Though there have been a few business brokerage companies that have tried to develop national brands through franchising, we don’t believe any of them have succeeded in truly developing a marketable coast to coast brand and we know why.
The first to attempt establishing a national brand was VR Business Brokers some 25+ years ago. To date they have approximately 100+ franchised offices nationwide. It is not possible to determine just how many of them are one man or two man offices, however, it is pretty well known throughout the industry that most of them are very small. As far as their “Brand” is concerned you would be hard pressed to find anyone outside of the industry that would know who they are much less being able to tell you their name.
The second company to try was Sunbelt Business Brokers. At their peak they touted nearly 300 franchisees in the United States and an unknown amount of franchises outside the United States. These numbers, in and of themselves, are deceiving by virtue of the fact that it appears that some territories sold were shown to be an operating independent office when in fact they were part of multiple territories sold to one franchisee. A specific example is the person/company that owns some Mid-West offices owns several territories but only has one physical office open and has fewer than 5 brokers last time I spoke with him. Just a little over a year ago, Sunbelt Business Advisors (the franchisors), was acquired by a company specializing in the acquisition and development of small franchise systems. Though Sunbelt’s brand is well established within the business brokerage community I think it is virtually non-existent to the average consumer.
There is two or three other companies with programs to help people get started in the business brokerage business but none of them have scratched the surface as it relates to developing a real recognizable “Brand.” I might add that Sunbelt and VR charge $20,000+ in franchise fees and then a monthly fee that seems to average approximately $600-$800 per office. The others charges range from $15,000 to $30,000 best I can determine.
Our model is very different from those that have attempted to establish a “Brand” identity in this industry:
To start with, these other companies basically rent you their totally unknown name on your promise and ongoing financial commitment to invest your hard earned money and investment capital to establish their brand name in your market. Their names have absolutely no meaning in your market, tell no one who you are, where you are, or what you do.
So what makes what we are doing different?
We are completely different from these business opportunity/franchise promoters. We think the first and biggest failing of these companies is that they have ignored the local or regional nature of this business and the fact that most small business people are very provincial and tend to use service providers and advisors that are local or come recommended to them by other business people.
Second, our experience tells us that 90% + prospective business buyers use the internet first to find business opportunities. The first and most often used search criteria are “Location.” Marrying this fact with your marketing identity/”Brand” is where we leave all of the other companies in the dust. From day one you will have a “Brand” name and an internet identity that truly speaks to your specific market, it tells who you are, what you do, and where you are.
So, what are we offering you?
What do I get?
Recognizable Brand: (Tells who you are, what you do, where you’re at…)
Website:
- Customizable
- Built-in search engine
- Image compatible
- Unlimited number of brokers
- 2000 listing capacity
- 3 hours of technical assistance for training and customization
Training:
- 8 hours of “New Broker Training” for up to five people
- 12 hours “Advanced Broker Training”:
- 3 hours Seller Management
- 3 hours Buyer Management
- 3 hours Pricing Small Businesses
- 3 hours Legal Issues In Business Brokerage
- 12 hours Listing Development Activities (card dropping, note dropping, e-mailing, cold calling, networking).
- Operations:
- Clerical:
- 2 hours data and file management
- Clerical:
General Consulting:
- 4 hours
Collateral:
- The Complete Guide to Business Brokerage-BBP
- The 2006 Business Reference Guide
- The Business Broker Newsletter
Annual License:
- Included
Membership in our “Nationwide Listing Program”
We market and advertise to business owners all over the country to develop listing leads for our affiliates in their respective markets. As an affiliate we will refer that lead to you. You pay a small monthly fee to participate in this program which should pay for itself many times over during the course of a year.
I hope this gives you a good understanding of what we are doing and how we can help you get up and running in your own independent business brokerage operation in as little time as possible.