Questions we ask brokers who claim to represent the buyer

How close are you to the mandate?

We do not need to hear that the broker is next to the seller mandate. We need to know that the broker chain can serve to connect us with the seller mandate when it becomes necessary. After a broker says they are close, ask them the name of the seller mandate. Ask for the seller mandate's first name. If they don't know their first name, and if they can't get it, then they are too far away and the chain is not going to serve to connect the buyer to the seller.