The Impact of AI on Business Sellers

This is the second of three articles on the topic of AI and how it will impact the sale of businesses in the near future. If you want the background on this topic, you can find the first article here.

If Artificial Intelligence is intimidating to you, don't worry - you're not alone. If you are considering selling your business there is some good news: you don't need to become an expert in AI — our firm already is leveraging it for your benefit.

Let's dive into how this technology is impacting business owners (sellers) — and, how it can give you a distinct advantage when selling your business.

Impact # 1: Negotiation

Our ability to negotiate effectively is predicated on our ability to see likely objections arise before buyers present them.

We recently did a valuation for a multi-location retail business. In the past, we would analyze the financials and work with the seller's accounting team to identify revenue and expense trends. This process was complex — it typically required the analysis of 5+ years of financials and took several weeks to complete.

While we still do a fair amount of trend analysis manually, we leverage AI to augment our efforts. The output has been astounding and resulted in dozens of additional data points revealing hidden strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities that our human eyes couldn't identify.

This trend analysis has given our business sellers an incredible advantage when justifying the Listing Price of their business. Not only do we have more data points, but where there are weaknesses in the financials we come prepared to explain what caused downward trends. We now have a library of answers to questions that buyers will likely ask which allows us to guide the narrative more effectively.

Impact #2: Sales Intelligence

One of our most recent listings attracted 100+ buyer leads from 13 different states, resulting in over 1,300 communication touch points (phone calls, emails, and Zoom meetings) over a period of 10 months.

The sheer volume was overwhelming and while this seems like it's your business broker's problem, it can have a negative impact on the time it takes to sell your business.

So, we've leveraged AI to help us:

• Analyze buyer lead data to provide us insight to the most active and engaged buyers.
  

• Provide real-time feedback when buyers are engaging with our clients' business listing content.
  

• Provide buyer lead scoring to help us focus on the highest value buyers.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and it allows us to 10X our efficiency to quickly identify the buyers that are highest value to our sellers, ultimately helping us to focus on the strongest buyers.

Impact #3: Enhanced Market Analysis & Pricing

We've improved our market analysis process through AI integration. Here's how this benefits you as a seller:

Comprehensive Market Comparables

We can now analyze hundreds of completed transactions across Wisconsin, Illinois, and the U.S. considering:

• Industry-specific multiples

• Regional economic indicators

• Seasonal business performance patterns

• Market timing opportunities

For example, when pricing a business in Southern Wisconsin we can combine the manually produced valuation with a deeper level of analysis of:

• Similar businesses sold within a 100+ mile radius

• Industry-specific performance metrics

• Local market conditions

• Current buyer demand patterns

Dynamic Pricing Strategies

We've integrated predictive AI models that help:

• Identify optimal listing price ranges

• Adjust pricing strategies based on market response

• Track buyer sentiment and engagement

• Monitor similar listings in real-time

Impact #4: Marketing Automation & Buyer Matching

The days of passively listing a business online and waiting for a response is over (this is also one of the key reasons we launched Collaborative Commercial — we believe in finding the right buyers). Our AI-driven marketing automation facilitates:

Targeted Buyer Outreach

• Automatically segments potential buyers based on 20+ data points

• Customizes marketing messages for different buyer personas

• Tracks engagement patterns to identify serious prospects

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Business Sales

If this all seems futuristic, AI is just getting started. By 2026, we believe these AI-driven functions will further help us improve service for our clients:

Predictive Analytics

• AI will forecast the optimal time to sell based on market conditions

• Valuation ranges will become more precise

• Buyer behavior predictions will improve

Enhanced Due Diligence

• Automated risk assessment

• Real-time market comparisons

• Instant document verification

Virtual Data Rooms

• AI-powered secure document sharing

• Automated Q&A capabilities

• Real-time translation for international buyers

Conclusion: Embracing AI for Better Outcomes

As your Wisconsin and Illinois business broker, we're committed to leveraging AI advances to maximize your business's sale price and streamline the selling process.

While AI won't replace the human elements of business brokerage, it significantly enhances our ability to give you the advantage of speed and improved data analysis.

The future of business brokerage is here, and it's working to your advantage as a seller. Stay tuned for our final article in this series, where we'll explore how AI is impacting business buyers.

To your success,

Jason Huett Business Broker | CEO | CMO Collaborative Commercial Business Brokers, LLC.

*Looking to sell your business in Madison or Southern Wisconsin? Contact Collaborative Commercial Business Brokers at (608) 422-2200 for a confidential discussion about how our AI-enhanced brokerage services can help maximize your sale price.