How to Source Off-Market Deals Through Referral Networks

[00:00:00]Okay, today we're going to be talking about building an army of people that will refer you businesses to buy. So, if you are looking to buy a business, there's only a [music] few ways you can possibly find deals. There's onmarket deals, which is you're [music] looking at all the websites where businesses are for sale. Of course, dealomy.com's the best. That's that's ours that we want to encourage you to visit, our marketplace.

[00:00:24]Uh, but there's others. Bisbyell.com [music] is a huge one. Axial.com is another huge one. Uh, so you want to visit those websites [music] and check out businesses for sale online. So that's the, you know, most obvious strategy [music] to find a business for sale. But then there's proprietary outreach. That's where you are reaching out directly to business owners and trying to see, hey, Mr. or Mrs. [music] business owner, will you sell me your business? And that's a direct outreach campaign. That's you business owners. That's the second way you can find a business to buy. But there's a third [music] way and it's probably the best way and it's probably the most underrated way to [music] find a business to buy and that is getting a referral from a trusted referral [music] source to a business owner that wants to sell that will connect you directly. So this is a whale shark series video [music] and for those of you that don't know what a whale shark is, I want to encourage you to click here and watch the video that introduces you to [music] the whale shark concept. But in short, a well shark is someone who [music] is a serial business acquirer. So you're buying multiple businesses over time and [music] building extraordinary wealth through small business acquisitions.

[00:01:38]There's a few different strategies to being a whale shark and we outlined that all in the first video where we introduced the whale shark [music] concept. So, this video is going to be great if you're an aspiring whale shark or if you're just looking to buy your very first business [music] and want help just finding a great business to buy. Uh, this is going to be the key to finding an offmarket deal [music] that gets referred to you with a warm handoff with act which actually gives you really good [music] odds of success versus proprietary outreach because you're a stranger. They don't know you [music] and they're skeptical when you reach out directly. But when a trusted friend or professional refers you to them, the odds of them giving you the time a day and letting [music] you talk about buying their business are much higher and you'll be much more warmly received by that business owner. So today we're just going to talk about how can you create a referral army, [music] a group of people that is going to help you find a business for you to buy. So, this is the old-fashioned [music] face-to-face handshake referral system that is very powerful and I feel like a lot of the younger buyers really don't know how to do. Uh, [music] I think the Gen Z's and young millennials that are wanting to buy businesses, they're great business buyers, [music] but I think sometimes they're too lost in the digital landscape. So, they get stuck behind their computers [music] looking at onmarket deals and sending proprietary template [music] emails to people, but they forget how much you can get done just by getting out in the real world, shaking hands, getting to know people, [music] and getting those warm referrals in. So, we're going to have all different ways to do that covered here today.

[00:03:15]So, the first thing I want you to do if you're a serious business buyer is I want you to start joining groups that have business owners in them that hang out. So, wherever business owners congregate is a target-rich environment to find a business seller that would talk to you about selling you their business. And so, the most obvious ones are things like your local chamber of commerce. You can join and you don't you don't have to join. You can just start going to their mixers. So that most every chamber of commerce has a monthly mixer where they put out the crappy ordurves and and cheese trays and cheap wine and you just bump into all these business owners hanging out shooting the breeze at a happy hour type event.

[00:03:56]That's a great way to get to know a whole lot of business owners in one setting. Uh when you join groups like that, you just want to make sure that you are uh show up looking sharp. Um, you don't want to dress in suits or anything like that that makes you look like uh an undertaker or an insurance agent. You just want to wear, you know, crisp polo or button-up shirt. Um, nice blouse for the females, you know, just something so you look sharp like a professional. And you want to be big smile. Introduce yourself. Ask people about their business. Read things like uh uh how to win friends and influence people. Follow the playbook. You know, it's it's all about just like learning their name. How long have you been in the chamber? What's your business do?

[00:04:40]And and get them talking about themselves. And then sure enough, they'll end up asking you about you. And you can share how what it is that you do and and how you're excited to find a business that you can buy and run. And and the best thing you can do when you're networking and kind of doing that speed dating is you want to just ask them for a referral. It's much easier than asking someone directly. I always like the indirect approach here is say say you meet a plumbing company owner and you really want to buy a plumbing company, but you're at a mixer at a local chamber of commerce drinking wine and there's people around them that know them and they don't want to overhear.

