Choosing the broker is one decision and signing the listing agreement is another, and the second one is where sellers lose money they did not know was at stake, because the exclusivity, the tail and the termination terms are almost never published anywhere.
Pick the route before the firm
A broker whose buyer list is full of people who want a local service business will not sell a SaaS product, and the reverse is just as true. Work out first whether your buyer has to visit the premises. If they do, you want a broker with a local buyer list. If they never will, the online brokers and marketplaces reach a much larger pool and publish their prices while they are at it.
What the agreement commits you to
Three terms decide how much freedom you keep. Exclusivity, which stops you listing anywhere else and runs from two months to a year: Empire Flippers publishes two and calls it the industry's lowest. The tail, which makes you owe the commission if you later sell to someone the broker introduced. And termination, which almost nobody publishes and which is the term most likely to surprise you.
What to have ready before the first call
Three years of financials, a clean split between business and personal spending, a list of what is included in the sale, and an honest answer about how much of the revenue depends on you personally. Owner dependence is the single largest discount a buyer applies, and a broker who does not raise it early is not doing the part that changes your price.
Questions people ask about broker to sell my business
How long does a broker take to sell a business?
Months rather than weeks in every route. Empire Flippers publishes an average time to sale of 124 days on its own page, and that is a curated online marketplace; a main-street sale commonly runs longer.
Can I sell my business myself instead?
Yes, and the marketplaces exist for exactly that. It costs tens of dollars to list rather than thousands, and every task a broker would have done becomes yours.
What is a tail clause?
A term making you owe the commission if you sell to a buyer the broker introduced, for a period after the listing agreement ends. Ask how long it runs and how an introduction has to be evidenced; none of the firms read for this record publishes either.