Buckle up…I am going to address a sticky issue… fees!

For many independent consultants, the question of how flexible to be in your fees and how you charge is a hard question. You absolutely want to own your worth, and not be underpaid for what you do. But at the same time, there is an advantage to being flexible. As I learned recently, it can open opportunities to work within a niche that is not historically filled by other professionals in your industry.

Such was the case with a recent business sale I coordinated for a well-known pizza restaurant in north central Indiana. For privacy reasons, I won’t share their names. But it was a clear case of stepping in to provide needed assistance when others in my profession had turned the opportunity down.

You see, the client had done much of the work of a traditional business sale themselves. The buyers found a business for sale, made an offer and it was accepted. But they were first time buyers and did not have a clue how to proceed into due diligence, or what contingencies they would need to see fulfilled. There was concern that they would miss something if they tried to handle it themselves. They could have had their attorney handle the sale, but felt that they wanted an independent third party to coordinate. There was a need for someone experienced in handling due diligence and the closing process as a more neutral third party. They wanted a Business Broker.   

They had approached a couple of other local business brokers and were told that they would either have to pay a full success fee at closing or in the other case half of that. In both cases, they did not feel that they could or should do that as it would amount to a great deal of money for them and so much of the work of a traditional listing did not apply here.

They saw my listing in one of the business brokerage sites, and decided to give me a call. After talking with them, I soon realized this was a couple dedicated to this sale, they had a very specific dream for just this business. At the same time, they needed to ensure that the deal was a good one for them. They were very hands on and had already done what research and preparation they could on their own.

After some analysis on what had already been done, what still needed to be done to prepare for due diligence and a closing, and a brief talk with the seller, I determined this was a deal that should be straight forward. I made an estimate of my time and was able to set them up with a fee schedule that made sense for them and was fair and beneficial to me. It was something that made sense for both the client and for me as a Broker.

As the Business Broker, over the next several weeks I coordinated the due diligence process, communications and tasks between buyer, seller, attorneys, etc. and was able to drive the ship to a successful closing. Both buyer and seller were satisfied, and the business has transitioned to new ownership eager to make their mark in the business and in their community. A happy outcome for all.

It was Jeff Bezos who said “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”

So… yes I could have refused or stuck to a sizeable success fee, but I chose not to. Not because I am not worth it, I still got paid very well. But because it made sense! Flexibility enabled these buyers to get to their goal within their planned budget and let me get my feet wet in a niche that fits very well within my practice. I will still engage in success fee commission-based engagements, but I have evolved professionally and am flexible enough to consider hourly or monthly fees when appropriate.

If you are interested in selling your business, a business valuation, an acquisition search or just want to chat schedule a call at the button below.