Is Your Broker’s Asking Price Realistic?
Three brokers. Three different prices. Know your number first.
What is the difference between a broker asking price and a marketable range?
An asking price is a listing strategy. It is set to open a process and attract interest, so it is often aspirational. A marketable range is a supportable range for what the business could realistically transact at, built from owner-confirmed inputs and Canadian benchmark assumptions. Both have a place, but they answer different questions. The asking price asks where to start the conversation. The Marketable Range Report asks what your inputs actually support, so you can read any asking price with context instead of being anchored by it.
Why might different brokers give different numbers?
Different brokers can make different, reasonable assumptions. One may frame your business on SDE and another on an EBITDA multiple. They may view owner dependency, customer concentration, or transition risk differently, or assume a different deal structure, including how much might be carried as a vendor take-back or an earnout. None of that makes a broker wrong. It means the number depends on the assumptions behind it, which is exactly why an independent reference point is useful.
What do buyers and lenders actually test?
Buyers and lenders look past the headline price. They test the quality of earnings and whether add-backs are defensible, how dependent the business is on the current owner, customer concentration, the strength of recurring revenue, and the quality of documentation. They also test buyer financeability: whether a realistic buyer can fund the deal, often with some seller support through a vendor take-back. A price that does not survive those tests tends not to close, regardless of how it was listed. You can see roughly where you stand on the business valuation calculator before going deeper.
What three questions should you ask before signing a broker agreement?
These three questions help you read any proposed number with context:
- How was this number built, and is it framed on SDE or an EBITDA multiple for a business like mine?
- What deal structure does it assume, including buyer financeability and any vendor take-back or earnout?
- How does this asking price compare to a supportable, indicative marketable range based on my owner-confirmed inputs?
When is a formal CBV valuation required instead?
When you need a valuation for tax, legal, financing, or dispute purposes, a formal valuation from a Chartered Business Valuator is the appropriate, regulated engagement. ProvenX does not replace it. An indicative marketable range helps you prepare and ask better questions, but it is not a formal valuation, appraisal, or brokerage service, and it is not legal, tax, or financing advice.
How does the ProvenX Marketable Range Report help before a broker conversation?
The report gives you an independent, indicative marketable range built from your owner-confirmed inputs, so you walk into a broker conversation with your own grounded number. It shows which factors widen or narrow your range and where documentation needs work before a buyer or lender tests it. Start from how much your business is worth in Canada, or get your independent range now so no advisor’s number anchors you before you are ready.
Frequently asked questions
Why did three brokers give me three different asking prices?
Brokers can weigh listing strategy, earnings basis, deal structure, and buyer financeability differently, and an asking price is aspirational by design. Different assumptions produce different numbers without any of them being dishonest. An independent marketable range gives you one grounded reference point to compare them against.
Is a broker's asking price the same as what my business will sell for?
No. An asking price is a listing number meant to open a process. What a buyer pays depends on what they can support and finance, and what a lender will fund depends on earnings quality and risk. The supportable range usually sits below an aspirational asking price.
Should I get my own number before signing a listing agreement?
It helps. Knowing your indicative marketable range first means a broker's number informs you rather than anchors you. You can ask better questions about how the price was built and whether it reflects buyer financeability and deal structure.
Does ProvenX replace a broker?
No. ProvenX is not a brokerage and does not list, market, or sell your business. It gives an owner an independent, indicative marketable range to prepare with before and during conversations with a broker or advisor.
ProvenX provides an indicative marketable range based on owner-confirmed inputs and Canadian benchmark assumptions. It is not a formal valuation, appraisal, or business brokerage service, and it is not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Any example figures are illustrative arithmetic, not benchmark claims or guarantees of price. Speak with a qualified professional before making decisions about selling your business.