How to Sell Your Business Without a Broker

Deal directly with vetted buyers and keep the 5–10% a broker would take.

Owners on Rejigg have saved more than $10.6M in broker fees.

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Why Owners Are Skipping Brokers

Brokers charge 5–10% of your sale price. On a $2M business, that's up to $200K out of your proceeds. And the fee is only half the problem:

Speed over fit

Brokers get paid when a deal closes, any deal. The push is toward the first decent offer, not the right buyer for your business or your people.

Controlled conversations

Every conversation runs through the broker. You don’t talk to the person buying your life’s work until they decide you’re ready.

Exclusivity lock-in

Standard contracts lock you up for 12 months, often 2–3 years. Even a buyer you find yourself is off-limits until it expires.

Retainers on top of commissions

Many charge $5K–$25K up front. You pay before you know if they can deliver.

Many brokers work hard for their clients. The incentives work against you either way, and more owners are choosing to skip the model entirely.

What's your business worth?

Sign up to learn more about selling your business. Free valuation included.

How Selling Without a Broker Works

Everything you'd pay a broker for. Five steps, no commissions.

3.8 days
median, buyer pitch to first meeting
41.3 days
median, pitch to first offer letter
174 days
median, pitch to closed deal

Data from Rejigg over the past 3 years.

1

Get a Valuation

Free · 15 minutes

A free, data-backed estimate from real transaction multiples, so you start from a realistic number.

2

Build Your Profile

Anonymous by default

Buyers see industry, region, and financials. Your name stays hidden until you say otherwise.

3

Meet Vetted Buyers

3.8 days to a first meeting

Every buyer is vetted and pays to be here. You see who they are and how they’d fund the deal before you meet.

4

Compare Offers

41.3 days to a first offer

Offers land in one dashboard, side by side, so you can compare terms and pick your buyer.

5

Close the Deal

174 days, pitch to close

Share documents on your terms in the data room, with our team behind you through closing day.

What You Save

Owners who've sold on Rejigg have kept more than $10.6M that would have gone to commissions.

$2M
Sale Price
$100K–$200K
Saved in broker fees
$5M
Sale Price
$250K–$500K
Saved in broker fees
$10M
Sale Price
$500K–$1M
Saved in broker fees

Broker Route vs. Rejigg

 Traditional BrokerRejigg
Cost to seller5–10% commission + retainer$0 for sellers
Exclusivity12+ month exclusive contractNo exclusivity, ever
Timeline controlBroker sets the paceYou set the pace
Buyer conversationsBroker controls accessDirect, peer-to-peer
Buyer vettingVaries by brokerEvery buyer is vetted and subscribed
SupportDepends on the brokerRejigg team available throughout

Hear It From Owners Who've Done It

Real owners, their own words. No scripts, no actors.

“I thought it gave myself an opportunity to be a little more in the driver's seat. What you had to offer made me realize I was in control.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“I was really surprised. Immediately I think three interested parties, and we totaled eight. Three ended up being very serious and we ended up with one that bought.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“Completely free for me. It was a no brainer.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“Those leads would have never happened without your platform.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“I liked how easy it was to get those leads at the beginning and then find out if we were going to continue talking or not.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“I could vet them out and we'd have some conversation right away. You can answer their questions right away and you're not wasting a lot of time before you get down into the brass tacks.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“I like that you're dealing directly with the people that you're going to be selling to, as opposed to attorneys. You get them involved a little bit later on.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg

“It was nice to have a platform for this style of company. Most M&A firms won't even want to deal with someone like us.”

Business owner, sold through Rejigg
Essential reading

Go deeper on selling without a broker

Short guides on each part of the process, from what brokers charge to how deals actually close.