[00:05:17]They don't want to ever say, "I I do want to sell you my business in that public environment because it's sensitive confidential information." And so what you want to do is ask them something like, "Hey, once you introduce yourself and how you're looking to buy a business, you want to say,"Hey, I know you're probably really well connected in the plumbing space. Do you know of anyone that might be nearing retirement or that might, you know, want to potentially sell their business uh because, you know, I'm looking for XYZ type of business." You could be describing them exactly, but you don't you don't don't direct your question at them. You recruit them as a referral partner and you say, "Hey, do you know anyone?" And what'll end up happening is they'll say, "Yeah, I might." If if they do want to sell to you, they'll say, "I might know someone. Let me get your information." And you try to get their information, too. But then you want to connect privately outside there. and they might say, "Hey, I know you were wanting to uh a referral, but it's actually me. Like, I I want to talk to you about selling you my business. I just couldn't say it at the chamber mixer uh when we were out in public."

[00:06:26]And so, just take lots of shots on goal.

[00:06:29]go to that go to that meetup every month and have you know 10 20 of those quick conversations and you I guarantee you one of those gray hair business owners that's in there hanging out drinking wine when they hear your story they like you they like your smile they like how you present yourself and and how you seem like a genuine person looking to buy a good business they'll have a conversation with you about it that's a great way to do it but I also want to tell you there's other groups besides chambers of commerce that are extremely target-rich environments Uh, one of the others that comes to mind is Rotary clubs and other civic organizations. Um, like Shriners, Rotaries, anywhere that's a volunteer uh based civic organization. A lot of those groups are gray-haired people that are at the tail end of their careers.

[00:07:18]They're either half of them are retirees and half of them are soon to be retirees and a lot of them are small business owners. And if you're in your say 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, you're going to be 10, 20 years younger, um, than most of the people there. I mean, you might be 30 years younger than most of the people there, and they're going to roll out the red carpet for you if you show interest in joining the local Rotary Club. Like, I've done this before when I was first getting started in business. They're like, "Oh, wow. We're so glad to have you. It's so had good to have some fresh blood in here and some and some young people that are interested in this." And so just join one and form relationships with these people. And those 60 70 year olds, whether they're currently own a business or retired, they know every other business owner in the area. And if they come to just fall in love with you and like you and you just don't go there just for the ulterior motive of getting referrals, but like go there and actually surf. Go there and actually volunteer and do the pancake breakfast with them and just do just get to know these people. And when they they'll sure enough they'll know what you're about and that you're looking to buy a business and they'll be the you'll be the first person they refer to their friends that are reaching that retirement age that want to sell their business. are going to be like, "Oh, you have to talk to my friend. Uh, they're in the Rotary Club with me. They're the best person in the world. Good young family person. Uh, if I was going to sell my business, I'd sell to to this person." You know, that you want that to be you. And so, don't be afraid to get out from behind the keyboard, join a local Rotary Club, join a chamber of commerce. Uh, and then the last type of group I want to encourage you to join is an industry trade group. These are absolute gold. Um so the problem is um you have to kind of pick an industry. So like a lot of you I think are uh too open to any industry in your business search. So is there an industry you're particularly drawn to that you'd really like to make an acquisition in? So this is especially going to apply for you platform building or duplicator whale sharks that are really trying to plant your flag in an industry and go deep. Um, pick an industry you love that you want to do multiple acqu acquisitions inside and join as an affiliate member uh for an industry trade group. Every industry under the sun has at least one industry group. Most have multiple of them. And so if you want to buy a CPA firm, go join a CPA industry group. If you want to buy a trades business, there's plumbing, HVAC, electrical or general trades uh industry groups. They have annual conferences and a lot of them also have local chapters that have monthly meetings. Um, but you'll have a big annual event. Go to the annual event in your industry. Hang out at the bar at the end of the day at the end of the trade show and just get to know people over drinks. Walk the trade show floor.

[00:10:05]Go to the breakout classes. Just endear yourself to the leaders in the industry.

[00:10:10]And there's something about those industry conferences and those industry events where the business owner that would never give you a time a day on their home turf. When you reach them like at their business while they're busy working, they'll talk to you totally openly at these industry groups.

[00:10:27]It's like they get out of their home turf and they get into these environments. They just kind of let their hair down. Everybody is friends.

