In business sales, there’s a common misunderstanding: the smaller the deal, the simpler the broker’s job.
The reality is often the opposite.
We recently completed the sale of a manufacturing business under exactly these circumstances. The seller only approached us when the business was close to shutting down. As a result, the expected sale price was not on the same scale as the size of the business itself. But for us, it was still a commitment we treated with the same level of seriousness.
In transactions like this, the effort required from a broker is often no less than in a large deal—sometimes even more. For us, the size of a business has never determined the level of dedication we bring. Once we accept an engagement, it means doing everything possible to deliver an outcome, regardless of the dollar amount.
For many small and medium business owners, a failed sale doesn’t just mean a missed opportunity. It can mean losing a limited time window, going through repeated emotional stress, and even having future life plans disrupted. The numbers may be smaller, but the margin for error is often much tighter. The process may look shorter, but every step still has to be done right.
That’s why smaller businesses can be even more demanding—they test a broker’s patience, responsibility, and professionalism in ways that large transactions sometimes don’t.
A small business may not be part of a major investment portfolio, but it often represents a family’s livelihood, the closing of a chapter, or the handover of a lifetime’s work. Sellers can feel very clearly whether they are being taken seriously. And that is exactly where professionalism matters most.
Looking back, this manufacturing sale could have simply ended the moment the seller closed the doors. The fact that it was completed wasn’t luck—it was because, at every critical point, someone was willing to take responsibility for making the hard calls instead of avoiding complexity.
This is something we’ve seen proven time and again through smaller transactions:
Deals come in different sizes, but responsibility does not.
