How do you get business brokers to take you seriously?

Why do brokers ignore some buyers?

A broker is paid only when a deal closes, and the seller pays the fee. Every hour spent on a buyer who will not close is unpaid. So brokers sort inquiries quickly. The buyers who get sorted out usually show one of these signs:

• A generic inquiry with no name, no background and no criteria.
• No sign of cash. The SBA requires at least 10% of total project costs as an equity injection on a first acquisition, and that minimum cannot be reduced. Brokers know this.
• Requests for full financials before signing an NDA or saying anything about themselves.
• Talk of "no money down" or 100% seller financing. Only 20.4% of US listings offer any seller financing, and the median stated note is 30% of the price.
• Inquiries about dozens of unrelated listings at once.

What should you send a broker?

A one-page buyer profile. Attach it to your first inquiry and to every NDA. Include:

1. Who you are. Name, location, a two-line summary of your work history, and a link to a professional profile.
2. Your buy box. Industries, geography, size range in cash flow and price, and whether you will run the business yourself. See how to set a buy box.
3. Capital. The cash you have available, stated as a range, and a sentence on its source: personal savings, retirement rollover, committed investors. Offer proof of funds once you are under NDA.
4. Financing. The name of the lender you have spoken with, and whether it has reviewed your personal financial statement and credit.
5. Your team. Your acquisition lawyer and your accountant, by name.
6. Timeline. When you can close and how quickly you can deliver an LOI after receiving the package.

Be accurate. Brokers compare notes, and a profile that overstates your cash or experience ends relationships fast.

How should you behave once you are talking?

• Answer within one business day. Speed is the cheapest signal of seriousness.
• Read the package before you ask questions. Ask about what is missing, not what is already on page four.
• Ask for documents in a sensible order. Tax returns and profit and loss first, then deeper diligence after an LOI.
• Say no quickly, with a reason. "Too much customer concentration for my lender" teaches the broker what to send you next.
• Make offers with reasons. Show your cash flow and coverage arithmetic. A low offer with math gets passed to the seller. A low offer without it gets you dropped.
• Do not go around the broker. Never contact the owner, staff, customers or suppliers without permission.
• Do not retrade without new facts. If diligence finds a real problem, renegotiate and show the evidence. If it does not, keep your price.

If you are buying your first business

You lack a track record, so you have to substitute preparation for history. A lender's written prequalification, a named lawyer and documented cash do more for a first-time buyer than any résumé line. Check your own eligibility before you start. Effective March 1, 2026, SBA loans are available only to businesses owned by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals with a U.S. principal residence; lawful permanent residents are no longer eligible. A broker who learns late that you cannot get the loan you described will not forget it.

If you already own a business

Lead with that. Send a short summary of your company: what it does, roughly how large it is, how long you have owned it and who runs it day to day. Brokers know an owner who buys in the same or a related industry may use the SBA's Business Expansion category, with a 1.15x coverage test instead of 1.25x, and that lenders may reduce the injection for owners with strong liquidity. You are a lower-risk buyer. Make that easy to see.

Worked example: proving you can fund a $900,000 deal

A listing asks $900,000. Illustrative figures; the rules are from SBA SOP 50 10 8.1.

1. Assume $60,000 of working capital, fees and closing costs. Total project cost: $960,000.
2. Minimum equity injection for a first acquisition: 10% × $960,000 = $96,000.
3. Limited sources, such as a seller note on full standby or passive minority investors holding under 20% in total, can cover at most half of that: $48,000.
4. So at least $48,000 must be your own cash or other eligible equity, and it must be in your account for about 30 days or documented as to source.
5. Add a personal reserve and post-closing working capital the lender may require. Your proof of funds should show comfortably more than $96,000.

Saying "I have $150,000 in seasoned savings and have spoken with two SBA lenders" answers the broker's first three questions in one sentence.

Where these numbers come from: buyer financing preferences are from the BizBuySell buyer guide. Seller-financing frequency and terms are from BigIdeasDB. Injection, limited-source, seasoning, coverage and citizenship rules are from SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and SBA policy, summarized by Cantrell Firm and Beancount. SOP 50 10 8.1 applies to loans that receive an SBA loan number on or after October 1, 2026 (SBA Information Notice 5000-880695).

Related questions

Should I send proof of funds before signing an NDA?

Send a statement of available capital in your profile. Send bank or brokerage statements after the NDA, with account numbers blacked out.

Should I tell a broker I plan to use an SBA loan?

Yes. Two-thirds of surveyed buyers plan to, and brokers plan around it. Better still, tell them a lender has already reviewed your finances.

Does it help to buy through an LLC or holding company?

An entity does not impress a broker on its own. What matters is who stands behind it, with what cash and what lender. See what entity to buy a business through.

What if the broker still will not respond?

Follow up once by phone, briefly. If there is still no answer, move on. There are many brokers, and the ones worth working with reply to prepared buyers.

What comes next

Even prepared buyers hit the next obstacle quickly, which is why a broker won't share full financials before an LOI.

Related articles

• Do I need a business broker to buy a business?
• Who pays the business broker when you buy a business?
• Why won't the broker share financials before an LOI?
• How much money should I have saved before I start looking for a business?
• How do you build a holding company for acquisitions?

Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC, an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm. This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.