Broker fees are the least mysterious part of selling a business — once someone actually writes them down. Here is how the market typically prices brokerage work, what the engagement letter should spell out, and the handful of places where sellers get surprised. These are market patterns, not our posted rates; any actual fee is set in a written engagement letter after we understand the deal.
For owner-operated businesses, the prevailing model is a single percentage of the final sale price, paid at closing out of proceeds. The commonly observed market range is roughly 8%–12%, most often paired with a minimum fee so very small transactions still cover the work a sale takes. If the business doesn't sell, no success fee is owed — which is precisely why the model survives: the broker's incentive and the seller's outcome point the same direction.
As deal size grows, a flat percentage stops making sense and the market shifts to a declining scale: a higher rate on the first portion of the price, stepping down on each portion above it. The classic Lehman formula was 5-4-3-2-1 percent per million; the Double Lehman (10-8-6-4-2) is the more common modern variant. The blended rate on a mid-seven-figure deal lands well below main-street percentages — the dollars are larger, the percentage smaller.
Some engagements — larger businesses, complex carve-outs, long preparation runways — carry an upfront or monthly retainer in addition to the success fee. Two legitimate purposes: it filters for sellers who are serious, and it funds real preparation work (recasting financials, building the data room) that happens months before any buyer appears. The question to ask is simple: is the retainer credited against the success fee at closing? Either answer can be fair; not knowing the answer before signing is the only wrong state.
A competently run sale is several hundred hours of work spread over six to twelve months: valuation and pricing strategy, recasting financials, building the confidential marketing package, qualifying buyers without breaking confidentiality, running a competitive process, managing diligence, and holding the deal together between letter of intent and closing — the stretch where most sales die. The fee is not for finding a buyer; it's for creating the conditions where more than one qualified buyer competes, and for getting the chosen one to the closing table.
That's also the honest answer to "why not sell it myself?" Some owners do, successfully. But the spread between a single-buyer negotiation and a competitive process — in price, in terms, in the survival rate of the deal itself — is routinely larger than the entire fee. The broker's job is to be worth more than they cost, and a good one can show you how that math worked on past engagements.
Start a confidential inquiry — we'll walk through exactly how a fee would be structured for your deal size before you commit to anything. First read what your business is worth or how the confidential sale process protects you while we work.
The percentages and structures on this page describe commonly observed market patterns and are provided for general education. They are not Albeo's posted rates, not an offer, and not a representation of what any engagement will cost; actual fees are established exclusively in a written engagement letter. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice; consult your own advisors.
This Site is owned and operated by ALBEO FL LLC, doing business as Albeo Business Advisors, a Florida limited liability company licensed as a real estate brokerage by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, License No. CQ1075604. Dom Dominguez, MBA, MS is the brokerage's qualifying broker, Florida Broker License No. BK3529743. Albeo Business Advisors is the trade name registered on that license for ALBEO FL LLC; it is not a separate legal entity. Phone: 813-389-9466. ALBEO FL LLC does not claim or represent real estate licensure in any state other than Florida.