"Alien" Brokers Failing New England Dealers

Alien brokers have been invading the Northeast and especially New England, attempting to abduct our local dealers under false pretenses!!

Large national brokers come in promising interest from large dealer groups from outside New England, but that scenario isn’t the typical case. Most big groups are looking to buy “platforms” consisting of more than several highly lucrative dealerships and not our typical small-to-medium sized family-owned dealerships. New England dealers sell to other New England dealers 95 percent of the time, usually one within a one hour radius. 

You can see how important it is for small-to-medium sized dealers to work with a local broker. Local brokers know the local markets very well and know the dealers who will see the value in the single stores and smaller groups as the perfect way for them to expand their own local dealer group. 

Why would a New England dealer looking to sell his business enter an exclusive 4-to-6-month listing contact with an “alien” broker from outside New England? Brokers from the Midwest, Southwest, and, of all places, California don’t know the buyers (or sellers) like we do. We don’t make random phone calls to dealers who are not buyers, thus exposing your store to the rumor mill!

Local brokers, like GW Marketing Services, know who the active dealers are and what brands they are looking to buy. We've been brokering deals in New England for more than 42 years. We have relationships with dealer principals throughout the region. We hear the whispers. We also maintain an active database of all the dealers in New England, as well as many in New York and New Jersey, along with hundreds of other qualified candidates in our system.

Recently we hear that selling dealers are being referred to brokers through one of their vendors. It makes sense. You develop relationships with your after-sell and banking reps. They help make your dealership more successful, and you build a trusting rapport with them. You ask them for a broker referral. Instead of referring you to someone who can successfully sell your dealership, they refer you to their buddies and their clients from who knows where, to include a kickback, not truly caring at all for your welfare. 

At GW Marketing Services, we keep the sale of your store very discreet. We reach out to our local dealer contacts - ones we know are shopping - ones we have prequalified.

These alien brokers have their agents shop your store to big groups who aren’t going to be interested in your small-to-medium sized store and likely to EVERY other area dealer, whether they’re qualified buyers or not. They make dozens of random phone calls, mostly from an office in another region of the US! Word gets out on the street that you’re selling, resulting in employees and managers running scared, damaging your business and its value.

Then nothing happens. You’re stuck waiting in the dark for a magical deal that never comes very often, never hearing back from them. Alien brokers collect listings like fruit in a basket. The fact is that they’re lucky to close one or two deals in New England each year. Odds are you're not going to get your dealership sold in that scenario, but everyone will know it’s for sale.

GW Marketing Services has been in business for 42 years. We’ve been involved in hundreds of dealership transactions and performed hundreds of dealership business appraisals. Add to that we have seen it all: OEM total interference using ROFR processes, transaction buy-sells going from 20 to 90+ pages, and complex New England style market representation issues. We are the firm that can get you the Blue Sky that your dealership is worth.

These issues are more complex here in New England versus the rest of the US. New England states have stringent franchise statutes in a very “over-dealered” marketplace, not to mention the OEM push to terminate dealers or use the agency model to sell their vehicles.

I was born into the auto dealer world as the son of a dealer principal. I had a very informative 12+ year career with an OEM with experience as a Zone Manager, being responsible for 300 branded dealerships in New England. I started GW Marketing Services to help our dealers here in New England get the best deal possible, staying very engaged with the deal through the closing and even after that, a phenomenon among brokers. Our New England dealers are the people and businesses I grew up knowing.

In 1980, our first year in business, there was no such thing as a dealership broker in New England, and there were very few in the New York Tri-State area. We were the only broker in business for almost two decades. By 1983, I had developed an auto-industry-specific appraisal technique that has been used industry-wide for decades to produce the most accurate valuations possible. As time went by this model spread nationwide.

The point is, no one knows the New England market like we do. 

It is a fact that Blue Sky values are starting to decrease from the record highs over the past 2 years. Rapidly rising interest rates, high gas prices, and third-world-country inflation are driving Blue Sky values south. These values have begun to erode. If you’re thinking of selling your dealership in the next year, now is without a doubt the best time to do it. Take advantage of the market now before you see your value quickly diminish, quite possibly missing out on millions of dollars.

We stay close to our sellers throughout the whole sales process, especially as we approach the closing date. We have brokered more stores in New England than any other broker. We have the most loyal client base and the best reputation in the market.

When you’re ready to sell your dealership, contact me, Gordon Wisbach, at gordon@gwmarketingservices.com or 508-395-2500 (personal cell).