Deal Intermediary
Buy a BusinessA deal intermediary is someone whose job puts them next to business owners at the exact moment those owners start thinking about selling — a CPA finishing a tired client’s taxes, an attorney drafting an estate plan, a wealth manager hearing “I want to retire,” or a banker watching a loan mature. They aren’t brokers; they’re the people brokers wish they were, because they hear about the sale first.
Why they matter. There is no MLS for businesses — the large majority of sales close privately, off-market. The buyer who gets there first is usually the one a trusted advisor sent. One warm introduction from a CPA who says “you should talk to this person” beats a thousand cold calls, because it arrives with credibility attached.
Build these relationships before you need them. Take a handful of CPAs and attorneys who serve business owners in your target market to lunch, tell them your buy box in one clear sentence, and make it easy for them to look good by sending you a fit. A single productive intermediary can feed you deals for years.