[00:10:34]Everybody's like friendly competitors and everybody has a spirit of openness.

[00:10:38]They share what's working and what's not working. Did you make any money this year? Yeah, we're down. We're up. And they commiserate. They celebrate and they're very open and it's the perfect time to catch business owners is when they got their hair down at these industry events. big first piece of advice if you are trying to build your ground game for referrals is you need to join groups uh and and get involved, become valuable, become known, become liked uh among large groups of business owners and they will definitely want to sell you their business once you build those relationships inside those groups.

[00:11:12]So that's first piece of advice.

[00:11:16]The second piece of advice I want to give you is to start building relationships with business brokers and M&A advisors. So, we're going to get into that. Um, and then we're going to have a third part of this video, which is, I think, the most important part, which is building what's called a COI army. But, let's get into the broker side first. Brokers are folks that sell businesses for a living.

[00:11:40]So, that would be like I was for 10 years. Um, you know, I was a sellside broker. So, anytime you bumped into me, uh, I would have 10, sometimes 15 businesses that I was representing for sale. And then I would have probably another three, four or five that I was just signing up, but they weren't on my website yet. Those were, I call them, hit pocket listings where I'm working on packaging them up to take to market, but they are engaged with me to sell their business. And so, um, the thing about brokers and and where I was and where most brokers are is we're very busy.

[00:12:16]It's it's tempting to just spam every broker around you and be like, "Hey, I'm so and so. I want to buy a business. Can we go grab coffee? I want to pick your brain." And like, we hate those messages because uh, we're just too busy. And I'm sorry to say, we love meeting with you.

[00:12:32]We love having coffee with you and lunch with you, but most of us just don't have time. And there's hundreds of buyers that would love to pick our brain and have coffee with us, but we're busy because we're representing, you know, 10 to 15 opportunities and talking to serious buyers about them and we are under contract on half of them and meeting with lawyers and and uh going through due diligence and all this like it's an all-consuming job. We're very busy and for for so if you're just like a random person saying, "Hey, I'm a business buyer. Can we meet and talk?"

[00:13:04]We're like, that's nice, but what we won't say, but we're thinking is like, what? We have thousands of you in our database, and I don't have time to meet with thousands of you. And so, how do you get into them? Like, how do you get the time a day from a business broker who could be your key to a great deal?

[00:13:20]Um, here's some tips for that. First off, um, when you reach out to them, try to reach out about a specific deal instead of just sending them your one pager, uh, email teaser where you say, "Hey, I'm looking for XYZ type of business, and that email looks the same as everyone else's. What you're looking for looks like what every other buyer is looking for. That doesn't stick in our memory." Um, look at look at our websites, look at our inventory, and find one that you might be interested in. sign an NDA about it and get on the phone with us, get a meeting with us, and really dig into a deal. Once we think you're serious about a particular deal, we'll talk to you about that deal.

[00:14:02]And then you can also ask the golden questions like, "Hey, what else do you have coming down the pipe?" And that's where you might hear about that hip pocket listing I have that could be a great fit that's not on the market yet.

[00:14:14]So, you can kind of get first position on those. is you always want to ask brokers like what else do you have coming down the pipe? Uh you also want to just appear that you have your act together. So you want to appear that you've got your personal finances ready to buy. Uh you've got your deal team ready. You know you know you have relationships with bankers and lawyers and CPAs, everybody you need to get your deal done and that you're serious.

