I still remember the phone call like it was yesterday. My buddy Marcus had built a landscaping company from a single pickup truck and a busted lawnmower into a six-crew operation pulling in solid revenue every year. He was ready to cash out, move south, and finally learn how to fish without checking his phone every five minutes.
Then his broker handed him the fee schedule. Ten percent. On a seven-figure deal. Marcus went quiet for a second and then said something I cannot repeat in polite company.
Here is the thing. That ten percent number gets treated like gravity. Like it is just a law of nature that you hand over six figures to someone who lists your business on a website and forwards a few emails. It is not a law. Plenty of owners sell without handing over a dime to a broker, and you can too. Let me walk you through how it actually works.
Why the Standard 10% Commission Is a Tough Pill to Swallow
Quick math moment. You sell for $1,000,000. A 10% commission is $100,000. That is a brand new truck. That is two years of your kid’s college tuition. That is a very nice boat with a name painted on the side. Gone. Just like that.
And what are you actually paying for? Sometimes you get real value. A great broker opens doors, manages the negotiation, and keeps the deal from blowing up at the eleventh hour. Other times you get a listing on a business marketplace and a whole lot of silence. You deserve to know the difference before you sign anything.
Option 1: Sell It Yourself (Yes, Really)
For sale by owner gets a bad rap in the business world, but it works more often than people think. Here is the playbook:
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Get a proper valuation first. Pay a flat fee for an independent appraisal. A few thousand dollars beats a percentage of everything.
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Pull together clean financials. Three years of tax returns, profit and loss statements, and a simple summary of what makes the business tick.
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Require buyer qualification up front. Proof of funds and a signed confidentiality agreement before anyone sees a single number. No tire kickers.
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Use a transaction attorney and a CPA. They charge by the hour, not by the size of your payout. Best money you will spend.
The upside is obvious. You keep the full sale price. The catch? You are running the process, and it takes real time and patience. Set aside evenings and weekends for a few months. Your future self will thank you.
Option 2: Flat Fee and Hourly Brokers
Here is a secret the industry does not advertise. Some advisors work on flat fees or hourly rates instead of commissions. You might pay $10,000 to $25,000 for a defined scope of work. Sounds steep until you remember that ten percent of a million is a hundred grand. Run the numbers on your own deal and the math gets real friendly, real fast.
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Flat fee listing services handle the marketing and buyer screening
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Hourly advisors help you prep the business and negotiate
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Transaction attorneys close the paperwork for a predictable price
Option 3: Find Buyers in Your Own Backyard
Your next buyer is probably closer than you think. Try these sources before you pay anyone a percentage:
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Key employees. Nobody knows the business like the people running it every day. Seller financing makes this workable.
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Competitors. A rival who wants your customers will often pay a premium for a clean handoff.
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Suppliers and distributors. They hate losing your volume and may jump at owning the whole chain.
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Industry peers and local networking groups. Word travels fast when a good business hits the market.
I watched a restaurant owner sell to his head chef in under sixty days. No broker. No commission. Just a lawyer, a handshake, and a payment plan. The chef still sends him photos of the specials board every Sunday.
Watch Out for These Gotchas
Do not let the excitement of skipping a commission make you sloppy. A few hard lessons:
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Do not skip the confidentiality agreement. One loose-lipped conversation can spook your staff and your customers.
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Do not finance the whole thing without a personal guarantee and a lien. Trust is great. Paperwork is better.
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Do not forget taxes. Talk to your CPA early. The structure of the sale matters as much as the price.
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Do not rush the due diligence. Rushed deals have a nasty habit of coming back around.
The Bottom Line on Selling Without a 10% Commission
Look, brokers are not villains. Some earn every penny. The point is that you have options, and the ten percent default is a choice, not a rule. Whether you go solo, hire a flat fee pro, or sell to your own team, do the homework, get good advisors on your side, and keep more of what you built. Marcus ended up selling to his operations manager for a clean price with a two year note. No broker. No commission. And yes, he caught plenty of fish.