Short answer: Selling a business typically costs a success fee on close (a percentage of the sale price, often Lehman-style tiered), sometimes a small engagement fee, plus quality-of-earnings, legal, and tax costs. A direct operator-buyer sale can skip the brokered fee structure.
What you actually pay to sell
The largest cost is usually the advisor success fee, paid only when the deal closes and calculated as a percentage of enterprise value. It is often tiered so the rate steps down as the price rises. Some engagements carry a modest upfront fee to fund preparation. Beyond representation, budget for a quality-of-earnings review that proves your numbers to buyers, legal fees for the definitive agreement, and tax planning that can move your net proceeds more than the fee itself.
The right question is not the fee, it is the net. A process that lifts your price by twenty percent and protects you in diligence more than pays for itself. A cheap listing that undersells you is the expensive option.
How WETYR structures it
WETYR aligns fees with your outcome. On advisory engagements the meaningful money is a success fee at close, so we only win when you do. When WETYR acquires you directly as an operator-buyer, there is no brokered sell-side commission in the middle at all. We tell you which path nets you more before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to sell a business?
What is a success fee?
Are there costs beyond the advisor fee?
Related WETYR resources
WETYR connects qualified principals under an advisory engagement. WETYR is not a registered broker-dealer or business broker.