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Real estate brokers list houses. Good business brokers advise on the most complex financial transaction most people will ever make. Those are not the same job.
A house has comps on every block. A business has none. Two competing distribution companies in Toledo with the same revenue can sell for multiples that are 40% apart based on customer concentration, contract terms, or whether the owner is willing to stay through transition.
A house transaction has a standardized contract. A business transaction has a Letter of Intent, an asset purchase agreement or stock purchase agreement, working capital adjustments, escrow holdbacks, non-competes, seller notes, earnouts, employment agreements, real estate carve-outs, and indemnification caps. Each of those clauses is worth real money. Get any of them wrong and the closing number you celebrate is not the number that actually hits your bank account.
A house sale closes in 30 to 45 days. A business sale typically takes 6 to 12 months from listing to close, with due diligence alone running 60 to 90 days. The broker who treats it like a faster real estate deal is the broker whose deals fall apart in week 10.
Confidentiality is another category entirely. A house for sale gets a sign in the yard. A business for sale gets a blind teaser, an NDA, and a buyer-qualification process. The moment your employees, customers, or competitors find out you are selling, the value of the business starts dropping. A real estate-style broker has no framework for any of that.
If your broker is approaching your business sale with a real estate playbook, you are paying for the wrong skill set. Ask better questions before you sign a listing agreement.
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