Do you want to sell a business through Brookz? Then it all starts with writing a good sales profile. This is the first (and often only) thing that thousands of potential buyers will see about your business.
Research by Brookz shows that an informative sales profile generates up to three times as many responses as a brief or overly enthusiastic description. In this article, you’ll learn how to write a sales profile that stands out, attracts more buyers, and accelerates the sale of your business.
What Is a Listing Profile?
A sales profile is an anonymous, professional description of your business designed to spark interest in a potential acquisition among prospective buyers. The profile contains factual information about your business’s operations, market, organization, and key financial figures—without mentioning your business’s name. The goal is to attract attention and generate interest.
Why Is a Good Listing So Important?
Better-informed buyers are more likely to be a good fit for your business and your sales goals. That way, you won’t waste valuable time on buyers who aren’t actually a good fit, and you’ll keep your sales process moving smoothly. Plus, you only get one chance to make a first impression.
The number of responses to your profile determines not only how quickly you’ll start conversations, but also how strong your negotiating position is. More serious candidates mean more choices, more competition among buyers, and ultimately a better price and better terms.
Furthermore, an analysis of thousands of listings on Brookz shows that profiles that specifically identify growth opportunities, support key financial figures, and provide a complete, structured description demonstrably perform better than incomplete or vague profiles.
How to Build a Strong Sales Profile
A sales profile on Brookz consists of four parts: the title, the subtitle, the basic information, and the company description.
1. The Title: What Kind of Business Is It?
The title tells potential buyers at a glance what kind of business you’re offering. Be concrete and specific. “Wholesaler of glass, decorative items, and ceramics” works better than “Attractive trading business.” Buyers often search for specific items within an industry—make sure your title aligns with that.
2. The Subheading: What Makes the Business Special?
The subtitle is your chance to stand out from the other listings. Use it to highlight your business’s strongest, most concrete selling point. The most-viewed listings on Brookz use numbers in their subtitles with striking frequency. Compare for yourself:
"Niche online store with 18,000+ customers and 50% organic traffic"
"A great online store with lots of potential"
The first version immediately inspires confidence: this seller knows his numbers and has something to offer.
3. Basic Information: Key Figures
Here, you’ll enter your business’s key characteristics: sector, industry, revenue, profit, number of employees, region, legal structure, transaction type, and reason for sale. Fill in this information as completely as possible. Buyers filter and select based on these fields—an incomplete profile will be excluded from the search results of exactly the buyers you’re looking for.
4. The Company Description: The Story Behind the Numbers
In the description, provide specific, factual information that allows the buyer to form a clear picture of your business. Be sure to cover these six topics:
- Activities and Products/Services: What exactly does the business do? For example: “The business is an import and export business specializing in glass, ceramics, and decorative products.”
- Market and Customers: In which markets is the business active, and what are its main customer groups? For example: “The business supplies specialized glass stores and resellers, both domestically and internationally.”
- Strengths: What makes the business valuable? Consider years of experience, a strong reputation, a loyal customer base, long-term contracts, or an experienced team.
- Organization and Facilities: How many employees are there, how is management structured, and what about the premises? For example: “The business has 18 employees and is led by the owner, supported by a sales manager and a senior buyer.”
- Growth Opportunities: Where are the opportunities for a new owner? New markets, new customer groups, international expansion, online sales?
- Reason for selling: Be open about this. Retirement, no successor, or a focus on other activities are perfectly normal reasons. A clear reason for selling dispels any doubts.
The Importance of Anonymity in Your Sales Profile
You want to remain anonymous because employees, suppliers, and/or customers shouldn’t know that the business is up for sale. Omitting your business name isn’t the same as being anonymous. These days, buyers paste text into a search engine or AI tool and can still find the business that way, especially if the description is specific enough to match only one or a few Dutch businesses. So the question isn’t “Is the name in there?” but “How many other businesses does this description match?”
So keep the following points in mind:
- Activities/Product Category: Take your description to the next level (e.g., “artisanal soap products” → “natural personal care products”).
- Lists (materials, product types): These are often copied verbatim from the company’s own website; replace them with a general description.
- Company age and region: Use a range (“more than 25 years,” “the Netherlands”), never a specific year or province/city.
- Names of customers, brands, or awards: generalize by type (“national wholesalers” instead of specific names).
- Superlatives (“market leader,” “the only one in the Netherlands”): Remove these, as they invite a search query.
- Legal structure, industry, transaction type: these can remain as is; they provide little identifying information.
The basic principle: keep the story, conceal the identity.
6 Writing Tips for a Sales Profile That Stands Out
1. Write in a professional and factual style
Use a neutral, informative writing style and avoid superlatives like “unique,” “great,” “huge,” or “top-notch.” Buyers are experienced entrepreneurs and investors: empty sales talk is more likely to arouse suspicion than enthusiasm. A factual statement (“15% annual revenue growth since 2021”) speaks louder than ten adjectives.
2. Write in the third person
Don’t write “we,” “our business,” or “I,” but rather “the business,” “the organization,” or “this organization.” This keeps your profile anonymous—protecting your identity—and makes it read more professionally and objectively.
3. Write from the buyer’s perspective
The most important question your profile must answer: Why is this business an attractive acquisition target for a buyer? Highlight the factors that minimize the risk for a buyer: recurring revenue, a loyal customer base, a team that operates independently, or your willingness to remain involved for a period of time after the acquisition.
4. Back it up with numbers
Include specific key figures: revenue, profitability, number of customers, number of employees, growth rates. Proposals with specific financial information demonstrably perform better than profiles that remain vague. You don’t need to share every detail down to the decimal point—a range or rough estimate is sufficient for the initial introduction.
5. Highlight the growth potential
Buyers are investing in your business’s future, not its past. Proposals that highlight growth opportunities receive more attention on Brookz than those that don’t. Describe specifically where a new owner can make a difference: a new target audience, international expansion, or an online store in addition to the brick-and-mortar location.
6. Be honest about the reason for the sale
Every buyer wants to know why you’re selling. Not giving a reason—or giving an evasive one—raises questions: What’s wrong with this business? A clear, credible reason for the sale (retirement, succession, focusing on other activities) immediately dispels those doubts and builds trust for the rest of the process.
Example of a Good Sales Profile
Title: Wholesaler of Glass, Decorative Items, and Ceramics
Subtitle: Stable revenue of €4.2 million with international growth opportunities
Description:
The business is an import and export business specializing in glass, ceramics, and decorative products. It has been in business for over 20 years and has built a strong reputation in the industry, with a loyal network of sales agents throughout Europe.
The business supplies a diverse customer base of specialty stores and resellers, both nationally and internationally. Annual revenue is approximately €4.2 million, with stable profitability. The business employs 18 people; day-to-day management is handled by the owner, supported by a sales manager and a senior buyer. The business is located in a newly constructed, leased building in an easily accessible location.
In addition to the consumer market, there are growth opportunities in the business market. Collaborating with international retail chains also offers opportunities, particularly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The owner wants to sell a business in preparation for retirement and is willing to remain involved during a transition period following the acquisition to ensure a smooth handover.
Don’t Give Away All the Information at Once
A sales profile is a teaser, not an information memorandum. Highlight enough key achievements to spark interest, but also save some positive details for the next round of discussions. That way, you’ll exceed the buyer’s expectations when it matters most—and build trust for the negotiations!
