ISSUE 002 · BROKERED DEAL FLOW
Find → Buy → Lead → Grow
Brokered deal flow is broken…here’s a cheap fix.
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Today’s issue will save you ~1 hr / wk
TL;DR
PROBLEM. SMB brokered deal flow is fragmented across dozens of platforms and private brokerage websites. But you need to search them all.
SOLUTION. Use an automated workflow to watch brokerage sites that matter, and find winning deals ASAP. (link below)
VALUE. Recover 1+ hour a week, plus improve your odds of catching the best-fit deals.
🤦♂️ Problem
Does your inbox look like mine?
BizQuest automated emails
Probably.
I get automated emails from at least a dozen deal platforms.
Then it begins
Now do that again with 10 other platforms, every day, for 2 years.
There must be an easier way…
🤖 Solution
Let’s build a system that eliminates all the noise.
It’ll only ping us when there’s something worth our time.
Today I’ll use BizQuest as an example.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer an API 🙄
If you want their data, you have to go through the browser. Claude Cowork with the Chrome extension can do it. But that’s hard mode.
Try this scraper instead → https://apify.com/memo23/bizquest-scraper
I didn’t build it, but I did wire it up to an AI workflow so you don’t have to.
Result: instead of annoying emails, I wake up to this:
Deals that I want, nothing more
This tool never sleeps.
It never gets distracted.
Now you’ll only see deals that matter to you.
No more missed opportunities.
Here’s roughly how it works:
I’m giving away this tool for free (link at bottom of email)
This is just one potential solution, but it’s a great starting point for any business buyer.
Customize as you see fit. Add your CRM. Add more brokerages.
FYI for serious searchers, I’m building the pro version → shortlist.smbexcel.com
(Shoot me a quick email if interested, it’s ~4-6 weeks from production)
🔥 Value
~1 hour per week recovered from sifting BizQuest.
Multiply by every additional source you wire up.
Fewer missed listings that fit your buy-box.
Improved speed to output (good deals go fast).
Improved broker response rates with personalized outreach.
🛠 Implement
This workflow runs on n8n*.
If not familiar, n8n is basically Zapier on steroids.
It’s harder to use (sorry) but much more powerful.
It’s also “fair code” so you can export the entire workflow and self-host it.
fyi cheapest plan is $24/m (cheaper than Zapier) and is more than enough here.
Here’s how to get started:
Download my workflow and import it into n8n*.
Plug in your buy-box criteria.
Make an Apify account and setup the scraper.
Connect your accounts to n8n (Anthropic, Google, Slack)
Turn it on, fine-tune as you go
Should look like this →
n8n canvas view
Next up
Free AI websites that don’t suck → Claude skill using Astro & Cloudflare
Make your own SMB AI coach → Context stuffing vs augmented retrieval
Cheers,
David
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p.s. check out the roadmap at www.smbexcel.com to see where we’re heading
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*affiliate links support the newsletter and buy me coffee, but I actually love this tool