Is it normal for a broker to ask for exclusivity before doing any work?

Yes, it's common — most business brokers ask for an exclusive listing agreement before investing time in marketing, preparing materials, and reaching out to their buyer network, on the reasoning that they shouldn't have to compete with another broker (or you, working around them) for credit and commission on a sale they're putting real effort into. This isn't a red flag on its own; it's the standard structure of the industry.

What's worth scrutinizing is how long the exclusivity lasts, what happens if you're unhappy partway through, and whether any tail clause extends the broker's commission rights beyond the exclusive term. Exclusivity itself is normal; an unreasonably long term with no meaningful exit, or vague marketing commitments in exchange for that exclusivity, is where sellers run into trouble. It's fair to ask the broker to commit to specific marketing steps or a review point in exchange for granting exclusivity, rather than signing an open-ended commitment with nothing concrete promised back. A Treadstone business lawyer can help you weigh the exclusivity term against what the broker is actually committing to do.