4 Virtues Your Business Broker Should Possess
Virtue is a key part of living a useful and rewarding life. Not only are there many virtues any of us can work to obtain, there are levels of those virtues that allow us to always keep pushing and improving over the whole of our lives. Just as some virtues, for example, patience, are particularly important for parents, so too are others for business brokers. In this article we are going to highlight four in particular (though brokers need more than these four to close most deals!).
Fortitude
A broker has to have the ability to keep going. On the podcast we recently noted that a transaction could have as many as 500 points of contact for a broker, whether that point of contact is a 90 second response to an email or a 90 minute phone call to calm nerves. The broker isn’t just responsible for keeping himself going all the way through a transaction, he needs to keep his client and the counterparty in the game too.
This fortitude is often expressed in a calm resolve that doesn’t lead to panic at obstacles, but rather focuses on solutions.
Justice
A broker isn’t interested in everyone feeling completely happy walking away from a transaction, because it’s often impossible to get everyone everything he/she wanted. But a broker should be interested in having everyone walk away from a transaction feeling that they were treated fairly and equitably throughout the process.
A broker doesn’t want to hide anything from a counterparty or aid his client in hiding anything. A just broker takes pride in leaving a legacy of integrity through every transaction.
Prudence
Prudence keeps a broker and his clients on an even keel. It means not overreacting to adverse news, not panicking when a large obstacle suddenly appears, not allowing ultimatums to be sent in emotional moments.
Prudence also discourages unnecessary intermediaries or “experts” who can just as often destroy and blow up a transaction while they are claiming to be the one necessary part of it. Brokers try to be the neutral party in the room, offering context and advice, but not urging decisions one way or the other.
Hope
It may sound a bit cheesy, but all the best brokers have a solid supply of hope in their lockers. This isn’t about fake cheerleading or fake smiles, but about keeping a positive mindset and attitude, with a “let’s move forward” tendency.
Interestingly, hope is contagious, so a hopeful broker often shares that with his client and even the counterparty: “we are going to get to the finish line together.”
While we are proud of the experience in our office, we’re also proud of the mosaic of virtues we hold as a team that make us better brokers and better servants for our clients. If you’re looking for brokers with these virtues, give us a call.
