Commission are paid by the seller not the buyer for most small businesses.
Commissions for Business Brokers are generally 10% to 18% is common with small businesses under $100,000.
Commissions for larger business that sell for $100,000 to $500,000 are generally in the range of 10% to 12%.
Commissions are generally negotiable and depends upon the size of the business and the difficulty it is to sell the business. The work involved in selling a small business is often as much as selling a larger one so many brokers have a minimum commission due.
A broker must invest a significant amount of time and money in taking a listing. Therefore experienced business brokers are very selective about which listings they are going to sell.
However, due to the fact that a business broker is a personal service that requires the high skill and dedication of the broker to sell your business, it is important that you motivate the business broker not only to take your listing but be motivated to sell it. To pay attention to your business and actually get it sold at acceptable price.
Brokers like every other business person are motivated by profit so the higher a commission you are willing to pay the more dedicated the broker will be to sell your business. There are always 2 sides to a transaction with a commodity like a An experienced business broker that can actually get your business sold at a good price are highly skilled and in demand. Also the more money and time he is willing to invest in getting it sold.
Quite often I hear people complain that they listed the business with the business broker and the business broker did not bring prospective buyer and did not sell the business. This is a situation which can be avoided by more open and honest communication between the seller and the broker and a better understanding of each other will help find a better match. Just like every other professional you want the broker to specialize in your niche and also in your geographic area.
There are several factors that affect the sales ability of a business
Is the seller willing to sell it for the market value
Is the business making money
Is it a niche market