A Q u a r t e r l y D i g i t a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l B u s i n e s s B r o k e r s A s s o c i a t i o n
T H E B E S T I N S I G H T S O N B U Y I N G A N D S E L L I N G S M A L L B U S I N E S S E S
By Erin Crawford,
2025 IBBA Chair
Winter 2025
The insights and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent professional counsel nor an endorsement by the IBBA.
Plus Insights on:
+ AI is Changing Brokerage. Are You Ready?
+ Why Search Funds are Becoming an
Increasingly Important Buyer
+ A Tribute to Steve Mariani and More!
A Thankful Reflection on
an Extraordinary Year
WINTER 2025
The best insights
on buying and selling
small businesses
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LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
AI IS CHANGING BROKERAGE. ARE YOU READY?
WHY SEARCH FUNDS ARE BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY
IMPORTANT BUYER
A TRIBUTE TO STEVE MARIANI: A LEGACY THAT HAS AND WILL
CONTINUE SHAPE OUR INDUSTRY FOR DECADES
AI FOR BUSINESS BROKERS
BUSINESS BROKER SPECIALIZATION & ROLE IN SELLING A BUSINESS
In this Issue
WINTER 2025
Dear IBBA Members,
As I close out my term as Chair of the Board of
Governors, I find myself reflecting with immense
pride and gratitude on all that we have accomplished
together over the past year. It has truly been a
landmark year for the IBBA—and it’s thanks to the
dedication, passion, and professionalism of each one
of you.
This May, we held one of the most successful
conferences in IBBA history, with record-breaking
attendance and an incredible sense of energy and
momentum throughout the event. The camaraderie,
education, and connection that took place there
reminded us all why this association continues to
set the standard for our profession. And with that
success, I’m already excited for what’s ahead—our
2026 IBBA Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
which promises to raise the bar even higher.
This year also marked major advancements in
member benefits and accessibility. We launched
BizPro Value, a powerful new tool now available
exclusively to IBBA members. And with the
introduction of our new online CBI exam, we’ve
opened doors for many more professionals to
achieve their Certified Business Intermediary
designation. I’m thrilled to share that we’ve
welcomed an influx of new CBIs, strengthening our
ERIN CRAWFORD
CBI | 2025 IBBA Chair
A Thankful Reflection on an
Extraordinary Year
Perhaps one of our most significant milestones: we have
officially surpassed 3,000 members, exceeding our membership
goals and demonstrating the growing recognition of our
industry and the value the IBBA provides.
collective expertise and credibility like never before.
Perhaps one of our most significant milestones: we
have officially surpassed 3,000 members, exceeding
our membership goals and demonstrating the
growing recognition of our industry and the value
the IBBA provides.
Also reflecting on the past year, our momentum
with the Sell Your Way campaign, a major initiative
designed to reach the general public and educate
potential sellers on the importance of working with
a professional business broker, continues to press
on. This campaign continues to be a strong voice for
our profession—and a powerful resource to support
your success.
We are also preparing to release the IBBA DealVault,
a long-awaited tool that will significantly enhance
market insights and professional benchmarking.
And while I can’t reveal details just yet, I can say we
have another exciting new member benefit on the
way—one that I believe will be a game-changer for
many of you.
This year also took me across the globe, giving
me the chance to represent the IBBA and foster
international collaboration. It was an honor to
travel to Australia to attend the AIBB Conference,
where we began laying the foundation for future
alliance opportunities. I also had the opportunity to
attend the CABB Conference and the IBBA Canada
Conference in Toronto, each reinforcing the strength
and unity of our global community. Meanwhile,
Jim Parker and Emily represented the IBBA
with excellence during our “Great Affiliate Tour,”
connecting with CVBBA, BBF, and TABB members
across the country.
On a personal note, I am incredibly excited for my
friend and esteemed colleague, Jim Parker, who will
step into the role of Chair of the Board of Governors
in 2026. His leadership, commitment, and passion
for our profession will guide the IBBA into an
extraordinary next chapter.
To all of you—thank you. Thank you for your trust,
your engagement, your drive, and your unwavering
dedication to elevating our profession. Serving as
your Chair has been one of the greatest honors of
my career, and I cannot wait to see everything this
incredible association will achieve in the years ahead.
With gratitude and enthusiasm,
ERIN CRAWFORD | CBI, MBA
Chair of the Board of the International Business
Brokers Association (IBBA)
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
WINTER 2025
AI is Changing Brokerage.