[00:14:37]You're ready. You're excited to pull the trigger and that you'd be a great buyer to work with. And and so just do your homework. Get yourself ready. be ready to move fast and inquire about a specific deal and then ask that what else you got coming down the pipe and then just try to find ways to get back on their radar periodically. So if you can grab lunch or coffee with them in face to face is always best. A Zoom video call is second best. A phone call is third best and an email is a distant fourth place in terms of like having them remember who you are. So as much as possible build rapport, build relationships, get to talk about your personal life together, ask them about their personal life, build the build just build friendships with them. And then you can also kind of soft bribe them. So like one of the other things I I love to do, uh I never would have thought of this, but somebody just did it to me. um a buyer that I I think I gave a talk at a group they were in and you know it was one of these serial buyers and he just sent me a card afterwards and the card had like a $100 gift card to Starbucks in it and I still remember this buyer's name. The buyer's name was Nick and and uh I vaguely remembered meeting him, but then I never forgot him after that because he was kind enough to send me a card and a $100 gift card to Starbucks. And it was just something like, "Hey, Clint, really enjoyed your talk. I learned a lot. I hope we're able to do a business deal together. Just remember, I'm looking for plumbing and HVAC deals um in Texas. And uh by the way, coffeey's on me, you know, and here you go. And I hardly ever go to Starbucks. And when I got a $100 gift card, it was like I had infinite money. It was like I had forever in my wallet cuz it lasted me months and months. I It was like I had this infinity stone of, oh, I can get Starbucks whenever I want on Nick. And And you tend to think of Nick every time you drive past the Starbucks cuz you're like, oh yeah, I remember that guy gave me that Starbucks gift card. And so it was like a small investment, but guess who was top of my mind? Every time I had a a plumbing or HVAC deal in Texas, it was like good old Nick who sent me that gift card. So it was just an easy little gift or bribe or something. But sure enough, it was very memorable. That's just a little hack is like, you know, buy them lunch, buy them coffee if you can, send them a card, send them a gift card. Um, especially the productive brokers in your market. There's going to be a bunch of business brokers, but there's going to be a few that are the top top tier. those are the ones you really want relationships with. So, it's kind of the 8020 rule in play. Like 20% of them are really good and do most of the volume and then 80% are kind of like wasted your time brokers. And so, you want to find the 20%. I always encourage people to go to the IBBA website, iba.org, and look for CBIS, which is certified business intermediaries near you. Um, that is a higher level certification.

[00:17:40]And anybody that carries a CBI designation with the IBBA, the International Business Brokers Association, is usually a pretty high volume serious player. And so like find those CBIS near you. Look at their websites. If they're if they've got 5, 10, 15, 20 deals they're representing.

[00:17:58]They all look pretty good. Uh and and it's clear they're winning awards, doing volume. like those are the ones to go kiss up to and like get to know them and uh do whatever you can to build rapport, get to be their friends. If they're speaking somewhere, go listen to them speak, shake their hand at events, and that's going to help you be remembered by them, be top of the mind, maybe get that first first chance at a hit pocket listing. So, that's some tips on just endearing yourself to the business broker, the M&A professional. Make sure you ma form relationships with the ones near you and that's going to be a great way you can get in on a deal early.

[00:18:33]Okay, for the last part of this video, I have saved the best for last and that is we're going to talk about building a COI army. COI stands for center of influence. A center of influence is someone that has relationships with lots of small business owners and they have the trust of lots of small business owners. That's why they're influential and they are centers of influence.

[00:19:01]Centers of influence COI person is someone that is a super connector in the small business space and you can leverage their relationships, their rapport, the lifetime of influence they built up with small business owners to your benefit. if you play your cards right. So, I'm going to share the big six, what I call them, of COIs that can refer business sellers to you on a regular basis. And if you are a serious business buyer, you need to have relationships with all six of these types of COIs and hopefully multiple of each of those six. and you need to be the buyer they like the most to refer their friends and clients to when they think about selling. So, the big six are CPAs, attorneys, wealth managers, community bankers, commercial real estate agents, and insurance agents. Those are the top six I recommend forming relationships with.

[00:20:04]I'm going to break down each kind real quick and give you some top tips on how to form relationships with them so that they'll refer you when one of their clients or relationships says, "Hey, I'm I'm thinking about selling my business."

