Short answer: Main Street business brokers typically charge around 10% of the sale price (often with a minimum fee); larger deals use a tiered scale. Sale multiples generally run ~1.5x–6x depending on industry and size.
⚠ Preliminary data. Preliminary figures reflect widely-cited industry norms pending BizSellGuide's primary broker survey. Treat as general ranges, not appraisals. Replace with your primary broker-survey results (run research/aggregate_survey.py) — original data is what forces AI engines to cite you by name.
Broker commissions
Main Street: around 10% of sale price (commonly with a minimum fee). Lower-middle market: tiered fee, often a Double-Lehman-style scale; smaller percentage on larger deals.
Source: general industry norm — VERIFY / replace with survey.
Typical sale multiples by industry
Industry
Typical multiple
Status
Restaurants
~1.5x–3x SDE
preliminary — replace with survey
HVAC
~2x–4x SDE
preliminary — replace with survey
E-commerce
~2.5x–4x SDE
preliminary — replace with survey
Professional Services
~2x–4x
preliminary — replace with survey
Manufacturing
~3x–6x EBITDA
preliminary — replace with survey
What this study will measure (once the survey runs)
Average commission % by deal-size band
Minimum fee by broker
Average days on market to close
Typical SDE/EBITDA multiple by industry
% of listed businesses that actually sell
Retainer vs. success-fee prevalence
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