I recently had an experience of purchasing a vehicle from a dealership as I am sure many people have had. We negotiate the terms of the purchase, come back on Monday to pick up and sign for the car and get on my way but when I get into the office to sign not everything I was told on Saturday is what is on the paperwork on Monday.

What do you do?

With a car a couple hundred dollars is not a big deal or it is simple to walk away from but did you know the same thing happens with businesses all too often. I recently received a compliment from a closing attorney that I just took for granted. He told me he enjoys closing my transactions and that he has had a lot of problems with other brokers.

It’s real simple right? You manage the deal flow, set expectations, push for due diligence items, assist in licensing, make sure the proper paperwork is signed and that timelines are followed. Evidently it is not that common. Although I have been involved in some difficult transactions I have always been able to overcome lazy brokers, tough CPAs, licensing issues or ruthless attorneys.

The attorney took some time to go over some recent deals and to go into the disorganization. It is not fun sitting in the dealership finding out my terms have changed and had added a few fees, imagine sitting at the closing table for a business and find out inventory was not handled properly and you owe a significant amount for something you did not verify as had happened as the buyer assumed it was included in the sale, that lease deposits do not transfer, not being informed of the process, things the broker said not to worry about or it will be done a certain way and unfortunately it was not in writing. These are just some of the things the attorney was explaining to me that has happened recently.

The extra couple hundred dollar difference from what I had to pay for a car pales into comparison compared to what can happen when purchasing a business as I could have easily walked away but business buyers may have uprooted and moved already, quit jobs, incurred legal fees for representation or costs for due diligence. So there is so much more invested and at stake.

Do not make the mistake of using someone whose only sole focus is selling the business but rather someone that will manage the deal flow, set expectations, push through due diligence, assist in licensing and to make sure timelines and closing the business properly is the most important.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
1910 Park Meadows Drive, Suite 202
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com