Do you have a preferred method of finding a good broker? What sort of questions do you ask to try to discover if they are a ok, good, Great broker?
Ive learnt that not all brokers are created equal and some drastically misrepresent the cashflow/ebitda.
Finding on market deals
by a searcher
More on Searchfunder
Searchfunder is an online community and toolkit for searchfunds. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder.com account to help them network, problem solve challenges, and keep up with the industry.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
Here are a few questions you could ask:
What is their background? How long have they been a broker? Are they licensed? Are they entrepreneurial? Have they ever built or sold their own companies? How many deals have they done? Total? This year? Ask for them to put you in touch with a couple current or past clients as a referral. Red flag if they say they can't due to "privacy" or "unable to disclose". What is their average and most recent deal size? Average closing price? How much over/under asking? How many clients do they work with at a time? Will any other team members be helping? Are they members of accredited broker organizations (ex: IBBA, CABB?) What is their average sale duration / time on the market from list to close? How many businesses have they sold in your specific industry? What is your process for communicating with / qualifying potential buyers before letting them Into the Data Room?
What other support do they provide? Lender contacts? Providing sample term sheets? Do they have Attorney contacts? Accountant Contacts? What does the process generally look like once you submit an LOI?
You should be able to get a good idea after talking on a few of these points.