Published by Five Experts · May 2026 · Phase 02: Search and Sourcing
Most ETA searchers approach brokers the wrong way. They register on BizBuySell, send a contact form, and wait for a CIM. Then they wonder why they keep getting deals that have already been shopped to fifty other buyers.
Getting on a broker's shortlist is not about being the fastest to respond to a listing. It is about being known before the listing exists.
Here is how to build the kind of broker relationships that will get you the call before the CIM goes wide.
Before you can build a relationship with a broker, you need to understand what their job is and what makes their life easier.
A broker's primary client is the seller, not the buyer. Their job is to get the seller the best price with the least disruption and the highest probability of close. Every buyer who wastes their time on a deal they cannot close or are not serious about is a cost. Brokers remember buyers who made them work for nothing.
What a broker wants from a buyer:
Certainty of close. Can you actually finance this deal? Do you have your SBA lender engaged, your equity injection identified, and a realistic capital stack? Buyers who show up with a vague "I have some investors" get ignored. Buyers who can say "I have a commitment from [specific SBA lender], $X in equity injection, and I have closed diligence on two deals before" get called first.
Speed and professionalism. Brokers have sellers who are anxious. A buyer who responds quickly, asks smart questions, and does not create drama is genuinely valuable. A buyer who takes a week to respond to a CIM and comes back with 40 due diligence requests in the first email is not.
Fit. A broker specializing in manufacturing businesses in the Southeast does not want to spend time on a buyer looking for a software company in the Midwest. Know what you are looking for and communicate it clearly. Specificity signals seriousness.
The most important thing to understand about broker relationships is that they are built over months, not in a single email.
The buyers who get called first are the ones who have been consistently present. They showed up at an IBBA event six months ago. They sent a thoughtful follow-up after an initial conversation. They responded quickly when the broker sent them a deal that was not quite right, gave genuine feedback, and stayed in touch.
Here is a practical approach:
Start with a targeted list. Do not try to build relationships with every broker in the country. Identify 10 to 15 brokers who specialize in your deal criteria: industry, geography, and deal size. IBBA member search, BizBuySell agent profiles, and LinkedIn are good starting points. Depth with a small list beats breadth with a large one.
Make the first contact specific. A generic "I am a searcher looking to acquire a business" email gets deleted. Reference something specific: a deal they listed, a market they specialize in, or a mutual contact. Tell them exactly what you are looking for. Deal size, EBITDA range, geography, industry, and what you will not look at. A broker who can picture your deal in their head will remember you when it crosses their desk.
Follow up after deals you pass on. This is the step most buyers skip. When a broker sends you a deal and you pass, call them back. Tell them why. "The customer concentration was too high" or "the seller was asking for a multiple that did not reflect the normalized EBITDA" shows that you have done the work and understand the market. Most buyers just ghost. The ones who give real feedback become the ones who get called next time.
Stay in touch between deals. A short check-in every six to eight weeks is enough. Not a pitch, just presence. "Anything interesting come across your desk in the $2M to $4M EBITDA range in the Southeast this month?" Two sentences. It costs nothing and keeps you at the top of the broker's mind.
When you do get a broker on the phone, most buyers talk too much about themselves and not enough about what they are specifically looking for. Brokers do not need your life story. They need to know whether you are a qualified buyer for the deals they represent.
Cover three things in the first conversation:
What you are looking for. Be specific. Industry preference, geography, EBITDA range, deal size, seller profile you work well with. If you have experience in a particular sector, mention it. If you have operated or run a business before, say so. It matters.
How you will finance the deal. Have a clear answer. Which SBA lender are you working with? What is your equity injection amount and where does it come from? Have you been pre-qualified? The more concrete your financing answer, the more credible you are.
Your timeline and seriousness. Are you actively looking right now or still in the research phase? Brokers are more forthcoming with buyers who are in the market today than with buyers who are "thinking about it in the next year or two."
By the time a CIM goes wide, a good broker already has two or three buyers they are going to call first. Those buyers got calls because the broker knew them, trusted them, and believed they could close.
The searchers who end up competing on every deal with twenty other buyers are the ones who never built the relationship before the listing. They are always reacting. The ones who get early looks are the ones who made the investment months earlier.
Build the list. Make specific contact. Follow up on every deal you pass on. Check in every six to eight weeks. It is not complicated, but it requires consistency over time.
That is the work that gets you on the shortlist.
Five Experts is the acquisition platform for searchers and independent sponsors. Phase 02 members get access to the Broker CRM and CIM Evaluation Checklist inside the dashboard. Join free at fiveexperts.com.
