Selling a dental practice is not like selling a car or piece of real estate. Many of the sellers I work with have built a successful business of 20-30 years based on relationships with the patients, staff, and community. And yet, after an entire career of growing a dental practice, the dentist will contract with a dental consultant to put a for sale sign on the internet and try to sell it like a used car. The practice financials are emailed to multiple parties and one by one they are paraded through the office before the negotiating begins.
Let me state a fact: most of the dental practices I sell are never listed on my website. Why? I already know who the buyers are and who to call. I call those dentists whom I have a met with previously, developed a relationship of trust with and those whom I know will cross the finish line with the seller…..every time. Most of my selling dentists I have known for many years. I can vouch for their character, and for their practice. My buyers are no different.
If you’re a buyer and want to know how to get on my “list of whom to call,” start by meeting with me and discussing your long and short goals. Once I have a good sense of what type of office is a good fit and the amount of production you are capable of, then we will find the right practice and the right transition.
If you’re a seller and you read on my website that my average transition time to close is only 90 days, you now know why. We get the right match almost every time. It’s not chance. We do not send your confidential information out to the universe. We do not waste your time on the weekends with introductions with dentists who cannot duplicate your production, get financing, or had no intention of paying your asking price before they met you.
Determining how to exit your business is just as important as how you build your business. A considerable amount of planning should be implemented before forging ahead with your retirement. Long after you take that degree off the wall, you should be able to say “I had one chance….and I got it right.”
