^redacted‌ I am a broker/intermediary now and I have also acquired businesses (for investors and for business owners who wanted to expand). The short answer is you don't really need brokers when searching if you're willing to do all the leg work yourself. like I did during my searches. The longer answer is the brokers can be useful, but unless the broker has bought businesses themselves in the past like I have, don't trust their DD, always do your own