Steps to sell a business without a brokerThe process end to end: numbers, financials, confidentiality, offers, diligence, close.Read the guideBusiness broker commission ratesWhat brokers actually charge at every deal size, with the fee math spelled out.Read the guideWhat does a business broker do?The five things a broker does, and which ones you can run yourself.Read the guideDo you need a broker to sell your business?When a broker earns their fee, and when you can run the process yourself.Read the guideHow to find buyers for your businessWhere serious buyers actually come from, and how to qualify them.Read the guideHow long it takes to sell a businessWhat our deal data says about the real timeline, from first pitch to close.Read the guide

Common questions about selling without a broker

Yes. For most businesses under $10M in revenue, owners who connect directly with qualified buyers often get better results than those who hire brokers. The two things brokers provide are access to buyers and process management. Rejigg gives you both. Our platform handles buyer vetting, NDA signing, scheduling, document sharing, and deal tracking. You get the infrastructure without the 5–10% fee.
Most business brokers charge a commission of 5–10% of the final sale price. On a $2M sale, that's $100K to $200K. On a $5M sale, $250K to $500K. Many also charge upfront retainers of $5K to $25K and require exclusive contracts lasting 12 months minimum, often 2–3 years. During that exclusivity period, you can't sell to anyone the broker didn't introduce, even if you find a buyer on your own.
Rejigg is free for sellers. No commissions, no retainers, no fees to join or stay on the platform. Buyers pay a subscription, which is what keeps the platform running and ensures buyer quality. You'll still want to budget for an M&A attorney and accountant ($10K–$50K depending on deal complexity), but those are costs you'd have with a broker too.
Every buyer on Rejigg is vetted by our team before they can contact sellers. Buyers also pay a subscription fee, which filters out anyone who isn't actively looking to acquire. When a buyer reaches out, they submit a pitch explaining their background, acquisition criteria, and how they plan to fund the deal. Owners sometimes assume a buyer who found them online can't be serious. In practice, qualified, funded buyers increasingly search directly, and the screening happens before they ever reach you.
No. Whether a deal actually closes usually comes down to financing certainty and buyer fit. A slightly lower offer from a buyer with committed funding and a credible plan for your team often beats a bigger number that rests on shaky financing or aggressive earnout targets. Sellers regularly take the surer offer, and they tend to be glad they did.
No, all-cash deals are the exception. Most small-business acquisitions combine an SBA loan, a seller note (you finance part of the price and get paid over time, with interest), and the buyer's own cash. A buyer proposing that kind of mix is normal, and often better prepared than one promising all cash up front.
Usually not. Most letters of intent include an exclusivity window, typically 60 to 120 days, where you agree to stop negotiating with other buyers while due diligence runs. Signing takes your business off the market for that window, so compare your offers carefully and pick your buyer before you commit to exclusivity.
Plan on a transition period. Most deals include one, ranging from a month or two to a year or more, and buyers often want the owner to stay to de-risk the handoff. A same-day, clean-break walk-away is rare. If the buyer uses an SBA loan, program rules generally cap paid seller involvement at around 12 months.
Across the 33 deals on Rejigg we can measure from a buyer's first pitch all the way to closing, the median is 174 days, just under six months. First meetings come fast (3.8-day median across 5,536 deals), and a first offer letter typically arrives around six weeks in. Clean financials and quick responses are the biggest levers you control.
You're in control. You can decline any introduction, pause your profile, or take it down entirely at any time. There's no exclusivity contract and no obligation. Many owners join Rejigg while they're still exploring whether selling is the right move. There's no pressure to accept an offer you don't feel good about.
Yes. Whether you use a broker or not, you should work with an M&A attorney to review the Letter of Intent (LOI), draft or review the purchase agreement, and guide you through closing. An experienced M&A attorney typically costs $10K–$30K for a transaction. A good accountant is also essential for tax planning. These professionals protect your interests in ways a broker does not.
Rejigg works with profitable businesses typically in the $1M to $30M+ revenue range, with $500K to $5M+ in EBITDA. Our buyer network includes private equity funds, search funds, family offices, and individual acquirers looking for businesses in this range.
BizBuySell is a classifieds-style marketplace. Anyone can post, and anyone can browse. The result is a high volume of stale posts and unqualified inquiries. Rejigg is different in three ways: we individually source and vet every business on the platform, every buyer is vetted and pays a subscription, and buyers and sellers connect directly without a middleman. The result is higher-quality matches and more productive conversations.
Brokers can add value for highly specialized industries where they have deep buyer networks, for businesses over $10M where the deal complexity justifies the fee, or for owners who want to be completely hands-off during the sale. If your business falls into one of those categories, a broker may be worth considering. For most owners of businesses in the $1M–$10M range, selling directly through Rejigg offers more control, better buyer fit, and significant cost savings.

Ready to sell on your terms?

Free for owners. Vetted buyers. You keep what you built.

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