[00:20:16]So, first, let's talk about CPAs. CPAs are probably the best referral source you can ask for. The reason for that is they're the most trusted relationship with that business owner regarding important business decisions. So, this is a trusted confidant that has handled that business's intimate financial details and tax returns often for years and years, sometimes decades. And they're often one of the first people that the owner confides in when they're thinking of selling their business. Um, and they also know their numbers of that business inside and out. And so they can be a great source for you uh of a referral that can also tell you if they're qualified financially inside your deal box cuz they know intimately how that company's doing and if they're making good money or not, which you need to know as a buyer. The problem with CPAs is is they don't really have a motivation to refer you business because uh they don't we'll talk about some of these other COIs. it's actually in their benefit to refer people to you. But a CPA um a lot of times if the business sells, they lose a client, you know? So like that actually hurts them. It doesn't help them to to help their client sell their business. And so there's a big question is like why would they refer a seller to you? They have zero motivation to all it is is risk to them because if you turn out to be a bone head that you know that you just embarrass them and there's really like no upside. So why would a CPA refer a seller to you? So you got to kind of think about that a little bit and and put yourself in their shoes. And so I think the best approach to take with CPAs is this. You want to ask them about their CPA services. You want to say, "I am a business owner or I am a business buyer, so I'm in I'm going to be buying a business soon and I will need a business CPA." And you get them to sell their services to you or how they do business. And CPAs sometimes they get stuck behind their desks way too much and they struggle to do business development and relationship building, but they all kind of know I need to get out more and meet more entrepreneurs and have more lunches. And so you can take the initiative and say, "Hey, I'm shopping CPAs. I want to get to know all the best business CPAs. I'm going to be owning a business soon. Can I just take you to lunch? I just want to meet you. I want to learn about you." And so, yeah, you have an ulterior motive, but you also are legitimately looking for a business CPA. And so, you're not lying to them. Um, and so, genuinely take them to lunch. Genuinely show interest in their firm. How are they different than other CPAs? Like, really care, really pay attention, and consider them as your future CPA. And if if it seems like they're great and you're going to get along and they feel like you're a potential prospect or a client to work with them. Now, that 60, 70year-old owner that's thinking about they want to sell and they just told their CPA this, but the CPA didn't really have any motivation to tell anyone else about this will start thinking, "Wow, maybe I won't lose this client because this person that I'm having lunch with is going to want to be my client." And we click and we get along great. And so maybe I can trade my 70-year-old client for a 35-year-old client by helping them buy their business and I'll still keep them as a client and we'll grow this thing together. And um and so then they'll be more open and amicable to sending that referral to you. So that's probably the number one strategy I would take is is just let them give their spiel to you about working with them and then ask them about their personal lives. Ask them what they do for fun.

[00:24:03]Find common ground. Build relationships with them and and make sure you refer business to them and and so they love CPAs love when you refer business to them. They'll never forget you if you're a referral source for them. And uh and yeah, just get to know them and their firm. And then just be very clear of why you're wanting to buy a business, what your vision is, and and then ask them directly at the end of a nice lunch, do you know anyone in your network that might be thinking about selling that I might be able to talk to? And just ask for referrals from them and then circle back um month or two or three later, take them out for lunch again and do it again. So that's uh what I recommend on building relationships with CPAs because they are a wonderful referral source and the most trusted um referer of small business owners. The second COI are attorneys. Uh attorneys are often a a wonderful referral source as well. You know, I've had some bad experiences where I'm just trying to get to know attorneys, but if you actually show up at their office or set an appointment with them and go in there, it's like they want they want to be making money cuz they charge by the hour. And uh I had one time actually when I was just looking for a referral source of an attorney. I went and hung out of their office uh just interviewed them about their firm and then sure enough I got a freaking bill from that attorney for their time in their office and uh and I'm like whoa I wasn't really going to you for attorney work. I was just trying to refer business and yeah, the best piece of advice with attorneys is to show interest in their firm and and again seeing if they could be your go-to counsel for your business acquisition and your um general business attorney needs, get to know them. And most of them will have a policy where if you do a they'll do either a free introductory meeting or they'll do a uh a lunch with you where you're not on the clock. But you just want to get you just want to make sure you're clear on that that you just want to get to know them and their firm and talk about what they could do uh to work together. And then again, you're just given a soft pitch of who you are, what you're interested in buying, uh what that might look like.

[00:26:21]And then you want to ask them directly, is there anyone of your clients or anyone you know that might be thinking about selling that I could talk to because I'm serious about making a move in the next uh few months on on making an offer and buying a business. Um the attorneys are a wonderful wealth of connections. Uh they often have very very good rolodexes. They have very good um connections they can make and if you can become their friend and be top of mind with them, they can be a great referral source for you. So make sure you hit up attorneys, specifically business attorneys and mergers and acquisition attorneys are the best ones to talk to. The third one, one of my favorites because they're so aligned with you as a buyer, is wealth managers.

