Ghosted by brokers?

searcher profile

April 02, 2021

by a searcher from Texas Christian University - Neeley School of Business in Mansfield, TX, USA

Has anyone had experience being ghosted or flat out ignored by brokers? I am genuinely interested in three businesses and reached out individually on each three, sent a follow up email, and received no response. I just thought it was odd as I would expect a “No” at minimum.

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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from University of Illinois at Urbana in Naperville, IL, USA
The best deals don’t come through brokers. It’s true with commercial real estate, and it’s true with businesses.



I’ve recently had a broker misrepresent a business for sale and ask for much more detailed info to qualify a potential buyer (which I didn’t provide) than necessary. After seeing the business details, I pointed out the incorrect information he had included jn the listing and how it changed the value of the business. His response was simply that the business was no longer available. Not the first time for me that shining a light on a potential deal resulted in this response.
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Reply by an intermediary
from The University of Michigan in Bonita Springs, FL, USA
How did you reach out, i.e., were you specific in your request? Did you request a NDA; this is an indication of interest and should always generate a response? What region of the country, e.g., Florida is under siege this time of year and the number of inquiries sometimes become almost unmanageable? Have you used your email address for mass emailing in the past, i.e., a large number of prospects who seem to be fishing for businesses to buy go into my spam folder and may not be looked at right away?

That said, there are a lot of reasons why you aren't drawing the attention of brokers. I receive a lot of emails from individuals looking for businesses every single day. Like anyone else, I will prioritize them and act on them based on their relevance to me. Requests such as, "find me a law firm ASAP" or unreasonable requests such as "I am looking for an absentee business making over $500K -- I have $75K to put down" may fall so far down my inbox by the end of the day they may not receive a prompt response. Or, if I am traveling or trying to get a deal or two closed, a same day response sometimes (infrequently) does not happen.

Easy to respond to phone calls and text messages are often more effective. For example, a phone message or text such as, "I would like to receive additional information on your medical billing company. Please send your NDA to Ryan Morris at redacted or "I am looking for a medical billing company in the orthopedics space, can you tell me if your medical billing company specializes in orthopedics?" will receive a prompt reply. An email stating, "Tell me more about your medical billing company" (it is shocking how many people do not read the description and ask me questions already answered) or "Are you aware of any medical billing companies for sale" when I am not aware of any for sale may not.

Finally, there are many brokers out there who treat the business as a hobby. They aren't committed. This is unfortunate and far too prevalent and we all suffer because of it.
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