N. Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2014 Inside the Exceptional Practice | Page 33

A Better Way to Sell Your Practice

At some point in your career, you may contemplate selling your practice. Perhaps
you may wish to relocate, change careers, reduce your workload, or simply retire.
You should know that selling your practice is a complex and risky process that
unfolds over several months or even years. Be prepared to expose your highly
confidential practice details! You will need to share: a) Production/collection
reports; b) Practice analyses including demographics, patient profiles, sources of
external niche marketing; c) Staff names and their contact details; and, d) Business
(and sometime personal) tax returns and P&Ls. These proprietary documents full
of details are ALL at risk when a potential buyer shares them with other brokers,
analysts, pseudo-advisors, and even friends who they may recruit for “advice”.

While you have your practice listed for sale, you surely want your practice to
remain viable, and its performance to continue at its peak, until the completion
of the transition program you have chosen. Therefore, you should only focus your
attention on a qualified candidate that is “interested in buying” your practice.
You have no obligation to share your practice details with someone who is only
“interested” in your practice. There is a difference! 80 - 90% of all practice
inquiries for a dental practice “For Sale” are just that; only veiled interests! With
dentistry being an extremely lucrative business, most other dentists want to only
see how you are running your practice, and why yours is doing so well, in a community they may want to become a part of… often, so that they can compete with
you! Not good when you are trying to sell!
The right dentist who is “interested in buying” should either already be knowledgeable, or if not, before meeting you and visiting your practice, be educated
on how to buy a practice correctly. The buyer should be familiar with office operations and systems, the dentistry provided, staffing rules, regulations and compliance, cash flow analysis, and have a business plan with an outline of the future
earning potential that the buyer has in mind. Without such preparation, it is like
getting on an airplane and having no idea of its destination! If a buyer just wants
your practice details to give to their accountant, then their genuine interest in
your practice is minimal!

Do you know how to weed out all of these “interests” and what criteria are used
for pre-qualifying the right candidates? Only experienced, objective, strict screening can assure you the most qualified candidates to be introduced to you for consideration. Don’t you want to continue to do your dentistry, earn a living, and visit
only with the “Right” buyer?

If you are convinced that it is best to have your practice sale be professionally
represented, then be just as strict as to who you select to do so, because in the
wrong hands…“A broker will make you broker!” Only in the hands of an experienced Transition Specialist, will you see your practi