Selling a business is one of the most important financial decisions a business owner can make. Finding the right buyer who will pay your desired price and ensure the legacy of your company takes careful planning and execution. That’s where working with an experienced, skilled business broker can make all the difference.

Business brokers play a crucial role in facilitating and coordinating the sale of a small business. They work to prepare your company for sale, market it to qualified buyers, manage negotiations, and guide you through the closing process. Choosing the right broker to partner with is absolutely essential. 

A major part of evaluating potential brokers involves taking a very close look at their marketing strategy. The broker’s plan for generating appealing leads, promoting your business, and reaching qualified buyers in your industry should align with your goals and priorities. You want to see a targeted game plan, not just broad generic approaches.

In this article, we’ll explore the key elements every business owner should look for when examining a broker’s marketing plan. Doing your due diligence now will pay off tremendously down the road. Read on to learn what to look for so you can make the best broker choice.

Targeted Lead Generation

At the heart of any marketing strategy is lead generation – identifying and converting potential buyers into active prospects. You want to partner with a broker who won’t rely solely on general online listings to produce leads. While listings on popular marketplaces like BizBuySell and BizQuest are useful, the most effective brokers undertake targeted outreach and promotion to generate relevant, quality leads. 

Here are some of the types of targeted lead generation activities the broker should include in their marketing plan:

– Developing customized prospect lists of ideal buyers in your industry niche through research. For example, running campaigns marketed at competing business owners in your geography or vertical.

– Promoting your listing at relevant trade shows, conferences, and networking events. The broker should regularly attend ones where likely buyers will be present. 

– Leveraging past clients, professional organizations, and business connections to reach qualified prospects through word-of-mouth marketing.

– Contacting prospective buyers identified through research and past transactions, via calls, emails, and mailings.

– Advertising in trade publications, specialty websites, and industry-specific email lists relevant to your target customer base. 

– Conducting outreach campaigns to inform competitors, suppliers, or complementing businesses who may have interest or know potential buyers.

The goal is for the broker to utilize their experience and connections in your sector to take a targeted approach. This gives your business much more exposure to ideal buyers who have high potential to become serious bidders. More leads and interest from qualified prospects typically translates to a higher ultimate sale price.

Customized Marketing Materials

Once leads and prospects enter the sales funnel, the next key phase is persuading them to become seriously interested in purchasing your business. Quality marketing materials that appeal directly to buyers in your niche are crucial for generating engagement and credibility. 

A business broker who simply relies on generic brochures and sales sheets is missing out on a major opportunity to highlight the unique value, differentiators, and benefits of your company. When reviewing a potential broker’s plan, look for a commitment to develop customized content that showcases why your business is worth investing in.

Some examples of tailored marketing content an effective broker will utilize include:

– A polished, professionally designed company profile that speaks directly to your target audience and customer base. This should tell your business’ story in the most compelling light.

– Detailed brochures tailored to your brand identity and industry, with persuasive copy about your leadership position, competitive advantages, and growth potential under new ownership. 

– Professional quality photos, charts, infographics, and videos showcasing your operations, facilities, products, culture, and market position. These should visually appeal to buyers.

– Sales sheets and investment highlights documents outlining your company’s financials, key metrics, performance history, and outlook in a visually appealing presentation.

– Informative FAQ documents addressing typical buyer questions and concerns about your company, operations, staffing, transition plans, etc. 

Custom content allows a broker to tell your company’s unique story, build interest among qualified prospects, and address buyer concerns upfront—creating a much higher chance of attracting serious offers.

Digital Marketing Expertise 

In today’s business landscape, any marketing strategy lacking a strong digital component is doomed from the start. The vast majority of buyers begin their research online when considering an acquisition. A tech-savvy broker skilled in digital tactics is a must.

Here are some of the digital marketing capabilities to look for in their plan and skill set:

– A robust paid search strategy utilizing Google, Bing, and Facebook ads to drive traffic and leads from relevant keywords and target demographics.

– Search engine optimization best practices to improve your listings’ visibility and rankings regionally for important keywords.

– An engaging website, blog, and social media presence to build credibility and provide valuable sales-related content to buyers. 

– Retargeting and nurturing leads through automated email drip campaigns and social media ads.

– Active social media management to capitalize on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and industry forums.

– Professionally designed e-mail templates, e-brochures, and digital presentations for convenience and portability.

– Positive online reviews and reputation management across key sites to build trust.

– Google Analytics expertise to track engagement, leads, and ROI for online initiatives. 

Digital tools and platforms allow brokers to widely promote your listing, attract buyers through preferred channels, engage prospects with valuable content, and nurture leads efficiently. Take time to assess their skills.

Network of Buyer Contacts 

Beyond their own promotional activities, an effective broker already maintains a strong network of relevant buyer relationships to leverage. Brokers who have worked successfully facilitating deals in your industry and geographic region likely have significant existing contacts to tap into.

