Consider the Triad (Emotional, Practical, Financial) when Selling a Dental Practice, Part 2

Main Content A+ A- A

You’re thinking about selling your dental practice. Maybe you think that you’re ready to put it on the market in a matter of months, or maybe this is something that you’re planning to do a few years from now.

There are a lot of moving parts, if you will, when contemplating a dental practice transition. As we discussed last time, you need all three parts of the triad—emotional, practical, and financial—working together for a fruitful dental practice transition. While the practice may be financially sound, you may not be emotionally ready to let go of it. Perhaps there are some practical upgrades necessary before you want to schedule a dental practice appraisal.

The following few pre-sale questions should help you evaluate where you are in the process:

1. What are your goals when selling your dental practice? Answers to this question will certainly determine the timing of next steps. Maybe the practice is ready for market or maybe there are some practical and financial steps to take before you can present it to potential buyers. Emotionally, do you feel ready to work fewer hours or enter into a partnership or retire entirely? What exactly do you want to accomplish with the sale?
2. What is the dental practice valuation? This requires a collation of financial documents, staffing roster, current infrastructure, building/land details, and related specifics about the practice to determine the fair market value. I often find an NAPB dental practice broker essential during this step in order to get a clear picture of the dental practice appraisal to date.
3. What is the current dental practice landscape? In other words, is it a good time to sell? Are there prospective buyers in the market for a practice like mine? If not, what do I need to do to make my practice more desirable? Will I be able to achieve my goals at this time? When you put your dental practice on the market, it’s like sending out an invitation to a party filled with lawyers, accountants, financial statements, cash flow analysis, term sheets, and the like. There is potentially a great deal of money changing hands so emotions can run high.

Are you ready—emotionally, practically, and financially? It is tough on everyone if you head down the path towards selling a dental practice without a clear vision of your desired outcome. I have seen a number of instances where the seller backed out at the last minute, and that affects all partied involved. Luckily, it can also be avoided with the help of an NAPB dental practice broker.

In a perfect scenario, you want to receive the highest return on your investment with the least interruption to the practice and your daily life. You also want to feel like the practice is in good hands moving forward. Finally, you want to be subtle about advertising the sale of your practice because the worth is in a highly-functioning, money-making practice. That’s why some forethought and planning is so advantageous. With clarity about the triad, you greatly improve the possibility of a successful dental practice transition.

Please get in touch. We are happy to have a free consultation to help you gauge where you are in the process for your dental practice transition.