Does a Business Broker’s Reputation Matter?

Business brokers are not required to have licenses or specific accreditations. However, reading more about your prospective online business broker could be your first opportunity to decide whether or not to work with this person for the sale of your business. Most knowledgeable business brokers have been involved in this industry for some time and can point to numerous successful deals and overcome challenges as a way to give you further information about the process.

A business broker’s public reputation usually refers to what’s available online. Living in a digital age, we turn to reviews about companies to make important decisions about who to work with. The same is true when selecting an online business broker. A business broker can advise you about what to anticipate during the process and how the business valuation will occur.

This has important implications for how you move forward with your company and can help to put your mind at ease when selecting someone who will be so personally involved in helping you structure your company and list it for sale.

Pay close attention to the reviews and testimonials published online about your potential business broker firm. They can tell you a lot about the past experience that other people have had in working specifically with that company and can alert you to common red flags or bad experiences that other people dealt with. The best predictor of future behavior for an online business broker is past behavior and in fact, a business broker’s reputation should be one of the most important ones that you evaluate.

Ask anyone who might have previously worked with a business brokerage about their individual experience. Get on the phone if you can where there is a better chance that they’ll be upfront about what it was really like to work with the firm. Be aware that practically everyone in the online business broker industry will claim that they have the best negotiators, the most sophisticated selling strategies, and the most comprehensive process. Before you sign a listing agreement, however, you’ve got to do your own due diligence and figure out whether or not this is accurate. Asking for recommendations for past clients shouldn’t throw up any red flags at the business broker’s office. In fact, they should welcome it and easily point you in the right direction of past clients you can communicate with about the overall experiences.

One of the biggest disparities between different business brokerage firms is the emphasis and value they place on marketing your business. Some might simply place an advertisement on their website and call it a day, whereas, others will develop comprehensive marketing strategies. No matter which method your firm takes, you deserve to know this information upfront so that you can decide whether or not to work with them. Contact us today for a thorough review of how our online business brokers take your business seriously and get help throughout the whole process.