Have you ever wondered what the future holds for brokers and intermediaries in a technology-driven world? Or how AI might really impact M&A, beyond just the hype and headlines? This episode is packed with practical insights on where the industry is headed and how professionals can stay ahead.
You’ll discover why relationship-building and people skills still reign supreme, even as AI and automation become more prominent. The conversation dives deep into the reality that while tech can streamline some back-office and marketing tasks, it can’t fully replace the human element when it comes to trust and deal-making. Plus, you’ll hear why adapting to economic shifts and embracing thoroughness are essential lessons for anyone in the field.
Our guest for this episode is John Martinka of Nokomis Advisory Services, a seasoned M&A expert and author with decades of experience helping business owners and brokers navigate complex transactions. He joins Jason Cutter to discuss the skills that will always matter, the biggest tech changes coming to the industry, lessons learned from tumultuous years, and what gets him excited for the future. Plus, you’ll hear John’s compelling take on the marketing strategy he wishes could be fully automated.
If you want to stay ahead in M&A—whether you’re brokering deals, leading a firm, or just passionate about the industry—be sure to listen in, connect with John Martinka on LinkedIn, and check out the show notes for more ways to follow his work. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
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Guest Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmartinka/
Company Website: nokomisadvisory.com
Email: john@johnmartinka.com
Podcast: gddpodcast.buzzsprout.com
Youtube: youtube.com/c/JohnAMartinka/videos
View Transcript
Jason Cutter [00:00:02]:
Three, two, one. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. This is the after show post show. I’ve got John Martinka here with me from the Comas advisors. So, so glad you’re here. John. You’re still on the recording.
Jason Cutter [00:00:15]:
We just finished up the main session. How you feeling about that? First part of the conversation went great.
John Martinka [00:00:21]:
Good.
Jason Cutter [00:00:22]:
I, I’m excited. It was so much value. I took a ton of notes. It’s always helpful. I, I love all of this and learning from it. And this is the fun part of. Because, you know, treat this the after show. The cameras are off, the lights are off.
Jason Cutter [00:00:36]:
We’re just chatting. I just want to find out some insight. Even though the lights and the cameras are still on. So let’s, let’s dive into it. I just love to hear some extra things outside of the main conversation. We had the first one because you’ve been doing this for a while and so you also, you know, leading the brokerage, you’re looking ahead, you’re thinking about what’s coming next. What do you think brokers and intermediaries will need to survive in 2030?
John Martinka [00:01:07]:
What they’re gonna, what I think they’re gonna need is not much different than what they need now. And it’s, and it’s really good people skills to build relationships because you can talk about technology and AI and that can help in back office, it can help in marketing, but it is still a relationship. Business people are going to hire. So we all hire someone because we like them first. And then, then we, you know, we, if we don’t like them, we won’t, we don’t care what their credentials are. And it’s the same thing happens when you’re dealing with someone on the other side of the table. If they don’t like and trust you, they’re going to walk away.
Jason Cutter [00:01:47]:
Makes sense. Which I know that the, with the second question, I kind of already know what your thoughts are on this, but it goes into the second one, which is what’s the biggest tech shift? The number one tech shift you see coming to M and A, which is interesting to think about. Like your number one strategy for surviving. It’s the same then as it is now, which is the people skills. What do you see coming to M and A On the tech side, I.
John Martinka [00:02:12]:
Think it’s going to be the use of AI. And you know, AI can’t find you prospective clients. It can’t put a deal together. But it, it can help. On the marketing side, it can you, you know, most people can figure out when something’s Written by AI.
Jason Cutter [00:02:31]:
Yeah.
John Martinka [00:02:31]:
And yet we used it actually two years ago we, we put into Chat GT GPT to write an ad for a certain kind of business. And they wrote the ad and, and it was great. Once I took out all the 1960s used car salesman act. Now this, you, this. You may not get this deal if you don’t move fast, you know. Yeah, I love it and have better responses.
Jason Cutter [00:03:08]:
And what’s interesting, and this is where the tech, you know, and things like AI is so valuable, is that unless you’re a copywriter, it’s tough to start with a blank page and know what to say. I find it’s easy to use AI as the starting point to look at it and then edit. But it’s a, it’s a great, like, oh, I wouldn’t have thought of saying something that way or putting it that way. You can also. And a couple years ago is different than now, now, especially with like ChatGPT, you can do a lot of work with the prompts and teach it to not be terrible and salesy and over the top. Like, there’s a lot of like ways you can just train it. So yeah, I think that the AI Right. In doing the things that the technology is meant to do, to leave, like you said, number one, which is all about people skills and relationship building.
Jason Cutter [00:03:53]:
So in this year, 2025. So we’re, you know, October, late October, as we’re recording this, what’s one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned this year so far?
John Martinka [00:04:05]:
There are certain things outside of our control. Once again, tariffs. Just like Covid, just like the real estate collapse, subprime collapse in 08 09.
Jason Cutter [00:04:22]:
Yeah.
John Martinka [00:04:23]:
They all seem to come up and this has been one of the shortest ones. But Covet threw a wrench into a lot of, a lot of gears out there in my world and a lot of other worlds.
