A business broker with ten buyers and no sellers has nothing to sell. Sellers are the scarce side. They're also the slow side: a dry-cleaning chain owner who is 61 may think about selling for three years before he calls anyone. The broker who gets the listing is usually the one he has been hearing from, politely, for that whole time.

So to get clients as a business broker, start with sellers, pick a niche you can value well, and build a follow-up that can run for years without becoming a pest. This article covers the list, the offer, the emails and the cadence.

Why sellers are the first job

Buyers are plentiful. People leaving corporate jobs, investors and competitors all want a good small business. What's scarce is a profitable company with clean books and an owner who is ready. A broker with five solid listings can attract buyers easily. A broker with none can't, however many buyers are on the list.

Seller work also pays differently. Commissions or success fees are paid when a deal closes, often months or a year after you sign the listing. That means your first year needs patience and some cash reserve. Say so honestly to yourself, and plan your outreach to be steady rather than sprinkled.

Owners over 55 with no successor

The core pool of future sellers is owners who started a company decades ago and now want out: they're tired, they want to travel, their health has changed, or their children aren't interested. Many have never thought about what the business is worth or how a sale works.

You can't see age directly, but you can approximate it. Businesses 15 years old or more, with a founder still listed as owner, are good candidates. A company that has stayed small and steady for many years, with no sign of a second generation on the website, is another clue. Use your judgment and avoid assumptions about any particular person.

Pick one niche where you can price and describe a business well: HVAC contractors, dental labs, landscaping companies, funeral homes, distribution businesses, accounting practices. Each niche has its own rules of thumb for valuation and its own pool of buyers.

Build a list of 15-year-old businesses in your niche

This takes an afternoon. State business registries show formation dates. Chamber of commerce members, trade association directories and a map search fill in the rest. Keep businesses with 5 to 50 employees, which is typically enough scale to be sellable.

For each company, record the owner's name, the year founded, the number of employees and anything on the website or in the news about the owner's plans. Aim for 80 names to start. A database can help: Rocketship lets you describe the industry, company age and size in plain English, previews 25 by name before you spend a credit, and adds the ones you want to your pipeline. Launch includes 50 leads a month.

Most business sales involve rules about who may represent a seller and how fees are disclosed, and some states require a license for brokers. Check what applies where you work before you advertise.

The offer: a no-obligation valuation range

Owners are curious about what their business is worth, and nervous about asking. A simple, low-risk offer: "I can give you a rough valuation range based on a few numbers, in confidence, at no cost or commitment." It requires a conversation and maybe their last two years of financials, which is a big step. Make it easier by starting with a fifteen-minute call and a few questions: revenue, earnings, number of employees, years in operation.

Your range should be honest and sourced to how deals in the niche really price (a multiple of earnings, for example, with a note on what raises or lowers it). Don't overpromise to win the listing. Sellers who are told $4 million and later hear $2.8 million blame the broker for the gap, and tell others.

Confidentiality is a big deal. Owners fear that employees, customers or competitors might find out. Say clearly how you protect that, and keep your word.

Writing to a business owner: three short emails

Keep each message short and low-pressure. Nobody wants a hard sell about selling their life's work. Include your business address and an unsubscribe line, since US commercial email rules require them. Send 20 to 50 a day at most.

Subject: A question about Delmar Heating and Air

Hi Frank, I work with owners of HVAC and plumbing companies in the region, and I've been following how businesses like Delmar are valued these days. Whether or not you ever plan to sell, I'd be glad to give you a rough, confidential range for what the business might fetch, based on a few numbers. No cost, no commitment. Would a 15-minute call be worth your time?

Lena Brandt, Brandt Business Advisors, 9 River Rd, Suite 300, Milwaukee. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.

The second email, two weeks later, shares something useful, such as the typical timeline from listing to closing in your niche or what buyers look for in the first look at the books. The third email, a month after, is a short check-in. Then you move him into a slow track, which is the next section.

Listing too early with no buyer pool

A broker eager for a listing takes on a business before checking whether buyers exist. The company goes live, nobody wants it at that price, and months pass. The owner gets discouraged and the listing expires. Do the opposite. Before you sign, know three or four likely buyers, whether they're competitors, individual operators or investors, and be honest about the price they would pay.

A good test: could you write a one-paragraph description of the business that makes a buyer in your database say "send me more"? If not, find out why. Often it's a dependence on the owner, messy books or a few big customers, and you can help the seller fix it over a year before listing. That year of preparation turns a lukewarm prospect into a loyal one.

Answer an owner's reply within a few hours

An owner who replies is giving you a rare moment of openness about a private decision. Don't leave him waiting. Reply within a few hours, suggest two times for a call and keep the tone calm. Rocketship's AI workers read replies, answer from your own Gmail and book the call for you, which is useful on days you're at a closing. For how a reply should be handled, see the lead you never followed up.

A simple weekly routine

  • Monday: add 15 businesses to the list.
  • Daily: send the day's emails and answer replies.
  • Wednesday: review the slow-track list and send a useful note to 10 owners.
  • Friday: log every conversation and set the next contact date.

Slow decisions need a long memory. Tag each owner by timing: this year, next two years, someday. Contact the first group monthly, the second quarterly and the third twice a year. Follow-up that never happens explains why most people fail at this part. In numbers: 80 owners contacted in a month, 6 replies, 3 valuation calls, and 1 listing within the next six months is a healthy pace. One listing on a $2.5 million sale at a 10 percent fee is $250,000.

More for business brokers: advisors and building owners

Start with how to find your ideal customers. Owners planning an exit also talk to financial advisors, and building owners who sell are served by commercial real estate brokers. The AI workers page shows what runs on its own.

A broker's pipeline depends on remembering to write to the right owner in the right month. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required. Answering your existing number is included; a dedicated line is $5 a month.