Are You Ready?
TRENT LEE
CBI, MCBI, M&AMI
The business brokerage world is shifting
faster than most people realize. Technology
has already changed how buyers search, how
sellers prepare, and how deals move from start
to finish. But nothing is reshaping our industry
more than artificial intelligence. It is not a small
upgrade. It is a complete shift in how the best
brokers will operate moving forward.
Let me start with this: I do not believe AI
will replace business brokers anytime soon.
The work we do—guiding people through big
decisions, building trust, solving deal problems,
and managing human emotions—cannot be
automated. People still want a human voice
and a human point of contact at the center of a
transaction.
But here is the reality: the broker who does not
use AI will be replaced by the broker who does.
Not because the software takes the job, but
because another broker, armed with it, becomes
ten times more effective. This is not a small edge.
This is not a five-percent improvement. One AI-
powered broker can easily outperform three to
five brokers who rely only on old methods.
The good news? You do not need to become a
tech expert to win this game. You just need to
adopt the right habits. And the single habit that
changed my entire business is this: recording
every seller interview when taking a new listing.
WHY EVERY LISTING SHOULD START
WITH A RECORDED SELLER INTERVIEW
Every time I take a listing, I conduct a full seller
interview on video. I ask the seller to walk me
through the story of the business: how it started,
how it grew, what they do each day, who their
customers are, who their competitors are, and why
they are selling. Then I record it. AI transcribes
the entire thing. And that transcript becomes the
foundation for everything that follows. And yes, AI
also gives me the exact interview question I use for
the new listing’s specific industry.
I now refuse to take a listing unless the seller agrees
to be interviewed on camera. It is simply too valuable,
and I’ll tell you why it’s a deal breaker for me.
It solves the biggest inefficiency in brokerage:
everyone repeating the same questions. Buyers
ask the same things. Brokers give the same
explanations. Sellers tell the same story again and
again, and they get burned out. Everyone is drained
before a real deal conversation even begins.
But when buyers hear the story directly from the
seller on video, they retain the information better.
They understand the tone. They catch details
that get lost in long documents. They feel more
connected to the business.
Inside my system, it tracks how much of the
interview the buyer actually watches. If they watch
for only a few minutes, AI triggers follow-ups to
either re-engage them or confirm they are passing.
WINTER 2025
If they watch eighty percent or more, they enter a
different workflow geared toward next steps and
deeper questions.
And I do not allow buyers to meet the seller—Zoom
or in person—until they watch the entire interview.
It is one of the best buyer filters I have ever used. The
meeting quality skyrockets. The seller stops repeating
the basics. And the conversation becomes about
deeper, more meaningful questions.
But that is not the main reason this practice matters.
THE REAL POWER: BUILDING
THE ENTIRE CIM IN MINUTES
Most brokers think the biggest benefit is saving
time. And yes, it saves an enormous amount of time
for both the broker and the seller. But that is not
the real value.
The real power is this: the transcript of the seller
interview contains enough content to build the entire
CIM. Every section. Every detail. Every story. With the
right AI prompt, you can turn the transcript into a
polished, complete CIM very quickly.
On average, it takes me about twelve minutes to go
from a full transcript to a ready-to-publish CIM.
The key is having an expertly crafted prompt that
tells AI exactly how to structure, format, and write
the document. And here is something most brokers
get wrong:
High-performing prompts do not appear out of
thin air.
They take work. They take trial and error. You
must adjust them, refine them, and test them
across multiple listings. Your first prompt will not
be your best prompt. Your second will be better.
Your tenth will be sharper. And once you have it
dialed in, it will become one of the most valuable
tools you own. Designing effective AI prompts or
Prompt engineering is a skill set you must learn,
not just for business brokerage; the principles will
apply to nearly everything else you do in life that
incorporates AI.
This is the difference between casual AI users and
true AI-powered brokers.
Casual users ask general questions.
Power brokers build systems.
Casual users copy and paste random prompts that
they get from others (don’t do this).
Power brokers build and refine their own prompts
until the output is precise.
Casual users get inconsistent results.
Power brokers get predictable, repeatable, high-
quality results.
This is why your prompt becomes an asset—
something you build over time, and it starts with
developing this skill set.
YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
SHOULD BE A LIVING DOCUMENT
Another major shift in my workflow is something
most brokers never consider. I treat the executive
summary as a living document, not a fixed one.
