Employing Brokers to Acquire a Practice

During the search process to acquire an Optometry practice, we emphasized the importance of connections, listings, online directories, and brokers. Entrepreneurs rely significantly on brokers and intermediaries, indeed some I know solely rely on brokers and they even consider listings -especially online listings – a total waste of time. I agree that sometimes the huge numbers of online listings will keep you from finding the right deal, but that should not keep you from making listings a part of your search process. Online listings certainly provide you with an idea of the general market and allow you to benchmark even if few good deals are mixed with a majority of other stuff. Moreover, the offer that best suits you is out there somewhere in the market, it is your job to go look for it and find it wherever it is. It is the listing to sell that you are looking for and someone has it. That someone could be the world wide web, an employer, an intermediary, a broker, or any other connection.
There are key specific things you should consider when dealing with brokers. Many consider brokers are hard to deal with. This is true because brokers spend more effort getting listings and only show them to serious buyers they know. Brokers get a lot of buyers especially if they are listing their deals online. They are constantly looking for serious buyers and they don’t want to waste their time with none serious ones. They are the first to know the listings in the marketplace and are simply looking for vetted buyers. You should know that brokers are approached by all types of buyers and first-time buyers don’t know what they’re looking for or aren’t financially prepared which makes brokers reluctant to dealing with first-timers.
When you start connecting with brokers never commit to one broker. This usually happens with real estate or if you are buying a house where an agent keeps showing you around. In practice acquisition, things are different. Every broker has listings and you should work with every broker and intermediary in the area you are interested in. Don’t limit your search to certified brokers, the opportunity listing could be with anyone.

Be confident when approaching brokers and communicate your plan, the business you are looking for, and your ability to finance it. You should have in mind that you want to buy the right business, therefore you are committed to finding it within six months. You should be able to communicate this message to the broker along with you’re being aware that the process of buying, takes significantly additional time and things may go wrong at any stage and you may walk away from it.
Some brokers take a little more responsibility than others on the listing they are presenting by screening them. This does not mean you won’t have to work with others, however, you should rather keep in mind that brokers take no responsibility to qualify their listing, and therefore you should always be aware that everything you look at from the beginning is assumed to be false.
We’ve posted earlier that serious sellers are open to answer all your questions. The same applies to brokers. They should provide you with enough information to make a decision. Some request you to engage by paying particular monthly fee fees to support you or try to commit you in a buyer’s agent contract. Never do that.