What Does it Take?
“There is an old adage in the business that business brokerage gives you an ‘MBA in people.’”
-The Complete Guide to Business Brokerage
If you want to make money as a broker, the first thing you have to do is set the stage to build your inventory of willing sellers. You will want to aim for four listings a month, with the ultimate goal of maintaining at least 20 listings at any given time with a listing prospect file of 500. In order to do this, you will need about 50 seller contacts a week (personal, phone or mail) with as many of them personal contacts as possible.
You will need to apply the same effort in finding and working with buyers, keeping a file on them so you can stay in contact and have a record of the kind of business you think best fits their needs and the amount of money they have to invest.
What does this require?
- perseverance
- patience
- consistency
- personality
- problem-solving
- selling skills
- people skills
- keeping your name in front of prospective sellers
- staying in constant touch with prospective buyers
- obtaining the confidence of buyers and sellers
- the ability to listen to what is spoken and what is unspoken
- the ability to identify the degree of seriousness of buyers and sellers
- organized records of your contacts and conversations
- thorough knowledge of your inventory
- the ability to work in the present while also working on the future
- the ability to work with outside professionals and advisors
- the ability to work as a catalyst
- the ability to maintain momentum
- willingness to sacrifice early on
- ability to face rejection day in and day out
- sensitivity to the fact that the sale of a business is the end of one person’s dream and the beginning of another’s
- a person motivated for success
“The thrill of putting the deal together successfully is just as rewarding as the fee that is earned at the closing of the sale, if not more so! The more you learn about the business, the more successful you will be at it.”
-The Complete Guide to Business Brokerage