When qualified buyers meet the seller on Zoom,
I record that meeting as well. AI transcribes it,
identifies the new questions buyers ask, and
updates the CIM and Q&A section. After three
or four qualified buyers—especially ones with
industry experience—the document becomes
incredibly complete.
This produces two benefits:
1. Buyers get a level of detail they never see
elsewhere
2. Sellers feel protected from repeated questions
and wasted time
I receive messages almost daily from buyers
thanking me for the clarity and structure. Even
private equity groups comment on how thorough
the package is.
But here is the key:
Accuracy depends on giving AI clear instructions.
If your inputs are sloppy, your outputs will be
sloppy. If your prompts are vague, your summaries
will be vague. AI is powerful, but only when the
broker is disciplined in how they use it.
HOW AI IMPROVES YOUR SELLER’S
EXPERIENCE AND YOUR REPUTATION
There is another advantage most brokers miss:
sellers love this process. It shows them you are
organized, prepared, and running a real system—
not winging it. They see the difference. They feel
the difference. They trust you more.
Sellers want efficiency. They want fewer
interruptions. They want a broker who protects
their time. This system gives them exactly that.
...here is the reality: the broker who does not use AI will be
replaced by the broker who does. Not because the software
takes the job, but because another broker, armed with it,
becomes ten times more effective.
WINTER 2025
THE FINAL LAYER: AI THAT
ANSWERS BUYER EMAILS FOR YOU
Here is where it gets exciting. Each deal becomes a
live AI bot that connects to my email. When a buyer
sends questions, AI reads the email, scans my full
database of information, and drafts the perfect
reply before I even start my day. All I do is review
the drafts, make quick edits, and hit send.
This eliminates almost all repetitive email work.
Questions that used to take hours across multiple
buyers now take minutes.
CONCLUSION: MASTERY TAKES PRACTICE,
BUT THE RESULTS ARE WORTH IT
AI will not replace brokers. But brokers who refuse
AI will be replaced by brokers who embrace it. The
gap will widen every year.
And here is the most important thing: you do not
master AI overnight. Your first prompt will be
rough. Your first transcript workflow will feel new.
Your first automations will need tweaking.
But every improvement you make becomes
permanent. Every refined prompt becomes an asset.
Every workflow becomes a system that saves you
hours every week for the rest of your career.
This is not about working harder.
This is about working at a level others cannot match.
The future of brokerage belongs to the brokers who
evolve—one prompt, one system, one improvement
at a time.
TRENT LEE | CBI, MCBI, M&AMI
trent@fcbb.com
11
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WINTER 2025
Why Search Funds are Becoming an
Increasingly Important Buyer
CONRADO OLIVEIRA
13
Forgoing the traditional corporate or startup
route, more business school graduates from
top universities and mid-career professionals
are pursuing their goals through search funds:
raising capital, acquiring established companies,
and stepping in as owner-operators. For business
brokers, the growth of “entrepreneurship through
acquisition” represents an increasingly important
sector of the buyer landscape. Search funds
have transformed from a niche experiment to
a legitimate force in the lower middle market,
and brokers who understand it will be better
positioned to match retiring owners with qualified,
motivated successors.
According to Axial.net, a leading middle-market
deal platform, in 2025, 13% of closed deals on Axial
were done by search funds. That number is up
from 6% in 2022, underscoring how search funds
are becoming more relevant in the lower middle
market acquisition space.[1]
WHAT IS A SEARCH FUND?
A search fund is an investment vehicle that enables
an entrepreneur (a “searcher”) to raise capital from
investors to find, acquire, and operate a privately
held company. The searcher looks for a profitable,
often founder-led business with strong foundations
and room for future growth. After the deal goes
through, the searcher-entrepreneur takes over as
CEO and runs the company full-time.
There is an appeal to the model for all involved:
for owners, they get a committed owner-operator
to continue the business’s legacy. For brokers,
when sellers do not necessarily want to sell to a
PE firm, they get a buyer that might be a better fit
for their client. For entrepreneurs, search funds
provide a fast-track to business ownership and
leadership without the inherent risks of a startup.
For investors, they offer access to private company
investments under the guidance of a hands-on
operator they know personally.
