Most leads sold to business brokers are buyers. The ones that grow a brokerage are sellers. Here is where seller leads really come from and what a good one looks like.
Search for business broker leads and most of what you find is one of two things: buyer inquiries from listing portals, or lists of business owners sold to several brokers at once. Neither is a seller lead. A seller lead is an owner who fits your criteria, knows who you are, and has agreed to a conversation about selling or valuing the business.
If a vendor is selling you leads, ask which kind. Then ask how many other brokers received the same name.
| Source | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Referral partners | The best seller leads there are | You cannot turn the volume up |
| Your website | Owners who already decided to sell | They are comparing you with other brokers |
| Purchased lists | Names and phone numbers | A list is not a lead. Someone still has to call, and the data is often stale or shared. |
| Pay-per-lead vendors | A name that showed some interest | Often sold to several brokers. Qualification varies widely. |
| Outbound calling plus email | Booked conversations with owners who have not listed | Only works at volume, month after month |
A dedicated caller and managed email work a fresh list of owners in your market every month. When an owner agrees to meet, the appointment is booked live onto your calendar and confirmed the same day. Every meeting we book for you is booked for you only. More detail on lead generation for business brokers, and the price is on the pricing page.
You can buy lists of owners and you can pay vendors per lead, but most of what is sold is either buyer inquiries or names shared with several brokers. A seller lead worth having is a booked conversation with an owner who fits your criteria and agreed to speak with you.
A buyer lead is someone looking to purchase a business, usually from a listing portal. A seller lead is an owner open to selling. Brokers rarely run short of buyers; listings come from seller leads.
From referral partners such as CPAs and attorneys, from their own website, and from outreach they start themselves: calls, email, mail and seminars aimed at owners who have not listed yet.
It depends on the model. Purchased lists are cheap and need a lot of work. Pay-per-lead pricing varies with how the lead is qualified. Scout Mandate charges a flat $3,995 per month for a dedicated caller plus managed email, with no per-lead or per-appointment charges.
With Scout Mandate, every meeting is booked for you alone and is never sold to another broker. If you buy leads elsewhere, ask the vendor directly how many firms receive each name.
We do not promise a number, because it depends on your market and your criteria. We commit to the monthly volume of calls and emails and review the results with you every two weeks.
Tell us who you're trying to reach and we'll map the campaign to your market.
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