A business broker sells smaller, main-street businesses. An M&A advisor runs a competitive sale process for larger, lower-middle-market companies. An exit planner works with you years earlier to build the value and transferability that make either sale worth more. They are sequential, not interchangeable — the planner comes first.
Key takeaways
- Broker: lists and sells smaller main-street businesses.
- M&A advisor: runs a competitive process for $4M–$15M+ companies.
- Exit planner: builds the value in the years before the sale.
- Engage the planner first; the value is won before you ever list.
Owners often conflate these three roles, then engage the wrong one at the wrong time. They are different jobs at different points in your timeline.
The business broker
A broker lists and sells smaller, main-street businesses — typically on a listing model, one buyer at a time. If your business is modest in size and relatively simple, a good broker can find a buyer and shepherd the deal.
The M&A advisor
For a lower-middle-market company (roughly $4M–$15M and up), an M&A advisor runs a process: a confidential, competitive auction to multiple qualified buyers. Competition is what produces a premium price and better terms, and a good advisor manages diligence, structure, and negotiation. This is usually the right partner when the business is substantial enough to attract private-equity and strategic buyers.
The exit planner
Here is the one most owners skip — and it is the one that matters most. An exit planner works with you in the years before a sale, building the value the broker or advisor will eventually sell. Fixing what most limits the business, reducing owner-dependence, cleaning the financials, closing the gap between as-is value and potential value. By the time the business goes to market, it is worth materially more.
The right order
Think of it as a relay. The exit planner builds the value (years 1–4). The M&A advisor or broker sells it (the final months). Engage them in that order. The expensive mistake is calling a broker first, listing the business as-is, and discovering that the value you could have built is gone for good.
If you are three to five years out, start with the value, not the listing. The exit-readiness assessment is a good first step.
Frequently asked
It depends on size and complexity. Smaller, main-street businesses are typically sold by brokers on a listing model. Lower-middle-market companies (roughly $4M–$15M and up) are better served by an M&A advisor who runs a competitive, confidential process to multiple buyers — which usually produces a better price and terms.
An exit planner works on the business well before it is for sale — fixing the one real limit, building transferability, and closing the gap between what it is worth today and what it could be worth. The broker or advisor then sells the more valuable business the planner helped you build.
Your move
Find the one thing capping your company’s value.