How Much Do Business Brokers Make Per Deal?

If you’ve ever wondered how much do business brokers make per deal, the short answer is: a lot—especially when the model is built right. Business brokerage is one of the highest-leverage career paths out there, blending financial upside with freedom, flexibility, and low overhead.

In this post, we’ll break down how business broker income works, what typical deals look like, and how platforms like Merge make it easier to earn six (or even seven) figures without the headaches of going it alone.

💰 How Business Brokers Make Money

Business brokers typically get paid in three ways:

• Monthly retainers: Recurring fees paid by the seller to prep, list, and market the business

• Success fees: A percentage of the final sale price, paid at closing

• Project fees: One-off charges for valuations, consulting, or strategy

A standard success fee ranges from 6% to 10% of the final sale price, depending on deal size. Some brokers charge flat fees for smaller businesses, while others use tiered fee structures.

📊 Real-World Deal Example

Let’s look at what a typical deal might generate.

• Business sale price: $2,000,000

• Success fee (7%): $140,000

• Retainer: $5,000/month × 3 = $15,000

• Total revenue: $155,000

• Costs (if on a platform like Merge): 25% platform fee = $38,750

• Net income: $116,250

That’s one deal.

Even if you only close 3–5 deals per year, you’re already in the high six-figure earning range.

🔁 Income Potential at Different Volumes

Here’s how annual earnings can scale depending on how many deals you close per year:

This is what makes M&A such a compelling business model—it only takes a few successful deals to build real financial freedom.

🧠 What Affects How Much You Make

Several factors influence your income as a business broker:

• Deal size: The bigger the business, the bigger the success fee

• Fee structure: Retainers + success fees = predictable, recurring revenue

• Support tools: Platforms like Merge give you faster ramp-up and polished materials

• Your niche: Digital, service-based, and founder-led businesses often have higher margins and simpler deal structures

• Your network: Warm leads close faster and with less effort

Ultimately, the more repeatable and systemized your process is, the more deals you can close—and the more income you can earn.

🚀 How Merge Helps You Maximize Income Per Deal

Most business brokers spend their first year building everything from scratch—valuation models, CRM, prospectus templates, email sequences, buyer lists, and more. That’s months of unpaid setup.

Merge flips that model on its head.

As a Merge licensee, you get a complete business-in-a-box so you can skip straight to revenue. Here’s what’s included:

• Custom website with listings and NDA flow

• CRM with buyer/seller workflows

• Valuation calculators and templates

• Prospectus tools and sample decks

• Email cadences and buyer ecosystem access

• Slack community, monthly coaching, and office hours

You bring the hustle—we bring the engine.

🔍 What About Costs?

Merge keeps things simple.

• License Fee: $35,000 one-time

• Revenue Share: 25% of gross revenue on deals using Merge systems

• Add-Ons: Optional support (design, valuation, or coaching) if you want to outsource execution

There’s no territory restriction, no royalty creep, and no brand lock-in. You run your business your way—with Merge in your corner when you need us.

📈 How Much Do Merge Brokers Typically Make?

We’ve seen licensees:

• Close their first deal within 90 days

• Earn $300K+ per year working part-time

• Scale to 7-figure earnings by year two

• Build lean businesses without hiring or investing in overhead

Whether you’re working solo or building a small team, the Merge platform lets you operate at high margins and high velocity.

💬 What Licensees Say

“I made more in my first two deals than I did running my last agency for a year. Merge gave me the confidence, tools, and support to go fast—and close fast.”
— 2024 Licensee

“The model works. The templates and process gave me everything I needed to look polished and close deals from day one.”
— Ex-founder turned M&A advisor

💡 Final Thoughts: How Much Can You Make?

So, how much do business brokers make per deal?

If you’re using a modern model like Merge’s—anywhere from $75K to $150K+ per transaction.

Even just a few deals a year can unlock real financial freedom. And with the Merge platform, you can start fast, look polished, and earn like a pro—without building everything from scratch.

Ready to learn more?

👉 [Apply to Become a Licensee]
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