Here are some recent questions and answers for our experts:

Question: I have done quite a bite of reading on developing a "killer" listing that the perfect buyer's mouth would just water over but never have read anything on how to get a list of buyers except by waiting by the phone from the listing you've placed. I want to know thought if its possible and practical to acquire a list of buyers and industry they're interested in, etc, to bring to the sellers brokers and if so how. I await your experience.

Answer #1: If you are a business broker, this is a common quandry in the first year or two of business. You don't have enough listings to drive enough buyers to really be useful. If you can get the listing broker to approve you can use the listing and advertise it in places where he/she normally wouldn't which will increase your buyer base. You can also search for buyers under some of the business broker websites such as bbnbrokers.com. Although not all buyer listings are active, this may become a source for you and finally you can place a killer classified ad in your local area newspaper stating a headline like "Are you looking for a business?" or "Do you want to be your own boss?" explaining that you can help. Hope this is useful and answers your question.

Jeff Hoops, The Haley Group, www.thehaleygroup.com, jeff@thehaleygroup.com

Answer #2: I am not aware of a central registry for buyers.  Buyers contact Business Brokers because that is where you find business listings with serious sellers. Thus saving the Buyer time in the search for that mouth watering business. This is important when you consider a Buyer normally spend two years hunting for a business.

A Business Broker will qualify every buyer that inquiries about a listing and maintain a data bank of qualified buyers to shorten the sales cycle for listings. I have a data bank of 300+ buyers. I also belong to a network of brokers that shares buyers through referral or co-brokering. Co-brokering accounts for 30% of my sales so you can see how important this is in selling a business.

The bottom line is there are a number of ways to search for buyers some more effective than others but the buyer must contact you. If the buyer is not out looking for a business just how motivated is that buyer and do you want to waste your time with him?

Gary L. Green, CPA, CBC, CMEA, www.ghtgroup.net, garygreen@ghtgroup.net