Certified Business Intermediary
The CBI designation demonstrates that a broker has invested the time and effort to master the knowledge required to properly represent business owners.
I am one of only 10 business brokers in Arizona who have earned the CBI designation.
Earning the Certified Business Intermediary required:
- Over 60 hours of advanced coursework covering business valuation, confidential marketing, deal structure, negotiations and a lot more.
- Multiple intensive training programs through the IBBA.
- A series of exams ending with a comprehensive final exam.
The exams aren't a formality. They have a real failure rate. Earning the credential takes serious time and study. What the CBI proves is that the broker understands the technical side of selling a business. That's a meaningful baseline. Most people calling themselves business brokers in Arizona don't have it. It's also not enough by itself. Knowing how a deal is supposed to work and having actually closed over a hundred of them are two different things. That's where the MCBI comes in.
Master Certified Business Intermediary
The Master Certified Business Intermediary is the IBBA's highest designation. The IBBA awards it sparingly because the requirements aren't just about coursework, they're about real world experience and closed deals:
Earning the Certified Business Intermediary required:
- A documented history of successfully completed transactions.
- Significant real-world deal experience across multiple industries and deal structures.
- Completion of 11 four-hour advanced-level courses over a 10-month collegiate-style training program.
- A long-standing record of professional and ethical conduct, reviewed before the credential is issued.
The MCBI curriculum focuses on high-level transaction skills, including:
- Advanced business valuation and analysis.
- Pre-due diligence and transaction structuring.
- Identifying and working with high-value, qualified buyers.
- Complex legal, ethical, and negotiation issues.
The reason the credential is rare is that most business brokers who earn the CBI never accumulate the deal volume or the closing record to qualify for the MCBI. Since 2001, I've closed over $97 million in business sales across more than 100 transactions. Those deals have ranged from a $100,000 carpet cleaning company up to a $31.5 million precision metal fabricator, with everything in between: HVAC companies, electrical contractors, salons, landscape companies, manufacturers, e-commerce businesses, retailer stores, and auto body shops. I'm a top 1% producer at West USA Realty, a multi-year IBBA Chairman's Circle Award winner, and former Ethics Chairman of the Arizona Business Brokers Association. I bring all of that up because credentials without numbers behind them don't mean much.
