. Follow thru & Work Ethic – The sell of a business is a long process and to be successful you must have a business intermediary to follow-up with every buyer and follow the process tirelessly.  If your business broker works 3 days a week then you maybe should find someone that is sells businesses for a living instead of one that is doing this job in place of working at Walmart.
8. Has the Seller and Buyer’s best interest at heart – If the business broker is just after the commission check then they will never be able to focus on the important aspects of getting a deal done.
9. Understanding the Psychology of the “Deal” – Well I am sorry to say that you will have to wait on the book for this one.  This is a topic that is one of our trade secrets that sets us apart from the other brokers.  I am even talking about the other good brokers that are successful.  Let’s just say that the Psychology of the deal means that the sell of a business is more than numbers. More than a P&L and Balance Sheet. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND this point.

Buying a business and selling a business is a very complicated process.  This is why not many people are successful at the task. If you can find someone that can help you that First understands the principles and has the education and the Second has the above 9 characteristics.  Then you have found the right team to help you sell your business.