There comes a time in every dentist’s life where it’s time to sell your dental practice. Selling any healthcare practice takes time and plenty of planning. And still, a comfortable return on investment isn’t always guaranteed, especially if you don’t have all of your “t’s” crossed and “I’s” dotted. Here are five tactics that can help dentists place their established dental practice for sale.
Consider changing the name of your practice.
It takes years to build up the reputation and goodwill of your practice. Many dental practices are named after the owner. While it’s great for customer memory recall and branding, it can be extremely difficult to put up an established dental practice for sale with a person’s name.
Dentistry IQ found that “studies have indicated that up to 40% of patients leave a practice once the doctor with the branded name is gone.” This will likely lead to a practice’s decrease in value. It’s much more lucrative to name a dental practice something more generic to help simplify transitions, especially since it was found that “patients were 65% more likely to visit a doctor if that doctor was affiliated with a larger brand versus just his or her name.”
Ensure your dental practice has a strong structure.
Dentists who own a dental practice wear many hats in their office: CEO, caretaker, businessperson, customer service associate—they do it all. But it’s important to have a clear and strong team structure for each department. Not only does this help staff understand their responsibilities and expectations, but it’s essential in staying organized.
Update your systems to keep your practice organized.
Speaking of staying organized, every dental practice needs to have business systems in place to maintain the organization. Buyers are looking for an established dental practice for sale that runs smoothly with efficient systems in place to ensure their investment is worthwhile.
Change how you pay the boss.
One huge mistake dental practice owners make is to pay themselves based on what’s leftover in the bank at the end of the month. Not only is this a dangerous policy, but it’s simply not fair to the hardworking business owner.
You set a salary rate for yourself—pay yourself as an associate at the same rate you would an associate in your practice. This way, your salary is clear, it looks professional, and you are valuing your contribution to your practice.
Pay close attention to profits and expenses.
It is so important to be accountable for every dollar that enters and leaves your practice. As a business owner, many of your advantages come in the form of tax deductions and business expenses. Unfortunately, too often business owners will co-mingle monies, blurring the lines of expenses and deductions. It’s incredibly important to categorize all of your expenses and profits for easier management.
To sell your dental practice for maximum returns on investment takes years of planning ahead and ensuring your financials are in tip-top shape. If you follow these tactics, you will have no problems securing a comfortable nest egg from the sale of your practice.
