Fatal mistakes that cause business successions to fail
Introduction
You have built your business over the years. You are now ready to move on to the next stage. But nearly one in three successions fails in Switzerland, often for avoidable reasons.
The most costly mistakes are not always the ones you might imagine. It is not necessarily the final negotiation that causes problems. It is often much earlier: an unrealistic valuation, lack of preparation, or poorly managed confidentiality that scares away serious buyers.
These mistakes have a real cost. They can reduce the sale value by 20 to 40%, extend the process by several years, or even result in complete transaction failure. Worse still: some are irreversible once made.
The good news? These pitfalls are identifiable and avoidable. After supporting hundreds of successions, we have identified the 10 fatal mistakes that systematically recur. Some are technical, others emotional. All can compromise your project.
This guide presents these mistakes in detail, with concrete examples and practical solutions. Whether you are considering selling in the coming months or in a few years, this information will enable you to anticipate and maximise your chances of success.
📌 Summary (TL;DR)
One in three business successions fails in Switzerland, often due to avoidable mistakes that reduce the sale value by 20 to 40%. The 10 most common pitfalls include overestimating value, lack of preparation, waiting until the last moment, confidentiality problems, and neglecting the emotional aspect.
These mistakes are identifiable and can be avoided with a structured approach, advance preparation, and the right tools to secure and facilitate the sale process.
📚 Table of contents
- 1. Overestimating the value of your business
- 2. Not preparing the business for sale
- 3. Waiting until the last moment to sell
- 4. Neglecting process confidentiality
- 5. Wanting to do everything alone without support
- 6. Not seriously qualifying potential buyers
- 7. Lacking transparency about weaknesses
- 8. Neglecting the emotional aspect of succession
- 9. Accepting the first buyer without negotiating
- 10. Underestimating the importance of the transition period
- How to avoid these mistakes with Leez
1. Overestimating the value of your business
Emotional attachment leads many sellers to set an unrealistic price. You have invested years of work, but buyers evaluate according to objective financial criteria: profitability, cash flow, growth prospects.
Overvaluation extends the sale duration and damages your credibility. Qualified buyers compare several opportunities. A price inflated by 30-40% makes them flee immediately.
Concrete solution: Use professional valuation methods based on EBITDA multiples, discounted cash flow or substantial value. Our free valuation tool gives you an initial objective estimate in a few minutes.
2. Not preparing the business for sale
Selling without preparation is a costly mistake. Buyers scrutinise every detail during due diligence: accounting, contracts, operational processes, dependencies on key people.
Incomplete documentation or disorganised accounts immediately reduce valuation by 15-25%. Buyers factor risk into their offer.
Anticipate 12 to 24 months in advance: clarify your legal structure, update all contracts, document your processes, clean up your balance sheet, reduce your personal dependency. A well-prepared business sells faster and for more. Discover the 7 common mistakes to avoid to optimise your preparation.
3. Waiting until the last moment to sell
Selling in an emergency situation destroys your negotiating power. Illness, burnout, financial difficulties, shareholder conflicts: these situations force you to accept unfavourable conditions.
Real case: A Geneva entrepreneur had to sell his services company urgently following health problems. Final price: 30% below market value, due to lack of time to prepare and find several buyers.
Sell when your business is performing and you have choices. This is when you obtain the best conditions. Consult the 5 signs it is time to sell to identify the optimal moment.
4. Neglecting process confidentiality
Premature disclosure can destroy your business value. Worried customers leave for competitors. Key employees resign. Suppliers toughen their conditions.
Rumours spread quickly, especially in small Swiss markets. A Vaud SME lost two major clients (40% of turnover) after an employee revealed the upcoming sale.
Practical protection: Impose NDAs before any exchange of sensitive information. Communicate in a controlled and progressive manner. On Leez, use confidentiality levels to reveal strategic information only to qualified and committed buyers.
5. Wanting to do everything alone without support
The legal, tax and financial complexity of a succession far exceeds the skills of an entrepreneur, even an experienced one. A structuring error can cost tens of thousands of francs in taxes or post-sale disputes.
