Can I ask a broker to justify their commission before agreeing to list with them?

Yes, and it's a reasonable thing to ask before signing anything. Commission arrangements in business brokerage are negotiated between the parties — there's no fixed or standard rate set by law — so it's entirely fair to ask a broker to explain what their fee reflects: the marketing plan, the time they expect to invest, access to their buyer network, and how they'll handle negotiation and closing support.

Compare what different brokers propose to do for their fee rather than focusing on the fee in isolation, since the value of the service is what actually matters to your outcome. It's also fair to ask whether the fee structure changes depending on how the sale closes — for instance, a different rate for a buyer you introduce yourself versus one the broker finds. None of this needs to be accepted as a take-it-or-leave-it term; commission and its conditions are part of what you're negotiating when you sign a listing agreement, not a fixed cost imposed on you. A Treadstone business lawyer can review the proposed terms alongside what the broker is actually committing to deliver.