The Job

Business Brokers are intermediaries. They assist business owners in finding a suitable buyer and help to mediate the purchase and sale of a business. Typically a broker starts by getting listings. Listings are businesses whose owners are looking to sell and who have agreed to pay the Business Broker a fee if they can bring forth a buyer who will pay their price. As a Business Broker you will engage in certain activities such as:

• Prospecting
• Meetings
• Conference calls

You will find businesses for sale and introduce interested buyers to those businesses. When the business gets sold, you get paid a commission. This Business Broker course will teach you everything you need to know about how to do this, and the company we place you with will have a computer system and marketing program to aid in finding interested buyers. Potential buyers will contact you and you will make the introduction. You will also keep a line of communication open through meetings and conference calls to ensure that the sale moves along and closes.

The Pay

Business Brokers are very well compensated. In general, they get paid in a very similar way to Real Estate Agents. However here at East Coast Stores we pay between 60-70% to the experienced broker.

$750,000 at 8% = $60,000 Total Commission, 60-70% of that

So as you can see, the financial benefits of being a Business Broker can be great. Additionally, some firms offer a sliding scale commission, so although you start out being paid 50-70% of the commissions earned. As you make more sales, that can go up to as much as 75% based on what you bring in for the year. Most good brokers can do an average of 10 deals per year.

The Schedule

The work schedule is a tremendous benefit of the job. Since you are the one setting up appointments and calls, you are the one in control of when you work and for how long. There will be occasions where a meeting must take place at a certain time but for the most part you control the schedule. Typically Business Brokers do not work 9-5. Brokers will typically have a staggered schedule based on when business owners and potential buyers have time. You may have a meeting at 8am on Monday or 8pm on Tuesday. You may not work at all on Wednesday, but have a conference call at 3:30pm on Sunday. It is almost completely up to you. Because your work hours directly results in large commission checks, most brokers work at least a full 40 hours per week. However, it's not mandatory. Many Business Brokers are part timers and put as little as a few hours per week into building their business.

Prospecting

Prospecting is something that many people fear most, and in most industries can be difficult and scary. In the business of Business Brokering however, it is very simple. think about it, you cannot convince someone to sell their business no matter how good you are at sales, they either want to, or they do not. Therefore, prospecting is more like seeking than selling. Some ways of prospecting are:

• Leaving a letter or brochure in business owner's mailboxes
• Going door-to-door and talking to business owners
• Calling business owners on the phone
• Networking with people you know

The basis of the business is getting listings, and so at some point you will have to look for them, that is why prospecting is so important. you will see that it is very low pressure and simple to do and the Business Broker courses will teach you everything you need to know to find listings. Here is a typical discussion with a business owner:

BROKER: Hello, my name is Henry and I'm a Business Broker, How are you today?
OWNER: I'm fine, what can I do for you?
BROKER: Hello, Well sir, I am working with some people who are looking to buy businesses like yours and I would like to ask you for some advice if you don't mind.
OWNER: Sure, what do you need to know?
BROKER: Well, I was wondering if you knew of anyone in your industry that is looking to sell their company.

Typically at this point the business owner will either admit that he has or would consider selling or will give you the name of a company in his same business who is looking to sell. Usually business owners know their industry players, competitors etc. so by "asking for advice" you are making it a non-sales call and disarming the other person. That's really it, it will all be presented in much more detail in the Business Broker coursework, but that is the hardest thing you will ever have to do.

Meetings

A big part of the job is putting together meetings. As you have seen, you will get listings relatively easy, and buyers come fairly easily as well. But, for a sale to take place, clearly the parties have to meet. Here is where you come in. You'll talk to both parties and set up a mutually beneficial time and place to hold a meeting. Your job in this meeting is simply to get the two parties talking. "So Mr. Jones, please tell Mr. Smith more about your business." That's about it. You will find that most of the time, the potential buyer knows exactly what to ask and the seller has the answers, you simply sit there and let the two parties do their thing. There will be a lot of subject matter on how to conduct meetings in the courses, and you will know exactly how to handle it once you complete them.

Key To Success

As you can already see, being a successful business broker does not require extreme intelligence or talent for conducting business. With a little knowledge you can be just as successful as any top broker regardless of educational background or skill level. There is one trick though and this is the ultimate key to being successful, you have to call that business owner back, contact that buyer right away and keep his interest

Email Henry@eastcoaststores.com for interview today!