Communication for business brokers
SMS for Business Brokers: How to Text Buyers and Sellers (Without Breaking the Rules)
Texting is the fastest way to reach a buyer or seller, and the easiest way to annoy one. Here's when to text and when to email, the texting rules in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand, what to text at each stage of a deal, ready-to-use text templates (plus a free download), and how to run two-way texting, MMS and automated texts from inside your CRM, with a story about the text that saved a deal.
Quick answer
Business brokers use SMS to reach buyers and sellers faster than email, for short, timely messages such as new inquiry replies, NDA reminders, price reductions, appointment reminders and re-engagement. Text only people who have given consent, include a way to opt out such as replying STOP, send marketing texts between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, identify yourself, and register your business texting number (US 10DLC registration). Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand have similar consent and unsubscribe rules. In Vertica CRM, brokers send texts and MMS from the contact record, replies are tracked and logged like email, every conversation is visible in the SMS Control Panel, and texts can be sent through campaigns and automated workflows, using Twilio, with Phone.com being added.
SMS may well be the future of business brokerage communication, and for good reason: according to Pew Research Center's 2026 survey, 98% of US adults own a cellphone and 91% own a smartphone. (Pew Research Center.) Your buyers and sellers carry their phones everywhere. Your emails wait in an inbox.
But texting is personal. Used well, it closes deals faster. Used badly, it gets you blocked, or worse. This guide covers both sides.
The text that saved a deal
Here's a story many brokers will recognize. The names are made up, but the moment is real.
Daniel had been looking for the right business for eight months. He'd inquired about a print shop in the spring, signed the NDA, and then gone quiet when the price felt too high. His broker, Lisa, sent two follow-up emails. Neither was opened. Daniel's inbox was a graveyard of listing alerts.
In September, the seller of the print shop agreed to a price reduction. Lisa's CRM sent a short text to every buyer who had inquired about it: “Hi Daniel, it's Lisa from Coastline Business Brokers. The print shop you asked about just had a price reduction. Want the updated numbers? Reply STOP to opt out.”
Daniel was at his daughter's soccer game. He read it between plays and replied: “Yes. Can we talk tomorrow?” The reply landed on his record in Lisa's CRM, a task appeared on her dashboard, and the next morning she texted him a photo of the updated equipment list and a link to book a call.
Three weeks later, Daniel signed the LOI. He told Lisa afterward that he'd almost given up on finding a business. “I never saw your emails,” he said. “But I always read my texts.”
The email wasn't wrong. It was just the wrong channel for that moment.
Why texting works for business brokers
- Immediacy. Texts are read where people are, not when they next sit down at a computer.
- Real-time conversations. Brokers can reach clients the moment something changes, such as texting a buyer about a new listing with an invitation to schedule a meeting.
- A wider audience. Nearly every buyer and seller has a mobile phone.
- Short, clear next steps. A text asks for one thing: a reply, a click or a time to talk.
- A second chance for email. A short text asking “Did you see my email?” brings important emails back to the top.
The evolution of customer communication has moved from letters to phone calls to email, and now to texting, which adds an immediacy email can't match. Picture a buyer who inquired about a listing months ago getting an alert the day its price drops: that's the kind of moment SMS was made for.
What to text and what to email
| Message | Text | Why | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reply to a new inquiry | Yes | Yes | Speed wins; send both |
| NDA or registration reminder | Yes | Yes | A short nudge with the link |
| Price reduction or new matching listing | Yes | Yes | Time-sensitive news |
| Appointment or call reminder | Yes | Optional | Read on the day it matters |
| Listing photo or brochure | Yes (MMS) | Yes | Visual, but keep it non-confidential |
| CIM, financials or tax returns | No | Through the data room | Confidential; never by text |
| Long explanations or negotiation | No | Yes, or a call | Too much for a text |
| Seller check-in | Yes | Yes | A quick personal touch |
One firm rule: never text confidential details such as the business name, financials or the CIM. Share those only through the data room, after the NDA. (Business broker NDAs.)
