Selling Your Business – The Emotional Side Of Business Brokering

The first broker I ever worked for said, “Every deal you have will die at least 5 times before it closes. How you handle that, will determine whether you can survive doing this for a living.” As I enter my 11th year doing this, I still smile at that memory because it is as true today as it was then.

I just recent closed a deal that broke the record for the above statement. It was in escrow for 5+ months and both the buyer and the seller said, “forget it I’m out”, at least 10 times each! So the questions is; how did close? The answer is patience, patience, patience.

As a broker, you need to have a lot of knowledge about business, accounting, real estate, tax issues, regulatory issues, landlords, licenses, etc.. But the most important aspect of what I do has nothing to do with that. My biggest asset is my understanding of other people’s thoughts and feelings.

I remember what it was like when I was trying to sell my own business and I draw on those feelings every time, so that I can put myself in the sellers shoes and see why he’s behaving the way he is. The same goes to buyers, even more so. They are worried about so many things, it’s no wonder tempers fly.

I’ve learned over the years that there’s far more emotion in small business sales then any other type of real estate transaction. People are either putting their life’s work, or their life’s savings into the deal. That’s a good reason to feel emotional. Brokers can become like doctors, desensitized from remembering that because after a while it’s hard to deal with day in and day out.

So for all those buyers, sellers and brokers out there … I say, stay patient everyone has their own perspective.

Try to put yourself in the other guy’s shoes; it’s the key to getting the deal done.