Use one when the value of a wider buyer pool and a deal that actually closes exceeds the commission, which is most often true above roughly $250,000 of sale price and often false below it.
The case for
Three things a broker brings that an owner cannot easily replicate: a list of buyers already looking, the ability to market confidentially, and the experience to keep a deal alive through diligence when the buyer's accountant finds something. Deals fall apart in diligence far more often than they fail to attract interest, and that is where the fee is earned.
The case against
The fee, and the floor beneath it. On a business selling for $80,000 a flat minimum can be a fifth of the proceeds. There is also the tie-in: an exclusive listing agreement takes your only exit off the market for its term, and if the broker turns out to be inattentive you wait it out. Ask about termination before you sign, because none of the firms read for this record publishes those terms.
The middle option most sellers do not consider
List it yourself and pay a professional for the parts you cannot do. A marketplace listing costs tens of dollars a month; a transaction attorney prices the purchase agreement; an accountant tidies the books. That combination costs a fraction of a commission on a small business, and it is only worse than a broker if you cannot find the buyers.
Questions people ask about should i use a business broker
At what size does a broker start to make sense?
There is no line, but the fee floors give you one: work out the firm's minimum in dollars, divide by your expected sale price, and if the answer is over about 12% the arithmetic is arguing against you.
Will a broker get me a higher price?
Sometimes, through competition between buyers. Raincatcher's own guide argues that above $500,000 in annual revenue an experienced adviser typically nets more than a for-sale-by-owner sale even after the commission. That is a broker's view of brokers, and it is worth reading as such.
What does a broker do that I cannot?
Market the business without your staff and customers finding out, and hold a deal together through due diligence. The first needs a blind profile and an NDA process; the second needs having seen a hundred deals wobble in the same place.