Pre-Transition Tips for Success

Are you considering retiring from your private dental practice in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, or Wyoming? Maybe you want to sell it and live out your golden years not having to worry about managing a business.

Or perhaps you want to take the backseat working an associate dentist position, while someone else shoulders the burden of management.

Either way, here are some pre-transition tips for success that will help you plan things for a successful sale of your dental practice.

Pre-Transition Tips for Success

Continue Building Value

Just because you decide to sell doesn’t mean you should stop building value for your practice. Most private practitioners often start taking extra days off, vacations, etc. once they decide to sell.

This will only hurt your practice’s value, which you have worked so hard to build over the years. Instead, continue working hard and building value for your practice. It will pay off later.

Avoid Cash Payments

No buyer will ever trust your word on how much cash your practice rakes in. They will only trust the numbers in your books. So avoid taking cash and switch to more traceable methods like cards and bank transfers. This way, you can show exactly how much your practice brings in.

Lower Overhead Costs

This is a great tip regardless of whether you want to sell your practice or not. However, lowering your overhead costs will show potential buyers that your practice can make profits without spending too much money.

Start with big-ticket items. Perhaps your practice is overpaying for associate dentist jobs, wasting supplies, or perhaps your lab costs can be reduced by outsourcing to a less expensive alternative.

Don’t take harsh steps without considering the repercussions to your practice first. Perhaps eliminating that associate dentist position or outsourcing lab work is not the best move for your practice. Cut costs only where it helps increase the value of your practice.

Increase Your Fees

If you have not increased your fees in 3 years, the inflation alone demands a 9 percent increase. Buyers do not want to buy dental practices where they have to increase fees as soon as they come in, just to cover inflation costs.

It sends the wrong message to the staff and patients. You have to do this for them, ideally a year in advance. Consider a 9-10 percent increase, as 90 percent of your patients won’t even notice the extra $60 they pay for a $600 procedure.

Not only will this increase your practice’s profits and value to attract better offers, but it will attract more buyers as well.

Final Thoughts

These are just a few pre-transition tips for success, and there are others like integrating technology, renegotiating your lease, etc. that we can discuss another time. For now, follow the mentioned ones and you should be off to a great start.

If you want to learn more, or if you are interested in selling your dental practice soon, we highly recommend contacting the expert dental brokers at CTC Associates to discuss your options today.