TRADITIONAL SEARCH FUNDS
& SELF-FUNDED SEARCH FUNDS
In a traditional search fund, the searcher raises
“search capital” (typically between $300,000 and
$600,000) from a group of investors. This capital
supports a full-time search lasting up to two
years. Once the searcher finds a suitable company,
usually firms with enterprise values between
$5 million and $50 million and $1.5 to $5 million
EBITDA, the same investors provide acquisition
funding. According to Stanford’s 2024 Search Fund
Study, the median purchase price among these
acquisitions is approximately $14.4 million.[2] After
an acquisition, the searcher becomes the CEO, while
the investors serve as the board of directors.
The entrepreneur then focuses on operating and
growing the company over a five-to-seven-year
time span, after which both parties may seek to
sell and exit, do a recap or a management buyout.
Search funds have historically had remarkable
returns. Per the 2024 Stanford Study, across 681
analyzed search fund acquisitions, the aggregate
pre-tax internal rate of return (IRR) was 35.1%, with
WINTER 2025
a 4.5x average return on invested capital.[2]
Some examples of the search fund model’s
successes: Jim Southern raised a search fund and
acquired a printing company, later delivering a
24x return to his investors.[3] Two young Stanford
alumni purchased a roadside assistance firm via
their search fund, and that evolved into Asurion,
a global leader in mobile protection services
generating billions in annual revenue.[4] Another
team, Jamie Turner and Kirk Riedinger, acquired
Alta Colleges in 1987 and expanded it from $4
million to more than $400 million in revenue over
two decades.[5]
The paragraph above relates specifically to
traditional search funds. In a self-funded search,
searchers use their own savings, SBA loans, and/
or seller financing to acquire smaller companies,
often with enterprise values between $1 million
and $5 million. Because self-funded searchers use
their own capital rather than investors’ capital, they
usually conduct their searches part-time and take
on more risk. In exchange, they retain majority
ownership of the acquired business. Deals typically
have longer holding periods and less emphasis on
formal exits.
WHY DO SELLERS CHOOSE SEARCH FUNDS?
Often, search funds (both traditional and self-
funded) are not the highest bidders. Sellers usually
choose search funds because of a strong buyer-
seller fit, and the desire to pass their legacy on to
the person who will personally be running the
business (as opposed to a large PE fund or strategic
acquirer). Searchers usually prioritize retaining
employees and moving/living wherever the
business is located.
With search funds, owners typically have greater
flexibility in their deal structure and do not
have to remain involved for a long time after the
acquisition (which many different buyers typically
request) if that is not desired. Also, given the usual
success of the search fund model and mentorship
from investors who were successful searchers
themselves, the owner’s rollover equity is likely to
grow significantly in the traditional search fund
model.
HOW TO WORK WITH TRADITIONAL SEARCH
FUNDS AS A BROKER
A common question on a broker’s mind is whether
the searcher has funding to get the deal done. Like
an independent sponsor, a traditional search fund
raises capital on a deal-by-deal basis, starting after
the LOI is signed during diligence. However, that’s
where the similarities end. Traditional search
funds already have an investor base/LPs who
have committed capital and invested in the search
phase. Traditional search fund investors have made
hundreds of acquisitions through their searchers
(681, according to the 2024 Stanford Study).[2]
How to validate a searcher’s ability to acquire /
How to screen searchers
As a broker, there are a few things that can be done
to validate and increase the deal’s chance of getting
15
done with a search fund:
• Check who the investors are - are they
experienced search fund investors who have
done many acquisitions? Their websites
usually have their portfolio of acquisitions.
• Does the search fund have a lead investor?
Lead investors will typically help a searcher
during the capital raise from the LP base.
• Does the searcher have letters of support? In
the LOI submission phase, request letters of
support from the lead / largest investors in the
search.
• Ask for the searcher’s timeline for getting debt
approvals and a due diligence roadmap
With the growing number of people raising
and launching search funds and the increasing
number of search fund acquisitions, brokers and
intermediaries could benefit immensely by working
with this group of buyers.
CONCLUSION
As the landscape of business ownership continues
to evolve, search funds have firmly established
themselves as a meaningful and reliable buyer class
in the lower middle market. With more search funds
being launched each year, and with the model’s
track record of successful transactions and long-
term value creation, brokers and intermediaries
should screen for searchers with strong investor
backing and include them in their processes when
relevant for their clients. In many cases, the right
searcher may not just be a buyer, but the best
successor for the business.
