What Do Top Business Brokers Do Differently?
Top business brokers do 3 things differently: (1) they invest in themselves, (2) they build simple, repeatable systems, and (3) they operate as a business, not as individuals.
Why do some business brokers consistently sell 10, 20, even 40+ businesses a year—while others struggle to get even one across the finish line?
The answer isn’t complicated: top brokers treat business brokering like a business. They invest in themselves, use systems to stay consistent, and work as part of a team—not as a one-person show.
Tupelo works with hundreds of business brokers. Here’s what the best ones all have in common—and how to get there.
Industry Background - Most Business Brokers Never Scale
The business brokerage industry is unique. Most business brokers discover the profession after selling their own business and then decide to give it a try—often as a part-time or retirement gig.
Breaking into business brokering is brutally hard. New brokers often need up to two years of financial runway before they see meaningful income. Why?
- Most brokers are 1099, commission-only contractors with no listings to start.
- It takes 6–12 months to sign a new client.
- It takes 9–14 months to close a deal.
That means most business brokers start their career go nearly two years without a paycheck. And while some make it through, many get stuck selling just a couple of businesses each year.
What Top Business Brokers Do Differently
We’ve worked with hundreds of brokerage firms across the U.S., and we consistently see three patterns among the most successful brokers:
1. They invest in themselves
2. They build simple, repeatable systems
3. They operate as a business, not as individuals
1. They Invest in Themselves
Top business brokers treat marketing and operations like investments, not expenses. While the average broker spends ~$4,000 a year on marketing, top brokers often spend 25% or more of their revenue generating new leads and improving their business.
At a minimum, every broker should be investing in:
- CRM Software – A deal lives or dies by the follow-up. A good CRM ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
- Lead Generation – More listings start with more outreach. That means consistent prospecting and data sourcing.
Where the Best Spend Their Money
- Conferences – Building relationships face-to-face.
- Lead Lists – From tools like ZoomInfo, Data Axle, or even AI-generated contact lists via Tupelo.
- Software – Tools like Clay, OutScraper, or ChatGPT for research, scraping, and outbound campaigns.
Here’s the Math
There are two key metrics every broker should know:
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
How much it costs to land a listing
CAC = Marketing Spend ÷ Listings Acquired - Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
How much that listing is worth
CLV = Average Deal Size × Commission × Close Rate
Example:
A broker spends $3,000/month on lead gen and closes one listing per month.
- Deal size: $1M
- Commission: 12%
- Close rate: 80%
- CLV = $1M × 12% × 80% = $96,000
- CAC = $3,000
- LTV:CAC Ratio = 32:1
That’s 10x the standard 3:1 benchmark most industries aim for. In short: it pays to invest.
Tupelo Pro users automate this entire lead gen stack—freeing up time and reducing cost per lead dramatically.
2. They Build Simple, Repeatable Systems
Every top-performing business broker uses systems—but they keep them simple. Complexity kills adoption. The best brokers use tools that make it easier to:
- Track listings
- Follow up with buyers
- Stay top of mind with sellers
- Mine their CRM for new opportunities
What Do “Systems” Actually Mean?
Think of systems as the operational backbone of a brokerage. They often include:
- A CRM
- Email marketing automation
- Phone tracking tools
- Document templates
- Social media schedulers
Top brokers don’t over-engineer things—they focus on consistency over complexity.
Signs Your System Is Too Complex
- No one uses it
- You rely on spreadsheets instead
- You have to explain it constantly
- Your follow-ups are inconsistent
Real-Life Result
One Tupelo client used to forget to follow up with buyers entirely. After implementing a basic follow-up automation with drip campaigns, their NDA completion rate rose to over 90%. No fancy tools—just consistency.
3. They Operate as a Business
Many brokerage firms operate as individuals. Top brokers operate as a team.
Two Ways Firms Are Structured
1. Visibility: All – Every broker can see all the firm’s listings, contacts, and leads.
2. Visibility: User – Each broker only sees their own data.
Every top brokerage firm runs on a Visibility: All structure.
Why Siloed Firms Fail
When brokers are siloed, the whole office suffers:
- Leads go cold
- Buyer data isn’t shared
- Listings take longer to sell
- Morale drops
- Systems don’t get used
Eventually, brokers wonder: Why am I even part of this firm?
Real Example
In Q4 2024, a frustrated broker reached out to us. They couldn’t access basic tools because their office admin had restricted visibility. They barely knew anyone on their team and felt isolated.
They later joined another Tupelo-powered firm with shared visibility. Within months, they:
- Sold listings faster
- Received internal referrals
- Finally felt part of a collaborative team
Final Thought
The best business brokers don’t rely on luck or referrals alone. They invest in their business, build simple systems, and operate like professionals.
Firms that follow this model consistently:
- Sell more listings
- Onboard new brokers faster
- Deliver a better experience to both buyers and sellers
We’re seeing this shift firsthand at Tupelo. The nation’s top brokers are using software like ours to automate admin work, source new listings, and sell more companies.
The future of brokerage is team-based, system-driven, and tech-enabled.
Want to Join Them?
Tupelo is the leading CRM and automation platform used by hundreds of business brokers across the U.S.
👉 Click here to book a demo and see how we can help you scale.