What to text at each stage of a deal
Every stage of a deal has a moment where a short text moves things forward. Here's where texting fits, and which texts can go out automatically.
| Stage | What to text | Automate it? |
|---|---|---|
| New lead | An instant reply with the registration and NDA link | Yes, when the inquiry arrives |
| NDA sent | A reminder if it hasn't been signed after a day | Yes |
| Approved | Data room access is ready; login details are in their email | Yes, on approval |
| Buyer meeting | A reminder the day before, with a reply to confirm | Yes |
| Offer or LOI | A heads-up to the seller and a time to call; details by phone or email | No, send it yourself |
| Due diligence | Deadlines and document requests | Partly |
| Closing | Time, place and last questions | No, send it yourself |
| After the sale | Thanks, and a request for referrals | Yes, after closing |
| Listing (seller) | Regular check-ins and news of buyer interest | Yes, on a schedule |
Never send login details, financials or the business name by text. A text says something is ready; the details stay in email and the data room. (Buyer approval and data room access.)
US texting rules every business broker should know
Texting is regulated. These are the basics for the United States; this is general information, not legal advice, so check the rules where you work with your attorney.
- Get consent before marketing texts. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), automated marketing texts to mobile phones generally require the recipient's prior express written consent. (University of Utah TCPA summary.) Build consent into your registration form or inquiry follow-up.
- Make opting out easy. CTIA, the wireless industry association, advises senders to seek express consent and to let recipients opt out with keywords such as STOP, and to remind them periodically how to opt out. (Kelley Drye summary of CTIA guidance.)
- Respect quiet hours. Federal Do-Not-Call rules bar telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and attorneys advise keeping marketing texts inside that window even with consent. (National Law Review.)
- Identify yourself in the first message: your name and your firm.
- Register your business texting number. US carriers require businesses sending texts from standard 10-digit numbers (10DLC) to register their brand and their messaging campaign through The Campaign Registry. (Microsoft: 10DLC guidelines.)
- Keep a record of consent and opt-outs, so you can show who agreed to receive texts and when.
Carriers may filter or block texts from business numbers that haven't been registered, so register before you start sending.
Texting rules in Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand
Outside the US, the rules share the same three ideas: get consent, say who you are, and make it easy to unsubscribe. Again, this is general information, not legal advice.
| Country | Law | Consent and identification | Unsubscribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Spam Act 2003 (ACMA) | Consent (express is best); identify your business and how to contact you | A working unsubscribe in every message, honored within 5 working days |
| Canada | Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) | Express or implied consent; your name, mailing address and a phone, email or website | An unsubscribe in every message, processed within 10 business days |
| United Kingdom | Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) | Consent for marketing texts to individuals, or the narrow soft opt-in for people you dealt with in a sale or negotiation | A free, simple opt-out when you collect the number and in every message |
| New Zealand | Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 | Consent; identify yourself | A free unsubscribe by the same method, such as replying to the text, actioned within 5 working days |
Sources: ACMA: avoid sending spam; University of Winnipeg: CASL checkup; Geldards: ICO guidance on PECR and the soft opt-in; New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs: unsubscribing. In the UK, these rules cover individuals, including sole traders, rather than companies.
Text message templates for business brokers
Each template is under 160 characters, so it fits in a single text. Personalize the bracketed parts, and include the opt-out line in your first message to each contact.
| When | Template |
|---|---|
| New inquiry | Hi [Name], it's [Broker] at [Firm]. Thanks for asking about [Listing]. Register and sign the NDA here: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out. |
| NDA reminder | Hi [Name], just a reminder: your NDA for [Listing] is ready to sign here: [link]. It takes about a minute. |
| Price reduction | Hi [Name], [Listing] you asked about just had a price reduction. Want the updated numbers? Reply YES and I'll send them. |
| New matching listing | Hi [Name], a new [industry] business in [region] just came on the market. Want the details? Reply YES. |
| Appointment reminder | Hi [Name], reminder: our call about [Listing] is tomorrow at [time]. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule. |
| After an email | Hi [Name], I just emailed you the next steps for [Listing]. Let me know if you have any questions. |
| Seller check-in | Hi [Name], it's [Broker]. Thinking of you and the business. Any changes on your end? Happy to talk anytime. |
| Re-engagement | Hi [Name], still looking for a business? I have a few new listings that match what you wanted. Want me to send them? |
Free download: SMS templates and texting checklist
Get all of these templates, plus five more for data room access, offers, due diligence, closing and after the sale, in a free three-page download. It includes a before-you-text checklist, an every-message checklist, suggested consent wording for your registration page and a summary of the rules by country. Free, no form to fill in.
