
Selling a dental practice is an important transition and a dental broker should make the experience easier. A broker should help you with everything from pricing your practice to marketing it to potential buyers. It’s critical to have the right broker to guide you through the transition of your dental practice from start to finish. Here are factors to consider when choosing a broker for your practice transition.
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1. What Do Past Clients Have to Say About the Broker?
You want to hire someone who has worked with a variety of clients before and has successfully helped others before you. Request references from previous clients who have sold over the past year and contact those clients by phone or email. Ask questions about how and why they chose the broker and what it was like working with them. Ask if they would hire the broker again and if the answer is yes, what would be the main reasons they would hire them a second time. Brokers will probably only give you referrals from their most satisfied clients so be sure and look for online testimonials and reviews from past clients as well.
2. What is the Experience of the Broker?
You want a broker who is qualified and understands the ins and outs of selling a dental practice. How long has the broker been in the business of dental practice transitions? What are the broker’s certifications and what industry organizations and associations are they a member of? Do they have any areas of specialty or expertise beyond dental practices sales such as marketing, legal, and accounting? Ask questions about the broker’s previous year. How many practices like yours did they sell? How many did they personally represent? On average, how long were their listings on the market?
3. How Will the Broker Market Your Practice?
One of the best ways to sell your dental practice quickly and for top market value is to introduce as many qualified buyers to your practice as possible. Ask the potential broker what strategies will be used to market your practice. Will your listing be posted on their website? Search their website and make sure it is up-to-date. Inquire about how much traffic and leads the website receives. Ask if your practice will be advertised with industry publications, newsletters, magazines and websites. What geographical areas will your practice listing be exposed to? Will it be marketed on a local level, statewide, or national?
4. How Does the Broker Assess the Value of a Practice?
You want to receive fair valuation of your practice not just for the obvious assets, but for the work you put into building it. Unfortunately, there are some brokers who provide free, low-quality valuations just to get you to work with them. It’s important to understand the true value of what you’re selling. A dental practice valuation should take into consideration equipment, number of patients, dental staff and their experience, location, and profit margins from month to month. The best practice valuations examine the market, capitalization, and subjective differences such as brand recognition and patient loyalty.
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Dental practice transitions are intricate procedures that require a number of legal, financial and professional considerations and you need more than a broker for your practice transition. With over 25 years of experience, Page Brown and Associates LLC has lead the industry in dental practice transitions nationwide. Our dynamic team, consisting of a Tax Attorney, Accountant, Banker, and Marketing Executive, is what makes our firm much more than just a broker.