CONRADO OLIVEIRA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradodco/
Sources
[1]: https://www.axial.net/forum/the-shape-of-demand-how-the-
lower-middle-market-buyer-landscape-is-being-rewritten/
[2]: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-
studies/2024-search-fund-study
[3]: https://www.pacificlake.com/insights/latest-greatest-behind-the-
scenes-at-pacific-lake-april-2024
[4]: https://www.asurion.com/about/
[5]: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/case-studies/
kirk-riedinger-jamie-turner
With search funds, owners typically have greater flexibility
in their deal structure and do not have to remain involved
for a long time after the acquisition (which many different
buyers typically request) if that is not desired.
WINTER 2025
A Tribute to Steve Mariani: A Legacy
That Has and Will Continue to Shape
Our Industry for Decades
JIM PARKER | CBI, AMCBI, M&AMI
JEFF SNELL | CBI, MCBI, M&AMI
17
As the business brokerage world prepares to wish
Steve Mariani happiness as he retires in December
2025, we pause to reflect on a meaningful and
impactful career, Steve has shaped our industry
in ways few individuals could have even strived
to. For more than 25 years, Steve has been a
positive force, not through loud proclamations
or self-promotion, but through steady leadership,
technical mastery, generosity, and an unwavering
dedication to helping brokers, buyers, and sellers
succeed.
Steve founded Diamond Financial Services in
a 6-foot by 7-foot room that barely qualified as
an office. What began as a closet-sized startup
grew into the largest SBA loan packager in the
United States, a firm that has funded more than
$1 billion in acquisition loans, helped thousands of
entrepreneurs realize their dreams, and set the gold
standard for how deals should be structured. He
was a pioneer and an industry leader.
But Steve’s impact extends far beyond his firm’s
impressive production. He has spent decades
positively impacting the SBA lending environment
itself. When the SBA eliminated earn-outs,
Steve was central to the creation of the now-
indispensable forgivable seller note, a solution that
salvaged countless transactions and reshaped how
business brokers and lender’s structure deals. He
has been a key industry advocate, recently lobbying
tirelessly to increase the SBA guarantee limit from
$5 million to $10 million and pushing to reduce
the standby period on seller notes used for buyer
equity injection from 10 years to 2 years, changes
that have and will meaningfully expanded access to
acquisition financing.
Throughout his career, Steve has been the one brokers
call when a deal gets complicated. He is known for his
remarkable ability to break down the most tangled
SBA challenges into clear, practical steps. His peers
describe him as innovative, ethical, and relentlessly
creative. When others see a dead deal, Steve sees a
doorway and he shows the rest of us how to walk
through it, the reason he is able to state a 94%
approval track record.
His influence has been especially felt through his
leadership. Steve served as President of the Carolinas-
Virginia Business Brokers Association (CVBBA),
encouraging future leaders to join, contribute, and
grow. He was the first non-business broker to serve on
the IBBA Board of Governors and contributed to key
committees including the IBBA Hall of Fame, Affiliate
Council, and the Conference Planning Committee. In
each capacity, he lifted people up. Many brokers trace
their professional development directly to Steve’s
mentorship through a quick phone call, a detailed
explanation of an SBA code section, or even the time he
quietly called a local business to investigate a gift card
liability issue simply to help a colleague solve a real-world
problem with a transaction.
Those who know Steve best describe him as generous,
candid, insightful, and deeply committed to doing things
the way they should be done. Steve’s leadership was
never about spotlight, it was about service, integrity, and
leaving the industry better than he found it. And he did
exactly that every day, for decades.
WINTER 2025
As Diamond Financial transitions to new ownership,
the foundation Steve built along with the vast
network of lenders and brokers who trust the firm,
will continue to support business deals for decades to
come.
Steve leaves behind more than accomplishments. He
leaves a legacy of knowledge, mentorship, and heart.
Our industry is stronger because of him, and for that,
we offer our deepest thanks.
In retirement Steve will be enjoying additional time
with his wife, Donna, restoring classic American
muscle cars and relaxing at his new custom home in
North Carolina.
Congratulations on your retirement, Steve. You have
more than earned it!
JIM PARKER | jim@TheAutoRepairBoss.com
JEFF SNELL |jsnell@enlign.com
Steve leaves behind more
than accomplishments. He
leaves a legacy of knowledge,
mentorship, and heart. Our
industry is stronger because
of him, and for that, we offer
our deepest thanks.
19
WINTER 2025
AI for
Business Brokers
AUGUST MILAZZO