A few things to look for related to their buyer network:

– Ask for details on past clients, partner advisors, investors, business organizations, and other contacts the broker can reach out to on your company’s behalf. 

– Seek referrals from past clients on their satisfaction working with the broker and success connecting with qualified prospects.

– Look for memberships in key professional associations and groups whose other members may include likely buyers.

– Understand how they build and maintain their rolodex of buyer contacts over time through networking events, corporate executive relationships, client referrals, and business organizations.

– Consider brokers who will create a formal advisory board of relevant professionals who can help generate introductions and vet prospects.

Access to qualified prospects who come from trusted referrals and existing relationships increases a broker’s chances of finding the ideal buyer for your business. Leveraging pre-established networks is a major value-add.

Familiarity With Your Industry

An essential attribute you want in a business broker is deep, specialized knowledge of your specific industry and niche. Brokers who thoroughly understand your sector will more effectively identify the right buyer profiles, create targeted messaging, establish accurate valuation benchmarks, and handle the myriad details involved in a transaction.

Elements of familiarity with your niche to assess include:

– How long has the broker been facilitating deals within your precise industry? You want to see 5+ years ideally.

– What percentage of their completed sales has been in your sector versus other industries? Do they specialize in your space or take a generalist approach?

– How familiar are they with the competitive landscape, trends, terminology, regulations, and forces impacting your industry segment? Can they speak fluently about these dynamics?

– Do they maintain relationships and connections specifically in your field that they can leverage?

– What marketing approaches and sales assets do they utilize tailored to your niche versus generic content?

– Have they represented direct competitors or similar businesses to yours that sold successfully?

Specialist brokers translate their industry experience into insights on how to best position and market your business to the relevant audience of buyers. Their expertise and focus in your niche provides tremendous advantages.

Realistic Pricing Strategy

Setting an accurate, justifiable asking price for your business based on market conditions and financial performance is crucial. Overpricing can deter buyers, while underpricing leaves money on the table. Look for brokers who take a reasoned, data-driven approach to valuation.

Here are attributes of a sound pricing strategy:

– Comparable sales analysis using recent sale prices of other similar businesses to benchmark against. The broker should have a process to identify and analyze deals comparable to yours.

– Cash flow-based valuations accounting for current and projected financials using accepted methodologies like discounted cash flow, EBITDA multiples, etc.

– Only giving weight to industry-specific valuation methods and metrics that apply to your type of business.

– Adjustments to valuation for one-off events, trends, intangible assets, and growth potential.

– Working collaboratively with you to determine an optimal asking price, with the flexibility to make price adjustments over time if needed to sell.

– Tying pricing to the customized marketing content emphasizing the concrete value, advantages, and profitability of your business to justify the asking price to buyers.

Also discuss how pricing may factor into the broker’s compensation structure. Most charge commissions based on a percentage of the ultimate sale price, so look for ones motivated to maximize value.

Regular Communication and Reporting

During the engagement, you want your broker to provide consistent, transparent communications so you can make informed decisions. Outline clear expectations upfront for the frequency and type of reporting you will receive. 

Key information the broker should convey includes:

– Initial findings from assessing your business and competition after being engaged.

– Metrics on leads generated, prospect contacts made, marketing reach, website traffic, and buyer feedback.

– Details on promising prospective buyers, levels of interest, concerns raised, and actions taken to advance discussions.

– Conversation updates so you know where all active buyers stand in the pipeline and can participate in strategizing next steps. 

– Competitive sale activity in your sector that may impact strategy.

– Recommendations for improving the business’s salability.

– Notification of any offers received along with the broker’s advice on responding.

– Progress updates through all stages of the sales cycle through due diligence, contract negotiations, and closing.

By maintaining frequent communication, brokers give you the visibility needed to make decisions that maximize the potential sales outcomes.

Conclusion

Choosing the right business broker to partner with requires going beyond just evaluating listed credentials, experience, and commission rates. Taking time to thoroughly assess their actual marketing plan and strategy will pay major dividends in your chances of a successful, lucrative sale.

Takeaways:

– Look for targeted lead generation outreach beyond generic web listings to reach qualified buyers in your sector. 

– Prioritize brokers who will create customized marketing materials tailored to your niche, brand, and assets. 

– Digital marketing expertise and utilization of modern platforms is a must.

– Leveraging existing buyer networks provides access to better prospects.

– Specialized familiarity with your industry translates to better representation.

– Valuation methodology must be sound, data-based, and collaborative.

– Ongoing communication keeps you informed and involved.

Finding the right broker is a choice you can’t afford to get wrong. Following this framework helps ensure you select the marketing-savvy, strategic partner that will maximize your chances of selling your business successfully.