guy spriggs Founder/CEO turned business consultant

Hi, this is the classic chicken and egg question, but there are several considerations that will partly depend on your project. Normally it makes sense to focus on supply before demand, in the early days, but it's always a question of keeping a balance. And reacting to the needs of your users. If they are looking for 4x4s, get more of those. If they are looking for sports cars, get more of those. In all cases, remember that your suppliers deserve transparency and require honesty, there is no point in pretending you're bigger than you are. Good suppler relations are built one by one, they've got plenty of alternatives, you'll just have to do the leg work.

I designed and built several used car marketplaces, through my software company, learned some tips and tricks that I'd be happy to share on a call.

If you have international customers who speak other languages, response is lower when you speak to them in English. Solutions like Trustpilot handle that. Have implemented them plus some other methods for international customers in various countries, would be good to know a bit more about your specific requirements and share some tips on a phone call.

First of all congratulations on getting to where you are! I've been involved on both sides of deals and it's always an exciting time.

Start by making 100% sure that all partners are committed to the exit. You can't have a partner get cold feet midway, or try to make their own terms with a buyer behind the back of the other selling partners.

Ideal broker... tough question. I know a few good ones but that depends on a lot of factors. Where you and your target buyers are located, for example, because negotiation is face to face.

Fee structure: it's going to be a fixed fee plus success fee as a commission.

You're doing the right thing getting a broker, an experienced M&A expert will do a lot of work better than you would and get a better price probably.

Somebody in your company who has access to all data and the CEO's ear, needs to dedicate themselves to this for half a year.

I'd be happy to share tips, names, etc on the phone.

With "leads", you mean they're prospective customers of your company?Your question isn't specific but I imagine you are perhaps worried that your company could end up getting cut out of a deal? That's not a difficult concept for a legal agreement, would be happy to suggest a way to handle it. Then there's the choice of lawyer and jurisdiction. Again, depending on where this country is, I can perhaps recommend. This could be a fairly short call depending on the other relevant information that we can discuss.

AdsML http://www.adsml.org could be relevant. Their website looks like there's nobody home but the xml tech behind it would still be valid, however and is described on the site.

As CEO of an online advertising software company, we contributed expertise, defining concepts and working out methods with industry partners. Call me for more info.