IBBA
At a Glance
Start here twice: once to build the broker list, once to know the actual medians before anyone quotes you a multiple.
- Pricing
- Free, Free for buyers and sellers: the broker directory and the Market Pulse highlight reports are public. Brokers pay membership and CBI program fees; that cost is theirs, not the reader's.
- Best For
- Building a shortlist of credentialed local brokers, and knowing the market's median multiples before a broker quotes theirs
- Roadmap Stages
- 5. Source Deals6. Screen & Value
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The Market Pulse survey is the most-cited public source for Main Street multiples by deal size, and the quarterly highlights are free
- Member directory is searchable by location at no cost
- The CBI credential requires coursework, ethics commitments, and transaction experience, which is more vetting than most of the industry has
- Active education calendar, conference, and podcast signal a functioning association rather than a paper one
Cons
- The directory lists paying members, not vetted performance; presence in it is a starting list, never a recommendation
- The full Market Pulse report is member-gated; the public gets the highlights deck only
- CBI holders are a minority of members, so the credential still has to be checked broker by broker
What Searchers Say
Recognized as the Main Street brokerage industry's standard-setter; the Market Pulse (with M&A Source) is quoted across the deal press each quarter. Our multiple-benchmarks page cites the Q4 2025 highlights directly. Community discussion treats CBI as a meaningful signal and plain membership as noise.