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For small and medium-sized enterprises, the multiple method is commonly used: Adjusted EBITDA is multiplied by a factor typical for the industry. “Adjusted” means that owner-related special items are excluded, such as a CEO salary that is not in line with market rates, personal expenses charged to the company, or one-time income and expenses. Only this adjusted figure reflects the company’s actual earning power.

Module: What Is My Company Worth?

The enterprise value derived from the multiples analysis is calculated as if the company had neither debt nor bank balances. To arrive at the actual purchase price, the “price bridge” is applied: financial liabilities are deducted, excess cash is added, and working capital tied up in day-to-day operations and a backlog of investments are adjusted. Two offers can only be compared if they are based on the same criteria.

Module: What Is My Business Worth?

A typical sales process takes 6 to 12 months. Those under time pressure tend to make concessions on price, so it pays to start early. Ideally, the phase from marketing to candidate selection should take no longer than 2 to 3 months, but it often takes longer for smaller companies.

Module: How the Sales Process Works

If possible: yes. A sales consultant generally leads to a better selling price and a more professional process. In practice, things get complicated when the sale price is less than about 100,000 euros, because a full-service retainer often isn’t cost-effective for the consultant in such cases. In that case, it’s at least worth seeking selective advice for the critical steps. The standard compensation model consists of a monthly base fee combined with a success fee of 3 to 8 percent of the purchase price.

Module: Can I/Should I hire a sales consultant?

Serious prospective buyers have a completed buyer profile, ask specific questions about the business model, employees, and financial figures rather than making a blanket request for all documents, and provide proof of equity. Clear red flags include: refusing to sign a confidentiality agreement, immediately requesting confidential information, setting unrealistic deadlines, and taking a long time to respond.

Module: Buyer and Bid Screening

The letter of intent, commonly referred to as an LOI, sets out the key terms between the buyer and seller before the due diligence process begins. It is generally not legally binding, but certain clauses—such as the exclusivity clause—are. Once the LOI is signed, you’ll usually negotiate exclusively with one candidate, so the selection process leading up to that point is crucial.

Module: Negotiating an LOI

No. A seller loan or an earn-out is common in smaller transactions and is often a prerequisite for the buyer’s financing to fall through at all. What matters isn’t whether such instruments are used, but rather their proportion of the purchase price: it becomes a problem when the portion paid up front is so small that you end up bearing the majority of the risk.

Module: Buyer and Offer Screening

The DUB Seller Academy is a free self-study program that prepares business owners, step by step, to sell their companies. It is primarily aimed at owners who, due to the size of the transaction, are conducting the sale themselves without the assistance of a retained sales consultant. It consists of 10 modules across 4 phases, ranging from initial preparation, through documentation and marketing, to negotiation, closing the deal, and the post-sale period. Each module takes 12 to 15 minutes to complete.

Yes. All modules, the Sales Readiness Check, and all templates and checklists from the DUB Sales Academy are available free of charge. The reason for this is the wave of business succession in Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises: Smaller companies, in particular, are often sold without the involvement of a sales consultant. Freely accessible knowledge is intended to simplify such transactions and provide greater security for both parties.

The Academy provides 17 documents, including the exit readiness checklist, a documentation checklist, an ad template, two sample confidentiality agreements, a guide for the initial meeting, a buyer screening checklist, and Excel templates for business valuation and for comparing multiple prospective buyers.

The Sales Readiness Check is a self-assessment that takes about ten minutes to complete and provides a personalized evaluation of how well a company and its owner are currently prepared for a sale. It can be started independently of the individual modules.

Start the Sales Readiness Check

Yes, in addition to the Seller Academy, there is a separate program for prospective buyers called the Buyer Academy. It consists of 9 modules across 5 phases, ranging from search strategy to valuation and financing, all the way to the 100-day plan following the closing.

About the Buyer Academy