Articles

Articles

The Listing That Should Never Have Been Listed

A pre-engagement framework for knowing when to walk away, before you invest 60 hours in a deal that was never going to close. I once spent six months working a listing that checked every box on paper. Profitable service business, clean books, motivated seller, reasonable asking price. We went to market, fielded fourteen NDAs, and […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

The Integrated Deal Platform: A New Standard for Business Brokers and M&A Advisors

The business brokerage and M&A advisory profession is going through a quiet but significant shift in how deals are packaged, marketed and executed. Buyers now expect a level of presentation that a decade ago would have been reserved for major sell-side mandates. Sellers are more attentive to confidentiality and want to know exactly who has […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

Putting AI to Work in Your Brokerage

A Practical Guide for Business Brokers Most brokers I talk to are not short on deals. They are short on hours. The listing copy, the buyer follow-ups, the research before a pitch, the notes after every call. That work has to get done, and it eats the time you would rather spend in front of […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

Why Seller Preparation Matters

As small business brokers take stock of 2026, the year is proving to be one with opportunities but not without challenges. Aging business owners are facing increasingly urgent decisions about succession planning and retirement. As owners address these issues, business brokers have an important role to play: helping sellers prepare early, clarify their goals, and […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

The Marvelous Market Approach

Why the Market Approach Truly Is “Marvelous” The market approach stands out for two primary reasons. First, it is the preferred valuation method among appraisers, valuation analysts, and the IRS. Second, it is the most widely accepted approach among buyers and sellers because it mirrors the familiar real estate model of using comparable sales. When […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

Building on Our Success: The Next Chapter of IBBA

Dear IBBA Members, There is a lot to be proud of at IBBA right now. Membership is at an all-time high. We have a record number of Certified Business Intermediaries. Member satisfaction and engagement are at historic levels. Conference attendance over the past several years has been incredibly strong, and financially, IBBA is in the […]

watch_later 09/15/2026

Articles

What Makes the IBBA Different

Reflections on the 2026 Annual Conference and the Culture That Sets Our Profession Apart One of the privileges of serving as Chair is getting to see our conference from a different perspective. You see the energy in the room before the first session begins. You hear the feedback in the hallways. You meet first-time attendees […]

watch_later 06/11/2026

Articles

The State-Line Trap: Why the Federal M&A Broker Exemption Is Not the Finish Line

You have worked the deal for nine months. The seller is in Colorado, the buyer is a private equity group out of Chicago, and the deal is a stock purchase with a slice of rollover equity. Diligence is done, your success fee is papered, and your firm sits squarely inside the 2023 federal M&A broker […]

watch_later 06/11/2026

Articles

When the Broker Becomes the Seller: Lessons from Building and Exiting a Business Brokerage Brand

For more than 30 years, I spent my career helping entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses. I sat across the table from thousands of owners discussing valuation, growth, succession planning, and exits. Over time, after enough transactions and enough experience, you start believing you have seen every situation imaginable. Then I found myself on the other […]

watch_later 06/11/2026