Do you need a business broker?
A broker is typically paid twice: a retainer up front, and a percentage of the sale on completion. Whether that is good value turns on one variable, and it is not the size of the business — it is how ready the business is. A prepared business can be sold either way; an unprepared one is discounted either way, and has paid a retainer for the privilege.
What a good broker genuinely provides
This page is not an argument against brokers. Four of the things they do are real and hard to replicate alone:
- Buyers you would never find. Trade buyers, search funds and individuals already looking in your sector. This is the single hardest thing to replace, because the best buyer is frequently someone the seller has never heard of.
- A sense of what normal looks like. They have seen dozens of deals. When a term in your heads of terms is unusual, they notice. On a first sale, you will not.
- Distance in the negotiation. Someone else can push hard on price without you personally damaging a relationship you may still need through a handover period.
- Process management under load. Due diligence generates a large volume of requests at once, while you are still running the business.
How the fees usually work
| Element | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Retainer | Paid up front or monthly, irrespective of outcome. | Whether it is credited against the success fee, and what happens if you withdraw. |
| Success fee | A percentage of the sale, paid on completion. | What counts as the sale value: does it include deferred consideration and earn-out you may never receive? |
| Exclusivity period | How long they have the mandate. | How to exit if nothing is happening, and whether the fee still applies to a buyer you introduced. |
| Tail | A period after the mandate ends where a fee is still owed on buyers they introduced. | Its length, and that it is limited to genuinely introduced parties. |
The clause worth reading twice is the second row. A success fee calculated on headline value means paying a percentage today on money that arrives later, or that never arrives because an earn-out target is missed.
What a broker cannot do
They take what you have to market. That is the job, and it is where the money is most often wasted.
An owner-dependent business with accounts that do not reconcile will be discounted in due diligence whoever represents it. The broker's skill is finding buyers and running a process, not rebuilding the thing being sold. Expecting otherwise is how sellers pay for a disappointing outcome twice — once in the retainer, once in the price.
Four situations, decided
| Your situation | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You cannot name five plausible buyers | Worth it | You are paying for access, and access is the thing they genuinely have. |
| The business is prepared and you are busy running it | Worth it | Their fee is a smaller share of a larger number, and they can run a genuinely competitive process. |
| A competitor, customer or your own management has already approached you | Probably not | You would mostly be paying a percentage for process. A solicitor and an accountant may cover it. |
| The business is not ready | Not yet | Spend the retainer on getting ready instead, then decide from a position of choice. |
The sequence that makes the question easy
Almost every owner asks about brokers first and preparation second. Reversing that order makes the decision straightforward whichever way it goes, because readiness is what determines both the price and how much help you need to achieve it.
Prepared, you have a real choice: sell without a broker, or sell with one for more. Unprepared, both routes end in the same discount.
Arithmetic and general information only — not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Engaging a broker is a commercial contract; have a solicitor read the mandate before you sign it.
Do this sum for free
free business valuation calculator — work out a defensible range from your own figures before you talk to anyone, so you can tell whether an appraisal you are given is argued or simply asserted. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
If you would rather not build it yourself
The Business Sale Readiness & Valuation toolkit ($499) is a full valuation model with a sensitivity table across multiples, a weighted readiness assessment across the ten areas buyers examine, a preparation checklist and an adviser prep summary. One-time purchase, instant download.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a business broker charge?
Typically a retainer paid up front or monthly, plus a success fee calculated as a percentage of the sale on completion. The figures vary widely by size and sector. What matters as much as the percentage is what the percentage is applied to — headline value including deferred consideration and earn-out, or only money actually received.
Can I sell my business without a broker?
Yes, and it is common where a buyer has already approached you or you can name the likely buyers yourself. You will still need a solicitor for the contract and an accountant for the numbers. What you lose is access to buyers you would not find, and someone who knows what a normal deal looks like.
Will a broker get me a higher price?
They can, by creating competition among buyers and by negotiating at a distance from you. What they cannot do is improve the underlying business, so on an unprepared company the discount arrives anyway and the retainer is spent as well.
What should I check in a broker mandate?
How the success fee is calculated and on what, whether the retainer is credited against it, the length of the exclusivity period and how to exit it, and the tail period after the mandate ends. Have a solicitor read it.
When should I approach a broker?
After preparation, not before. A prepared business gives you a real choice and makes their fee a smaller share of a larger number. Approaching one first usually means paying a retainer while you do the preparation anyway.
Sources
- Instilus: how to sell a business, the six stages — checked 2026-09-24
- Instilus: how to value a small business — checked 2026-09-24