Posted 12-15-2022 10:06 am by
Not all business brokers in Las Vegas are created equal. When it comes to choosing a good business broker in Nevada, there are 10 things you should look for:
1. Specialty. Just as there are many specialties in the field of medicine, there are brokers that specialize in selling houses, brokers that specialize in selling commercial properties, and brokers that specialize in selling businesses. Does the broker specialize in selling businesses?
2. Track record. How many businesses has the broker sold? Just because the brokerage has a wealth of experience does not necessarily mean the broker assigned to your listing has a wealth of experience. Rather than looking at how many years the brokerage has been in business or how many businesses the brokerage has represented, a more accurate indicator of experience is the number of businesses the broker working on your case has personally sold.
3. Financing contacts. Does the broker have good relationships with key SBA lenders? Does the broker know which bank the buyer should go to for which type of deal in order to help the buyer get financed fast?
4. Choice of escrow. Which escrow company does the broker use? Does the broker use a regular escrow company that mostly sells homes, or does the broker use an escrow attorney who specializes in business sale closings?
5. Marketing package. How does the business broker present your business to potential buyers? The marketing package prepared by Advantage Commercial Brokers can sometimes be over a hundred pages long.
6. Confidentiality. What actions does the broker take to ensure confidentiality is maintained?
7. Minimizing liability. What actions does the broker take to minimize any potential liability?
8. Minimizing tax obligations. Does the broker understand the tax implications of purchase price allocations for both the seller and buyer? Is the broker proactive in working with your CPA to help you minimize your tax obligations?
9. Straightforward communication. You want a broker who is honest and open with you, and not afraid to tell you the truth even if it is hard to hear. There are brokers who give artificially high valuations just to get the listing, and the approach is damaging to both their clients and the business brokerage industry. Ultimately, you need to ask yourself: “Is the broker specialized, experienced, and sincere?”
10. Business ownership experience. While not entirely necessary to be a successful business broker, it lends a lot of credibility to potential buyers if the business broker has personally purchased one or more successful businesses. A business broker who has personally gone through the experience of buying and/or selling a business can relate with clients in a way that is hard for other brokers to replicate. Is your broker a mere salesperson, a salesperson with less than spectacular business ownership experience, or a successful absentee business owner of multiple profitable businesses that potential buyers admire and want to emulate?
For a consultation with Advantage Commercial Brokers so you can see how we fare in the above criteria, contact us below.
Aaron Muller, President of Advantage Commercial Brokers, has personally sold over 200 companies for his clients as a business broker. Recognized as an Industry Expert by the Business Brokerage Press, Aaron has over 20 years of experience selling companies with sale prices ranging from $100,000 to over $50 million. Aaron is an Inc. 500 entrepreneur, having built one of America’s fastest growing private companies. Aaron owns multiple companies today, and is the #1 international bestselling author of The Lifestyle Business Owner: How to Buy a Business, Grow Your Profits, and Make It Run Without You, available on Amazon in Kindle, audiobook, and paperback. Contact Aaron at (702) 829-6373 or aaron@acbrokersinc.com for a confidential, complimentary consultation for business sellers in the Las Vegas area.
