NAPB: Providing Smooth Dental Practice Transitions

Are you thinking about selling your dental practice? For most doctors, a dental practice transition is something that will only happen once in your lifetime; and characteristically, your dental practice is one of your most appreciated and valuable assets.

Many doctors are accustomed to the DIY approach. When I was first starting my practice, I tried to do everything on my own. For example, I designed mailers, managed the mail-out, oversaw the layout, and approved copy for the ads in Texas Monthly. However, I found that I wasn’t cultivating new clientele, and I was completely stressed out. Fortunately, I consulted with a dentist who had been in practice for over twenty years. When I heeded one of his suggestions and hired an advertising expert, my practice began to grow (and I was much more efficient and effective because I could turn my focus to my patients).

Investing time, energy, and money into dental school, developing an office culture, serving patients, and ultimately arriving at a point where you are ready to sell your dental practice and move on to the next chapter is a huge transition. In my experience, at this point, an NAPB dental broker is exactly like the veteran dentist who helped me in the early years—a trusted, capable resource—ready to help you with a smooth dental practice transition. In other words, in the case of selling a dental practice, the DIY approach is not only ill-advised, but it can also cost you a great deal of money.

An NAPB dental practice broker is truly instrumental in four primary ways:

1. Provides a comprehensive dental practice valuation. The entire sale rests on a thorough and accurate dental practice appraisal. Through years of familiarity and understanding, the NAPB broker conducts a cash flow analysis and determines a fair market value for the practice, providing careful research and compiling data to support the valuation, clearly outlining the dental practice appraisal details to prospective buyers, and ultimately maximizing the value the seller receives at closing.
2. Formulates a dental practice transition strategy tailored to the seller’s needs. This is critical. NAPB dental practice brokers listen to the seller, gaining a sense of their current circumstances and intentions moving forward. Then, the dental practice broker can market to and gain interest from a buyer that’s exactly the right fit.
3. Advertises the dental practice to qualified buyers. As you know, when you put your practice on the market, getting the word out requires diplomacy because the maximum value is in a healthy, high-functioning dental practice. So, your NAPB broker strategically advertises the practice both locally and nationally, taking care of NDA agreements prior to sharing any information, drafting contracts, anticipating and being proactive about the details within the deal (again, another benefit of working with an NAPB dental practice broker).
4. Serves as a liaison between the buyer and seller throughout the entire process. This is especially helpful during difficult conversations such as discussing particulars within the terms of the contract and the practice valuation so the integrity and reputation of the practice is upheld, and there is a positive relationship fostered between the seller and the buyer

There are so many variables to consider when selling a dental practice. Entrusting an expert dental broker—a member of the National Association of Practice Brokers with the both the still and finesse to negotiate a successful dental practice transition—is the best course of action.

Please contact us for a free dental practice transition consultation today.