Strategies in Today's SBA Lending Market, with John Wahl

What if the key to closing more deals isn’t about finding the perfect buyer, but about raising your awareness and your sellers’ awareness of the hidden pitfalls and powerful financing options that most people overlook? So many business brokers and advisors limit their own success by sticking to familiar scripts, focusing on listings, ignoring deeper preparation, or assuming that every deal will fit neatly into a financing box. This episode challenges you to think bigger: to proactively educate your clients, spot unseen options like partial buy-ins, and start treating relationships with buyers, sellers, and lenders as your most valuable asset. Your mindset can be the difference between chasing one-off listings and building a repeatable, financeable pipeline. In this episode, Jason Cutter sits down with John Wahl, Director of Acquisition Lending at Live Oak Bank, who draws back the curtain on SBA lending, industry-agnostic financing, and the rapidly changing landscape of business acquisition. They dig into how the new breed of younger, more educated buyers is shaping the industry, why pre-qualifying both sides of a transaction is more critical than ever, and how emotional barriers often cause deals to fall apart at the last minute. John shares actionable advice on packaging deals, working with lenders, and understanding both the psychology and logistics behind every transaction, offering real-world lessons from the deals that got away. Subscribe for more insights on how to grow your deal flow, transform your relationships, and become the trusted advisor every business owner needs. Connect with Business Broker Growth: Website - https://businessbrokergrowth.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/businessbrokergrowth YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Businessbrokergrowth Take the Digital Impact Assessment - https://get.businessbrokergrowth.com/assessmentPC Get your copy of Trusted Advisor Shift (eBook) - https://businessbrokergrowth.com/contact/ Build your online presence as a business broker. Get Jason’s free Online Presence Course and learn how to create more visibility, authority, referrals, and inbound opportunities. Access it here: https://businessbrokergrowth.thinkific.com/products/courses/online-presence-course