Business Brokers and Franchisors – Why the Rift?
♫ Wednesday, January 19th, 2011You might think that the brokerage business and brand are the same and help each other. Yes, in some cases that is true, but most have a lot of mistrust, hurt feelings, and animosity between the two. On both sides, since I come from the franchise of things, have their own franchise companies all over the U.S. – I have some thoughts about this, and so, let me explain why why I believe there is a rift between the two.
First, I’ve had a lot of interaction with Business Brokers, none very pleasant except the original meetings and get to know you part. They are in business to sell you a business, some businesses they make more commissions on and whereas, you might think they’ve done their due diligence in advance, it’s amazing how much lipstick they can put on a pig.
Further, when it comes to franchise re-sales or offerings, they generally use Brand Name Logos as bait and switch, advertising a franchise business, and then getting you in and on the hook and then showing you another business that you can buy where they make a higher commission. I’ve watched that play out too many times for comfort after working with biz brokers around the country to help us sell franchises.
Often we’d send in our leads to the bus. brokers in regions which were far from one of our outlets for the prospect to see and check out, the biz brokers would get them in the door, and peddle whatever else they had.
Secondly, both biz brokers and franchisors end up competing in the market place for the same buyer, and unfortunately, this means that franchise salesmen will not always talk highly of business brokers and business brokering sales people will sometimes outright trash franchisor brand names, especially the ones they do not have a clients. Buyer Beware. Please consider all this.
While certification is a vital requirement in establishing a broker’s credibility, you should always take into account the experience of a business for sale broker before making a decision. Choose one who has the knowledge and experience that you will not get anywhere else. Don’t you agree that the role and importance of business brokers is essential to both business sellers and buyers?
