Choosing the Right Advisor

Business Valuation: As you sell your business, it’s crucial to understand its value. You want an intermediary who understands accepted valuation approaches and knows how to apply them to your business. Anyone can tell you what you want to hear. What you actually need is an objective, honest assessment that helps you understand what your company might bring in the marketplace. Anything else is just a waste of your time.

Fees and Commissions: It’s natural and reasonable to ask what fees are associated with selling your company.  Different brokers have different philosophies as it relates to commissions and up-front fees.  Some have very high up-front fees, regardless of the size or complexity of your company, and have a minimum requirement of $10,000+ at signing. At the other extreme, some brokers pitch that they don’t charge an up-front fee at all. Unfortunately, their effort often matches their pay, and they treat your business like a commodity.

The right answer for fees lies between these two extremes. A modest commitment fee at signing, combined with a reasonable commission at closing, makes sense and is in everyone’s best interests. At Proforma Partners, we keep our fee structure competitive with the marketplace. We scale fees according to your business, with an emphasis on pay-for-performance commissions at closing.

Deal Makers, Not Deal Breakers: Deal management makes all the difference. Good intermediaries focus on solutions, stay flexible, and leverage resources properly. The best price in the world doesn’t mean a thing if a broker can’t structure and finance a deal successfully, then take it to the closing table.

Knowledge, Experience, Results: ProForma Partners employs a team approach to make sure our best people are resourced for your project.