Seminar Syllabus: Business Broker
Training
(Each seminar is limited to 10 persons.)
The Profession
Important recent trends
Licensing requirements by state
Reliable reference sources / bibliography
Full or part time
Income expectations
The statistics of the profession
Setting up office
Home or rental office
Solo practitioner or join an established firm
Recommended software
Contact management
Office / listings / sales management
Business appraisals
Setting up the files – categories needed
Fax / Scanner requirements and recommendations
Phones and answering options
Letterheads and business cards
Signage
Listings – Your key to
success
Number of businesses for sale at any point in time
The 6 methods of obtaining listings
Advantages and
disadvantages of each
Quality versus quantity in obtaining listings – the
enduring controversy
The 3 most common problems with listings and how to
handle each
The
listing process
The need for confidentiality
Initial contact with seller
First interview with seller
Business valuation
Three commonly used methods
Written pricing analysis
The third party appraisal and when
it’s needed
Recommended firms to
use when needed
Follow up interview with seller
The vital need for accurate initial information
on the business
The critical importance of handling company
problems early
Getting the listing contract signed
Length of listing considering
average length of time to sell
Commission rate – the range
currently in use
Other critical issues
Important protective legal
language
Preparing the seller for what is to come
Outlining the process
step-by-step can be critically important
Building the listing file
Financial statements – how many
years needed
Tax returns
Company
history and narrative
Company marketing materials
(brochures, etc.)
Lease agreement
Other items
The importance of staying in touch with the
seller
Marketing – To earn your commission
Selling yourself
Association memberships
Networking opportunities
Speaking engagements
Writing articles
Conducting seminars
Business Acquisition Financing
Most buyers will need financing to acquire a
business
Consulting with buyers to assist in obtaining
financing
The 4 sources of business acquisition
financing
Advantages and disadvantages of
each
How to pre qualifying a business for
financing
Marketing a pre qualified
business
Building
the listing’s marketing package (both hard copy and emailable)
The profile: a 1-page summary of the business
What
to include
The
preferred layout
The recast cash flow summary worksheet
The necessity of recasting the profit and loss statement
to
calculate owner’s discretionary cash flow
(CPAs call it
“normalizing” the profit and loss statement)
What
is “owner’s discretionary cash flow” (ODCF)
Expense
items to consider when adjusting for ODCF
How to calculate the final figure for ODCF
Form
to use to clearly show calculation to buyer prospect
Other items to include in the marketing
package
What to leave out of the market package for
later presentation
Selling
the listing while maintaining confidentiality
Newspapers
Other local media
Direct mail and personal contacts
Your personal database of buyers
Websites
Your own local website
The new importance of
having you own
How to build /
contract for your own website
The best
host for your website in the profession
Methods of insuring
that your site gets noticed
National
“Business for
Ranked by strength of
results and our recommendations
Key wording to use in all advertising to
generate inquiries
Information that should never be in the
public advertising
Fielding buyer inquiries
Essential phrasing to use in your initial
response
How to maintain confidentiality while being
diplomatic
The non-disclosure agreement
The buyer questionnaire form
Obtaining financial information from the
buyer
Separating the “tire kickers” from the serious
prospects
The 3 frequent objections from buyers and how to
handle each
Giving the prospect the marketing package: when and
how
Managing the anonymous visit by the prospect to the
business
Setting up the next step: the buyer / seller meeting
The buyer / seller meeting
Pre briefing the seller on the outline for
the meeting
Meeting the prospect at the business: where
and how
Six definite things the seller should do
during the meeting
Three critical things the seller should not
do at the meeting
The tour of the business
How the seller should say goodbye to the
prospect
How the broker should prepare the buyer for
the next step: the offer
Writing the “Offer to Purchase”
How to introduce the “contingent” contract
How to address the prospect’s natural
anxieties
The issues covered in the contract
Price and financing terms
Closing date
Inventory level to be on hand the
day of closing
How to adjust at
closing if different from stated level
Training and transition agreement
Non compete agreement
Deadline for response of seller
to buyer’s offer
Contingencies and the extreme
importance of them
The 2 most often
included contingencies and why
Negotiations
Seven do’s and don’ts that can make or break
the process
When to be diplomatic
When to be frank while maintaining your
professionalism
How to handle the insurmountable
The importance of momentum
How to wrap it up and move on to the next
step: due diligence
Due diligence
What is due diligence and why is it so
critically important
Buyer’s remorse and how to deal with it
The business books and records and how to
handle with buyer
The other issues that may crop up and how to
handle
The importance of being earnest
Satisfying the contingencies
Getting the buyer and seller to sign off on
the satisfaction form
Closing
Reconfirming the closing date
Who can act as closing agent
The need for a cashiers check at closing
The disbursements
The forms
The proceeds disbursement summary
The bill of sale for non realty
assets
The deed for the real estate (if
there is any)
The note (if seller or 3rd party financing is
involved)
The chattel mortgage as security
for the note
The covenant not to compete
Any other document as call for by
agreement of the parties
Other issues
Proration of rent and other
similar expenses
A plan for the return to the
business from the closing table
The meeting with the
employees
Training and
transition schedule firmed up
Key
to the business exchanged
Congratulations! – You’ve
completed the training and are ready for a new profession
The awarding of your handsome diploma attesting that
you have
graduated
from the Advanced Business Broker Training curriculum of
the
American Business Brokers Association
At your option, we will take a photograph of you
receiving the diploma from
the
president of the association and write a press release for your
hometown
media.
All of the items in
the syllabus are discussed in detail in the seminar, with hands-on exercises
and a generous amount of time allotted for questions and answers. At the successful conclusion of the seminar,
graduates will be ready to enter the profession with the knowledge distilled
from many years of practice by senior members of the association. The seminar is personally taught by the
president of the association. All forms,
contracts and marketing materials needed for a business brokerage practice are
provided on computer disc in Microsoft Word format so that they can be edited
and personalized.
Also included are dues
for one year’s membership in the ABBA and unlimited follow up support by
telephone consultations as you establish your new business brokerage
practice. The investment in the program,
including all materials, is $795 at the door or $695 with advance registration.
Each class is limited to 10 participants, so please reserve you space early to
insure availability. Credit cards are
accepted thru PayPal.
To register, please
call:
William Bruce, President, American Business
Brokers Association
or
email him and request
a registration form at
We look
forward to seeing you in one of our seminars!