What is a CBI?
The Right Professional to Help You Sell Your Business
As a business owner, you know the day will come when you will walk away from your company’s operations. That’s a big day: Selling your business will likely be the biggest financial decision you will ever make. Working with a professional business intermediary will provide you with expertise necessary to help you make that decision confidently.
Consider teaming up with a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), a professional who fully understands what it takes to successfully sell a business. A CBI can bring significant value to the complex process and help you complete a sale that results in the best possible value—and your peace of mind.
A CBI is the designation awarded by the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) to members who have met certain educational requirements and ethical standards. With 1,950 members worldwide, IBBA is the largest non-profit association operating exclusively for the benefit of business brokers.
A CBI is an experienced, proven professional with the skills necessary to handle the marketing, negotiations and complex details involved in the successful sale of a business. To earn this designation, an IBBA broker must meet the following requirements:
- Education: A CBI must complete a minimum of 68 class hours of business brokerage courses and commit to continuing education. Recertification is required every two years.
- Experience: A CBI must have a combined minimum of three years of experience and education in business brokerage.
- Ethics: A CBI must thoroughly understand the IBBA’s Code of Ethics and apply the code to his or her business practices.
- Confidentiality: We provide and require strict confidentiality throughout the marketing and sales processes
A higher level of education and training means that a CBI will have:
- More access to people and information than other business brokers
- Professional affiliations with hundreds of other business intermediaries
- The most current information regarding taxes, government and legislation
- Deep knowledge of current marketplace conditions
If you’re thinking about selling your business, you need the advantages that a Certified Business Intermediary can provide. STEVE BOYLAN, president of Beacon Business Group, has earned the CBI certification from the International Business Brokers Association and has been selling businesses since 2003.