How to sell your dental practice and get a top offer.
If you want to sell your dental practice for a top offer, you need to keep in mind various principles depending on whether you are making a doctor-to-doctor sale or selling to a Dental Service Organization (DSO).
To get the best possible price for your business when it’s a doctor-to-doctor sale, keep the following principles in mind:
1) Understand the strengths and weaknesses of your practice.
Why it matters: Performing a regular SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for an organization is a basic way to stay healthy. Continue these kinds of strategic practices so that you can be aware of your metrics, update your goals, and get your practice ready to sell. Staying informed will offer you clarity on how to sell your dental practice.
2) Don’t wait too long to sell.
Why it matters: According to the American Dental Association, the average age that dentists retire is 69. If you are planning your own timeline, you may be asking, “How long does it take to sell a dental practice?” The answer depends widely on variables personal to the state of your practice, including whether or not you engage the right dental real estate broker, as well as the nuances of the market. A better approach is for you to perform an honest evaluation of your future ability to grow your practice. If you think that you may be at your peak, don’t wait until you must sell to begin what could be a lengthy process.
3) Be cooperative, productive, proactive, and flexible throughout the selling process.
Why it matters: Being a good team player means setting aside pride and the need for control and making the choice to be a good partner. A good relationship with the buyer will result in a more human exchange, as opposed to a mere transaction. In turn, a positive relationship may turn into an arrangement of you staying on for a transition period in a supportive role. This is valuable and typically lends to the buyer being willing to purchase the practice at a higher price.
To get the best possible price for your business when it’s a Dental Service Organization (DSO) sale, keep the following principles in mind:
1) Work with someone who can package your practice to look its best.
Why it matters: When considering how to sell your dental practice to a DSO, it is important to work with a broker who can help you navigate the required marketing and due diligence that is inherent to the corporate process. A dental real estate broker joins your team to help you define what you want and runs point in the process to reach your goals.
2) Make sure you understand the expectations, what you want, and how long you’ll work for the buyer before finalizing the sale.
Why it matters: The mentality required to run a marathon is vastly different from that of a sprint. Understand what is involved and required in order to sell your practice, and your informed approach will save you from unnecessary frustration. Coming to the table with your non-negotiables will also prevent mistakes in helping you to find the right partner.
3) Understand the group you want to be a part of and ensure you are the kind of person they would want as a business partner.
Why it matters: As cliché as it may seem, finding a corporate partner is oftentimes compared to how to decide on a marriage partner. Look for a partnership that would add to your life and make it easier to do what you want to do. In seeking the well-being of one another, the partnership will thrive.
Summary
Selling your practice for the highest amount requires continued diligence in the daily operations of your practice, fixing up what needs work, and letting go of control. In the end, people and corporations seek to partner with practices that add to their lives and portfolios—professionally, financially, and relationally.