Jason Cutter [00:04:36]:
Yeah.
John Martinka [00:04:38]:
And then people realize, well, they’re not that bad or they. They said we’re gonna have 40 tariffs, but they’re really only 4% and da, da, da, da, da.
Jason Cutter [00:04:47]:
So yeah, yeah, I think it’s, I think it’s important. Right. And being prepared, being able to adjust and pivot also helps if you’ve been around long enough, whether it’s in, you know, M and A or not, but around long enough to know that these things happen and kind of be able to have the ability to adjust. So given that, when we look at next year, so let’s say 2026, what are you excited most about doing next year with the business with Your business.
John Martinka [00:05:20]:
I think what we’ve been going through the last couple of months and into the end of this year is going to continue with more and more activity. We’re getting a lot of referrals, good referrals. It doesn’t mean things are going to go fast because everyone is moving slower these days. All these events I mentioned have, you know, over the last 17 years now have, you know, just created more of an awareness to be thorough, be thorough. Buyers and banks on businesses, sellers on the. Making sure it’s the right buyer, all of that.
Jason Cutter [00:05:57]:
Yeah. Makes sense. So that’s exciting and, and I’m excited to see that for you. I know that you put in a lot of work like we talked about in the main show, you know, 25, 30, 33% of the time spent on marketing. You have five books out there. You’re doing a lot of stuff in the marketing bucket and relationship building, like everything under that. And so that’s exciting to hear that it’s, it’s picking up. And then, you know, obviously we’ll just keep continuing as you keep planting those seeds in the ground and nurturing them and nourishing them so that they produce.
Jason Cutter [00:06:31]:
Last question. This is always my favorite one is if you could wave a magic wand and have one marketing strategy implemented automatically.
John Martinka [00:06:43]:
What would it be? One marketing strategy for the guy who.
Jason Cutter [00:06:50]:
Says, always be marketing. If you could have one thing that you’re doing, you’re just like off, this could be done automatically. This would be amazing. I know it’s a tough one.
John Martinka [00:07:02]:
Yeah. And I know there are companies that do what I’m going to say and not sure how effective they are, but I would say if there was one thing, it would be have an outreach program to owners. That just happened. Of course they still have to. Even with algorithms and AI, someone still has to push the buttons.
Jason Cutter [00:07:28]:
Yeah, yeah. Having that done automatically.
John Martinka [00:07:32]:
Yeah. If you could say automatic, you know, 80% of it could be automatic instead of put, you know, putting in time. Because I know investment banks that still do outreach with letters and emails and things and.
Jason Cutter [00:07:46]:
Yeah.
John Martinka [00:07:47]:
And they get clients, but it is labor intensive. If you could reduce that labor.
Jason Cutter [00:07:52]:
Yeah, okay, I’ll work on that. Yes, those things are definitely out there. Any question of how well does it work? It’s tough too, because if, if everyone does it, then it’s just come so noisy that no one’s paying attention. Attention to it. And so it’s also about differentiation, which is important.
John Martinka [00:08:08]:
It’s just like emails. Yeah, yeah. How many emails do you get in A day when I get so many and there’s a lot of delete, delete, delete, block, block sender, delete, block, sender, delete.
Jason Cutter [00:08:23]:
That’s it. Well, and if we think about it is, you know, it’s, it’s like anything. When we got our first emails, if you remember, anytime you checked it and there was nothing there, then you check and you had one and it was amazing. It was like, you know, when you check the mail and it was exciting and then you realized it became mostly bills and ads and stuff. Same thing with our phone. Now every time it rings, I’m pretty sure it’s not somebody I want to talk to. Right. Like if it is, they’re probably already in my list.
Jason Cutter [00:08:49]:
But otherwise I, I’m guessing it’s spam or junk or something like that. Telemarketing.
John Martinka [00:08:54]:
Yeah. Someone’s selling insurance or wanting to buy your house or something like that.
Jason Cutter [00:08:58]:
Something. Right. And then same thing with text. Like now it’s text pop up and it’s like, you know, spam kind of scam stuff that pops up and you know, it’s just. So then how do you get through that barrier? Obviously that’s something to always work on, but yeah, that’s, that’s great about that being an idea for, for the automatic side. Well, John, I appreciate you being here on the post show, on the after show, the business broker growth show for you being a part of this first season. For people who wanted connect with you, find out more of what you’re doing, get in touch with you. The links will be in the show notes.
Jason Cutter [00:09:30]:
I referenced them on the first show. If you haven’t watched or listened to the first episode, make sure you do it. But you can find John Martinka on LinkedIn. He’s pretty active there. Company website is nakomisadvisory.com Then you can also email him at john martinka.com Again John, thank you for your time. The wisdom, always focusing on doing great things. I appreciate you being here once again.
John Martinka [00:09:54]:
All right. It was good to be able to help your audience.
Jason Cutter [00:09:59]:
Thank you so much. And for everyone tuning in, we’ll see you next time. And until then, remember to stop hoping for deals and start growing your pipeline. Thank you.