Texting inside Vertica CRM
Texting works best when it's part of the same system as your contacts, listings and email. In Vertica CRM:
- Send texts from the CRM. Text any buyer or seller straight from their contact record, without picking up your phone.
- Two-way conversations, tracked. Buyers' replies, like their emails, are tracked and recorded on their record in the CRM.
- The SMS Control Panel shows every text conversation with every contact on one page.
- MMS built in. Send photos and other media, not just text, from the contact record, in marketing campaigns and in workflows.
- Templates and real-time tracking for campaigns and everyday messages.
- Campaigns by buyer profile. Send a text campaign to the buyers whose profile matches a listing. (Email marketing for business brokers.)
- Connected to everything else: listing syndication, buyer profiling, the data room and email marketing all work with texting, so your workflows stay cohesive.
- Twilio, with Phone.com being added. Texting runs through Twilio, and Phone.com support is being added.
- Help getting set up. The Vertica onboarding team assists with setup and the preliminary steps to get your business texting approved.
- Auto-responders, segmentation and large sends. Reply automatically after hours, segment buyers by industry, size and location, and send SMS or MMS to a whole list. Read more about the texting CRM for business brokers.
How to set up business texting in Vertica CRM
- Choose your provider. Texting runs through Twilio, and Phone.com support is being added.
- Register your brand and campaign. In the US, that means 10DLC registration. The Vertica onboarding team assists with the setup and the preliminary steps to get approved.
- Add text consent to your registration page. Every firm's registration page is customized, so the wording is up to you, but we recommend a clear checkbox such as: “I agree to receive text messages from [Firm] about listings and my inquiry. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.” Have your attorney review it.
- Load your templates. Start with the templates above or the free download, and personalize them with fields from the contact record.
- Build your workflows. Pick a trigger from a drop-down menu, drag the actions onto the flow chart and configure them. The Vertica team can advise, or build the whole workflow for you.
- Watch the replies. Every reply is recorded on the contact record and appears in the SMS Control Panel.
Common texting mistakes business brokers make
- Texting from a personal phone. The conversation never reaches the CRM, your team can't see it, you can't show who agreed to receive texts, and when an agent leaves, the conversations leave too.
- Texting confidential details. No business name, financials, tax returns or CIM by text.
- Leaving out the opt-out, or ignoring a STOP reply.
- Texting late at night or early in the morning.
- Writing an essay. One message, one next step. If it needs three paragraphs, send an email.
- Sending every buyer the same blast. Target texts by buyer profile, so each one is relevant.
- Forgetting to say who you are in the first message.
- Skipping registration. Unregistered business texts may be filtered or blocked before they arrive.
Automating texts with workflows
The real power comes when texts are sent automatically, at the right moment, by rules you control. Workflows can trigger a text based on what a buyer or seller does:
- Email, then text. Send an important email, and if it hasn't been opened an hour later, send a short text asking whether they saw it.
- Price reductions and new listings. Text every buyer who inquired about a listing when its price drops, or when a new listing matches their profile.
- Appointment reminders the day before every call or meeting.
- NDA reminders when a registration hasn't been signed. (Lead parsing for business brokers.)
- Re-engagement for buyers who have gone quiet for 30 days.
- One-click personal texts from a template, when you want to send a quick personal message yourself.
Texts and email work best together. Pair your email drip campaigns with a text at key moments, such as a new listing or a price change, so important news gets seen. (Workflow automation for business brokers.)
The benefits of SMS for business brokers
| Benefit | What it means for a broker |
|---|---|
| Real-time communication | Reach buyers and sellers the moment something changes |
| Personalized messaging | Use names, listings and details in every text |
| Higher engagement | Texts are read where people are, which brings replies |
| A wider audience | Nearly every buyer and seller has a mobile phone |
| Integrated workflows | Texts trigger and follow email, tasks and calendar events |
| Enhanced efficiency | Templates and automation remove repetitive typing |
| A complete record | Every text and reply is logged on the contact record |
| Appointment reminders | Fewer missed calls and meetings |
| Re-engagement | Bring quiet buyers back with timely news |
| Visual messages | Send listing photos and brochures with MMS |
| Reporting | See what's sent, delivered and replied to |
| Cost-effectiveness | Reach many contacts quickly at a low cost per message |
What's changed since 2024
SMS is still a powerful way to reach buyers and sellers. What's changed is how much more you can do with it, and the rules around it:
- MMS everywhere. Photos and other media can now be sent from the contact record, in marketing campaigns and in workflows.