Critical aspects require specialised expertise: tax optimisation, drafting the sale contract, legal due diligence, financing structure, guarantees and earn-out clauses.
Invest in the right experts: fiduciary for valuation and tax optimisation, lawyer for the contract, M&A adviser for negotiation. Our network of verified partners connects you with succession specialists. Also discover the real costs of a succession.
6. Not seriously qualifying potential buyers
Wasting weeks with unqualified buyers is frustrating and counterproductive. Some are simply curious, others lack financial capacity, still others are just seeking information about competitors.
Each unqualified interaction increases the risk of information leakage and dilutes your energy. You must focus your efforts on serious candidates.
Essential qualification criteria: proven financial capacity, relevant sector experience, clear and coherent motivation. On Leez, buyers' paid subscription (250 CHF/year) and identity verification naturally filter serious profiles. You invest your time only with committed candidates.
7. Lacking transparency about weaknesses
Attempting to hide problems is a losing strategy. Due diligence reveals everything: hidden litigation, excessive dependence on a client, failing processes, undeclared liabilities.
When the buyer discovers these elements late, trust collapses. Result: negotiation breakdown or aggressive downward price renegotiation.
Winning approach: controlled transparency with proposed solutions. Identify your weaknesses, prepare factual explanations and propose solutions or compensation. This honesty strengthens credibility and facilitates negotiation. Consult our complete guide on how to sell your business to master this approach.
8. Neglecting the emotional aspect of succession
Emotional attachment to your business can sabotage the transaction. You have built this SME over decades, it is part of your identity. Accepting that someone else will run it differently is difficult.
Some sellers block negotiation on minor details through unconscious fear of letting go. Others impose unrealistic conditions on the continuity of "their" vision, frightening serious buyers.
Necessary psychological preparation: accept that the buyer will make different choices. Separate your emotions from business decisions. If necessary, work with a coach specialising in succession to manage this identity transition. Your objective is to maximise value and ensure continuity, not to control the future.
9. Accepting the first buyer without negotiating
Fear of losing the opportunity leads some sellers to accept the first offer without negotiation. Costly mistake: you potentially leave hundreds of thousands of francs on the table.
A single offer gives you no negotiating leverage. You do not know if the price is fair, if the conditions are favourable, if other buyers would offer better.
Effective strategy: create a healthy competitive dynamic. Contact several qualified buyers simultaneously. Compare not only prices, but also payment terms (cash vs staggered), transition period, guarantees requested. This approach gives you the power to negotiate the best overall conditions.
10. Underestimating the importance of the transition period
A hasty departure by the seller compromises operational continuity. Key clients do not know the buyer. Undocumented processes are lost. Employees panic in the face of brutal change.
Result: post-acquisition performance decline, client departures, employee resignations. The buyer suffers an immediate loss of value and may activate guarantee clauses against you.
Structured planning: plan a transition period of 3 to 12 months depending on complexity. Clearly define your role, availability and responsibilities. Organise the progressive transfer of client relationships, technical knowledge and leadership. This successful transition protects the value you have created.
How to avoid these mistakes with Leez
Leez provides you with the tools and resources to minimise these fatal risks. Our valuation tool gives you an objective basis for setting your price. The platform offers controlled visibility with adapted confidentiality levels.
Identity verification and buyers' paid subscription filter serious profiles. Our network of verified experts supports you on complex legal, tax and financial aspects.
Take action: List your business for 490 CHF with no commission on the sale, or explore available opportunities if you are a buyer. A structured and transparent process maximises your chances of success.
Business succession is a demanding process where each mistake can compromise years of work. Overestimating value, neglecting preparation, waiting until the last moment, lacking confidentiality or wanting to manage everything alone are all pitfalls that reduce your chances of success. Transparency, rigorous buyer qualification and a well-planned transition period remain essential to secure the transaction.
The emotional aspect must not be underestimated: selling your business means turning an important page in your professional life. Accepting this reality and surrounding yourself with the right people greatly facilitates the process.
Leez supports you in this process by offering you a secure platform to list your business, qualify potential buyers and manage confidentiality. Need a starting point? Estimate the value of your business for free and access our network of experts to avoid these fatal mistakes.
