05 Oct Never Forget What Business Brokers Bring to the Table
Our previous article Making a Living on Main Street with Ed Pendarvis touched on some of Ed Pendarvis’ key thoughts for how to build a successful business brokerage firm. This discussion was part of our Business Brokerage Press webinar on September 21st, 2021. Mr. Pendarvis is a forty-year veteran of the industry and is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Sunbelt Network where he has participated and managed the sale of over 1,000 businesses. Let’s take a closer look at what Mr. Pendarvis believes are some of the key factors that business brokers must keep in mind when dealing with Main Street.
You are Paid for Success
One of Mr. Pendarvis’ key points is that you should never forget that you are paid for success. Your goal is to help your clients buy and sell businesses. What enables you to successfully help your clients is to understand the process of buying and selling businesses and help your clients navigate this system.
As Mr. Pendarvis notes, “If you build a relationship between the buyer and seller first, then put a deal together, you can usually work it out.” Buyers and sellers need to be comfortable with the negotiation process. His experience has taught him that far too many Americans don’t like the negotiating and will turn away from deals as a result. He explained, “Americans don’t like to negotiate. We don’t have a culture of negotiations.”
Dealing with Psychological Aspects
In making this point, Mr. Pendarvis is highlighting that part of your job is to deal with, not just the particulars of a given business, but also with the psychological aspects. You should be thinking about all parties involved, ranging from buyers and sellers, to their agents. A main factor of success on Main Street, or any deal, is to take into consideration the psychology, perspective, and various roles of everyone at the table. Mr. Pendarvis believes it is essential for business brokers and M&A advisors to never lose sight of the fact that they are not only paid for their success. You are also brought in to a deal for your problem-solving expertise.
Further, Mr. Pendarvis likes working with Main Street. He pointed out, “I like Main Street…we’re not just dealing with financial investors…we’re dealing with a family that owns a business and has been successfully running it for years.” This point ties into his view that you can have a profound impact on the personal and professional lives of your clients.
A Main Street business owner who is looking to sell will enjoy a completely different experience when working with a brokerage professional as compared to only working with their lawyer and accountant. You should remind clients and prospective clients that it is the job of lawyers and the accountants to protect their client. This differs greatly from the role of a Business Broker or M&A advisor whose job is to protect their client’s interest while simultaneously helping them chart the best path forward so they can sell their business. In short, there is no replacement for what you bring to the table.