- Replies tracked like email. Every reply is recorded on the contact's record, alongside their emails.
- More carriers. Texting runs through Twilio, and Phone.com support is being added.
- Registration is now standard. US carriers expect businesses to register their texting numbers and campaigns, and Vertica's onboarding team helps with the preliminary steps.
- Rules beyond the US. Clients in Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand follow their own consent and unsubscribe laws, summarized above.
- Texts at every step of the deal. Workflows connect texting to the lead parser, NDAs, the data room and follow-up. (Follow-ups lead to fortunes.)
As we said in 2024, the ability to save time, integrate seamlessly with other CRM features and reach clients instantly is what makes texting so valuable for brokers.
See two-way texting in action
See how Vertica CRM sends texts, MMS and automated reminders from the same system as your contacts and listings, with every reply logged. Efficiency at your fingertips!
Schedule a Demo Questions? Call +1 212 381 4994 (USA) or +61 3 8518 4759 (Australia).Frequently asked questions
Should business brokers text buyers and sellers?
Yes, for short, timely messages such as new inquiry replies, NDA reminders, price reductions, appointment reminders and check-ins. Keep confidential information, long explanations and negotiation for email, the data room or a call.
Do I need permission to text buyers?
For marketing texts, generally yes. Under the TCPA, automated marketing texts to mobile phones generally require prior express written consent. Build consent into your registration or inquiry process and keep a record of it. This is general information, not legal advice.
What hours can business brokers send texts?
Keep marketing texts between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time. Federal Do-Not-Call rules set those hours for telephone solicitations, and attorneys advise following them for texts even with consent.
How do people opt out of texts?
By replying with a keyword such as STOP. Include an opt-out line in your first text to each contact, honor every opt-out and keep a record of it.
What is 10DLC registration?
US carriers require businesses that send texts from standard 10-digit phone numbers to register their brand and messaging campaign through The Campaign Registry. Vertica's onboarding team assists with the setup and preliminary steps to get approved.
Can I send photos by text from Vertica CRM?
Yes. Vertica CRM supports MMS, so brokers can send photos and other media from the contact record, in marketing campaigns and in workflows.
Are text replies saved in the CRM?
Yes. In Vertica CRM, buyers' replies, like their emails, are tracked and recorded on their contact record, and every conversation is visible in the SMS Control Panel.
What should a business broker never text?
Confidential information such as the business name, financials, tax returns or the CIM. Share those only through the data room, after the NDA is signed.
Which texting providers does Vertica CRM use?
Texting runs through Twilio, and Phone.com support is being added.
How long should a business text be?
Under 160 characters where possible, so it arrives as a single message, with one clear next step.
Can texts be automated?
Yes. Workflows can send texts based on what a contact does, such as following up an unopened email after an hour, alerting buyers to price reductions, reminding them of appointments or re-engaging quiet buyers.
Can I text buyers from my personal phone?
You can, but it's risky. The conversation isn't recorded in the CRM, your team can't see it, you can't easily show consent or opt-outs, and the history leaves with the phone. Texting from the CRM keeps every message on the contact record.
What's the difference between SMS and MMS?
SMS is a text-only message, ideally under 160 characters. MMS adds photos and other media, such as a listing photo or brochure. Vertica CRM supports both.
How much does business texting cost?
Carriers charge a small fee per SMS or MMS message. In Vertica CRM, carrier fees are passed through to the brokerage.
What is an SMS auto-responder?
An automatic reply sent when a text arrives, for example after hours, telling the buyer when you'll respond or pointing them to a listing or registration link. Vertica CRM supports text auto-responders.
Do texting rules apply outside the US?
Yes. Australia (Spam Act 2003), Canada (CASL), the UK (PECR) and New Zealand (Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007) all require consent, identification and an easy way to unsubscribe. Check the rules where you work with your attorney.
Is there a free SMS template for business brokers?
Yes. This article includes a free three-page download with 13 text templates, two checklists, suggested consent wording and the rules by country, in Word and PDF.
Is texting better than email for business brokers?
Neither is better on its own. Texting is best for speed and short next steps; email is best for detail and documents. Most brokers get the best results using both together.