Business brokers in Chicago: what they charge, what you sign, and how to choose one.
Chicago business brokers typically charge 8 to 12 percent of the sale price at closing, and many add a $10,000 to $25,000 minimum. Lakeshore Exit Partners is a CPA-led brokerage in the West Loop that charges 10 percent, agreed in writing before market, and works in person across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. Here is what the listing agreement commits you to, what to ask before you sign, and how the sale runs.
What would my business sell for?
Revenue, industry, and where to send it. Within two business days you'll have a CPA-prepared value range and the two or three items a buyer's accountant would raise first. Free, confidential, nothing to sign.
Then you can judge any broker's listing price against evidence instead of hope. The method behind the range, with 2026 multiples by industry and size, is in how much is my business worth.
What does a business broker actually do?
A good broker earns the fee three ways. They find buyers you couldn't reach on your own, they keep the sale confidential while marketing it, and they hold the deal together between the offer and the closing. For a restaurant, a shop, or a service business under a million dollars with clean books, a competent broker is the right call.
What almost no broker does is fix the things that decide your multiple before the business is shown to anyone. The quality of the books. How much of the company still runs through you. Whether one customer is 30 percent of revenue. A broker markets the business you have today. That's the job. It's just not the whole job. For a company doing $1 million to $15 million in revenue, the other half is where the price is decided.
If your company does $1 million to $5 million, the staffing question matters as much as the fee. How we run a smaller sale, and where our fee stops earning its keep, is on the small business broker in Chicago page.
What do business brokers charge in Chicago?
Market figures are directional, not quotes from any firm. Ours are the numbers we say on the phone.
| Fee | Where the Chicago market usually lands | Lakeshore |
|---|---|---|
| Success fee, under about $2M | 8 to 12 percent, paid at closing. Ten is the number you'll hear most. | 10 percent, paid at closing. In the listing agreement before any marketing starts. |
| Success fee, larger deals | Sliding scales such as Double Lehman, an effective 4 to 8 percent. | 10 percent at any size. On a large deal that is more than a sliding scale; better you see it here than at the LOI. |
| Retainers, minimums, monthly fees | Minimums of $10,000 to $25,000 at many firms. Some add a monthly marketing retainer. | No retainer, no monthly fee. If the business doesn't sell, you don't owe a success fee. |
| Upfront valuation or "packaging" fee | $2,000 to $25,000 at some firms, often non-refundable if the business never sells. | None. Preparation is separate and flat: the $4,500 Exit-Readiness Review, credited against the success fee if we later sell. |
| Tail clause | 12 to 24 months after the agreement ends, commission still owed on any buyer the broker introduced. | You approve the buyer list before we approach anyone, so the record of who we introduced is yours. |
Clause by clause, in business broker fees in Chicago. The market ranges, with the sources behind them, are in our article on what's normal in Chicago broker fees and what isn't.
What should I ask a Chicago broker before I sign?
- What did you personally close in the last 24 months? Office-wide numbers hide individual track records. Ask for deals your size, in your county.
- What is the total fee, in writing? The percentage, any minimum, upfront charges, and what happens to any deposit if the business doesn't sell.
- How long is the exclusive, and what does the tail say? Ask for the tail period and for named carve-outs covering any buyer you already know.
- What would make my business worth more a year from now? The most revealing question on the list. A professional has an answer. A listing machine changes the subject.
How does a CPA-led brokerage run the sale?
Lakeshore Exit Partners is a CPA-led brokerage in Chicago's West Loop. Six to nine months from first conversation to closing is typical.
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Value range, then a readiness check
The range is free, within two business days. Then a free 30-minute consult, or the two-week Exit-Readiness Review at $4,500 if you want the gaps priced. Some owners go to market from here.
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Pricing memo and blind profile
Normalized earnings, documented add-backs, a listing range with the evidence behind it, and a one-page profile that doesn't name the business. The 10% fee is in the agreement before this step.
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Vetted buyers under NDA, then LOI, diligence, closing
Roll-ups, strategic buyers, searchers, and individuals, from a list you approve. Every one signs before seeing your name. Diligence runs from a data room built before anyone asked. The Illinois and Cook County notices that have to be filed before closing are in selling a business in Chicago; the month-by-month calendar, from the first conversation to the closing table, is in how to sell a business in Chicago.
Which Chicago suburbs and counties do you cover?
The office is at 10 South Riverside Plaza, near Union Station. The work happens at your business.
Chicago and all of Cook County first: the industrial corridors on the South and West sides, and the practices, distributors and contractors in Evanston, Skokie, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Oak Park and Orland Park. Then the five collar counties, in person: DuPage (Naperville, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Oak Brook), Kane (Elgin, Aurora, St. Charles, Geneva), Lake (Waukegan, Libertyville, Gurnee, Lake Forest), McHenry (Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock) and Will (Joliet, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, New Lenox). Northwest Indiana by arrangement.
Geography changes who the buyer is. The roll-ups consolidating HVAC and plumbing companies are working the western and northwest suburbs; who they are, what they pay and which licenses have to transfer is in selling a contracting or HVAC business in Chicago. The machine shops in the Fox Valley draw strategic buyers and searchers; who they are and what they pay is in selling a manufacturing business in Chicago. Logistics and trucking around Joliet and I-80 draw a different list again. The buyer list you approve is built from that, county by county, not from a listing site.
What we sell in each county, and why the engagement runs on your floor rather than in our office, is on the business broker in Illinois page.
A broker paid only at closing is paid to close. Nothing in that model pays anyone to spend a year making your business worth 30 percent more first.
Lakeshore Exit Partners · Chicago
Chicago broker questions, answered.
How much do business brokers charge in Chicago?
Roughly 8 to 12 percent for main-street businesses, often with a $10,000 to $25,000 minimum. Larger deals price on sliding scales netting 4 to 8 percent. Ours is 10 percent, in writing before market, no retainer.
How do I choose a business broker in Chicago?
Interview two or three. Ask what each person closed in the last 24 months at your size, get the total fee and the tail clause in writing, and ask what would make your business worth more a year from now. Choose the one whose answer to the last question is specific.
Should I use a business broker to sell my business?
If you need buyers found and a confidential sale run, a good broker earns the fee. If the business isn't ready for diligence, preparation pays better than listing sooner. Many owners do both, in that order. The case-by-case answer, including when to sell without one, is in should I hire a business broker to sell my company; above about $5 million in revenue, read business broker vs. M&A advisor first.
Do I need a broker if I already have a buyer?
Usually not. Be careful about signing an exclusive listing after a buyer has approached you. What you need is defensible financials, an evidence-backed price, and diligence managed. We can represent you in that one negotiation without a listing.
Which Chicago suburbs and counties does Lakeshore serve?
Chicago and all of Cook County, plus DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will, in person at your business, and Northwest Indiana by arrangement. The office is in the West Loop at 10 South Riverside Plaza, near Union Station.
Is Lakeshore a business broker?
We do both halves of the job: we prepare Chicagoland businesses for sale, then represent the owner at a 10% success fee agreed in writing. Preparation is a flat fee of its own, so nothing pushes us to list early. When the fit is right, we buy the business ourselves, with no commission.
Broker fees, in detail Should I hire a broker at all? Broker or M&A advisor? Ready to sell now Owner FAQ
Find out what it would sell for. Free.
A CPA-prepared value range and the gaps a buyer's accountant would find first, within two business days.
Prefer to talk now? (312) 278-2109, weekdays 9 to 5. A person answers.