[00:27:07]So, wealth managers are usually the second person that knows the seller wants to sell their business behind their CPA. I think they usually tell their CPA first and their wealth manager second. Because when a person is thinking about selling their business, they often confide in their wealth manager because they're thinking, "I need to know how much I need to sell my business for to be able to invest it to get the financial result I want in my life." And if they have a wealth manager, they need to have that conversation with them. Uh because they often have a lot of their net worth and wealth tied up in the value of that [clears throat] small business. The wealth manager is usually in there pretty early. They're pretty trusted because they trust them enough with their financial guidance. Um, it's it's a trusted relationship. That's a very strong referral. But the thing I like most about wealth managers is they're completely aligned with you. Think about this. A wealth manager makes the most money the most assets they have under management. AUM. Uh, assets under management is how most wealth managers make their own wealth.

[00:28:18]Um, and so let's pretend a wealth manager has a relationship with a small business owner and they manage maybe a half million dollars of assets for that small business owner. Like a typical, you know, bluecollar small business owner might have a small nest egg that they've been saving up and investing with that wealth manager, but their business might be worth multiple millions of dollars. And as soon as they sell that business, the assets under management potential of that relationship with that wealth manager just skyrockets to now they could manage millions of dollars of assets for that owner because you could be the one that helped provide a liquidity event for that owner and unlock that value and then that they can invest for that owner and help them grow their wealth over time on the other side of the transaction. So, they are very motivated to help a business owner sell their business and uh and so they're happy to give you a referral. As long as they like you, they trust you, and feel like you're going to not embarrass them um by making that connection, uh they're a fantastic one. And so, wealth managers are always happy to grab coffee, they're happy to grab lunch, they're happy to give you their spiel on on why they're the best wealth manager uh out there. uh but they have hundreds of small business owners relationships a lot of time if they're good ones and uh man they are a gold mine of potential. So, you definitely want to create some friendships and relationships with wealth managers that you can go to regularly. And then you might consider actually uh becoming a client of theirs.

[00:29:55]Uh moving some of your resources under their management. And that gives you a way that you're always in front of them and and talking to them about your stuff. And then every time you talk to them, remind them that you're looking to buy a business and ask them if anybody's up for sale that they know of. So, wealth managers are the third and one of the very best you can get as a referral source. COI. Okay. The next person you want to get to know is community bankers. And so I'm not talking about SBA lenders, which you you need to have SBA lender relationships with national high volume SBA lenders that are going to help you do your deal if you're going to be an SBA uh buyer. I'm talking about like the local community bank or credit union officer that is out shaking hands and at the Chamber of Commerce events and is providing like lines of credit equipment loans and those, you know, those daytoday loans that small business owners need and want to get from their local community banks. Like those are the ones that have the relationships with the sellers. Uh, you know, you need to have the SBA lender in your back pocket to do your deal, but you need to have community banker relationships as a COI referral source to sellers. And so, find those friendly community bankers.

[00:31:12]Go see them. Go see them at their offices. They're they're usually very friendly. They're very outgoing. They're looking to develop business relationships. And so, find the business bankers at all the local community banks. Get to know them. Take them to lunch. they'll uh you know, they'll be glad to hang out and just learn about how they do business, learn what they're looking for. Uh try to refer business to them when it makes sense. And uh but yeah, they're very social and and I think they're one of the easiest ones to get to because that's kind of how they work, especially those community guys, is is they just try to be good citizens and really uh involved with lots of relationships and play golf and and go to lunches and stuff like that. and they just think that if I can get to know and and like and be be liked by enough people in the community, a lot of people will come to me with their banking needs and uh and so get to know them and a lot of times you'll be one of the only serious business buyers they know and you'll be able to use that social relational equity they build up in their community to really get you some good opportunities. So get to know your local community bankers is another great source of referrals. COI number five.

[00:32:20]So, we're at five of the six of the big six is a commercial real estate agent.

[00:32:26]So, these are the ones that are selling uh buildings, uh office buildings, warehouse space, self storage space. Um, anyone that has their signs up on uh commercial real estate listings are a potential great source with them. I think a phone call to start and then maybe grab coffee. Um, if you don't have a specific need for their services anytime soon and you can't have a viable reason why you need to have that conversation, uh, I would say don't waste too much of their time.

[00:33:03]Try to keep it short and sweet and let them know, hey, I'm I'm wanting to buy a business. I know you sell you you you know a lot of business owners uh because you help them locate properties and divest and invest in properties for their businesses. Uh do you know anybody that might be wanting to sell? And a lot of times these folks will also dabble in uh in business brokerage and some of them do, some of them don't. But I talk about that in my business brokerage explained video, how there's a a decent percentage of commercial real estate agents that are actually trying to do business deals. And so they might see you as a potential client that they could get a fee from if they can be party to a transaction that they introduce you to. That's fine. Um, but they might just want to make a connection as a good business person trying to make friends and trying to make a potential future client out of you that would use them to secure a lease for a business or property for a business. So, uh, get to know the high volume, high stroke, you know, just, uh, well-connected commercial real estate agents and, um, that you're active, uh, looking to buy a business and they can be a great referral source for you as well. follow the same playbook with them as you would any of these others. You know, get to know them and their business. Get make sure they get to know you and uh and then just watch what's coming down the pipe and then just ask them questions and be nosy into what they're up to and uh and they're they like sharing some inside baseball with what they're up to and and kind of what's going on in the gossip of the business world and they might be able to get you a good referral. So, they can be good referral sources. All right, the last COI is probably the most underrated of all of them, but they can be an absolute gold mine, and that is insurance agents.

[00:34:51]And it doesn't have to be a commercial insurance agent that does business insurance. But it can be a personal lines like a property and casualty agent and just your local all-state or state farm agent or um you know just any of those uh personal insurance agencies or and the business ones too. All of them have lots of business owner clients. Um cuz the personal lines ones, they'll insure the business owner's house and boat and cars and everything else and they'll know what's going on. And because they ensure all their stuff, all their property, they have a pretty good idea of of where they're at in life and if they're thinking about buying that RV and retiring or not and selling their business cuz they get quotes on that.

[00:35:35]The the clients will get quotes from their agent when they're thinking about going through major changes, uh, selling their house, buying a new house, buying that RV or whatever, and they just kind of know what's up in lots and hundreds of clients lives, many of which are small business owners. And so, uh, commercial and personal lines insurance agents are always looking for new business. They love networking and they love going to coffee and lunch with potential clients. And guess who needs insurance? Everyone. Everyone needs insurance of some kind or another. So, you as a business owner, a future business owner, or just anyone that owns a car, anyone that owns a house, like you're going to need an insurance agent.

[00:36:18]And so, get to know them. get to know their services and what makes them unique and just become friends with as many of them as you can. And I tell you what, they you'll be the only business buyer they know because these other business buyers out there competing with you to find opportunities, they're overlooking this very valuable COI of the insurance agent because they're most other buyers are so focused on getting that CPA or that attorney relationship, which are kind of like those top two I mentioned, that they forget how much the insurance agent is connected, how much they know. And man, you can really get some good intel from them, too, cuz not only do they know uh Bob is looking to sell his business, they know like how nice his house is, how how big his boat is, all the, you know, all those things they ensure are uh clues, they're context clues as to how successful Bob's business is. And uh they can really give you some inside baseball if you get to know them. So definitely want you to form relationships with as many insurance agents as you can and and that's going to be a key to success.

[00:37:23]Okay, so let's land this plane. This video is all about creating a ground game. That just means boots on the ground, handshake, relationship [music] game so that folks will give you warm handoffs and referrals to business owners looking to sell their business.

[00:37:40]And you'll get a [music] wonderful introduction from someone they already know, like, and trust. and you'll be able to leverage that relationship to get your relationship with that seller and hopefully [music] get the deal of your dreams referred to you. So, you have to have a ground game.

[00:37:55]Not enough buyers [music] are good at doing the ground game cuz they're so focused on digital landscape.

[00:38:02]Um, and so get out [music] there in the real world, form these relationships.

[00:38:07]Again, here's the tips. Join a local group and get involved. The second one [music] is get to know the local high producing M&A advisors and business brokers that help facilitate transactions. Form relationships with them. Inquire about their deals in a friendly manner and ask them what's coming down the pipe. And then the third thing is you [music] want to form COI relationships with the big six. CPAs, attorneys, [music] wealth managers, community bankers, commercial real estate agents, and [music] insurance agents. Those are going to be a ticket to those warm referrals from trusted sources. Each of those people have hundreds [music] of relationships with small business owners that you do not, and you can leverage those by getting to know them and building that army of potential referral sources. You get good at this skill, [music] you will never run out of opportunities. Form those relationships, nurture those relationships, and opportunities will flock to you.