There are many factors to be considered when attempting to increase the value of your dental practice prior to a sale. The primary goal is to make your practice as attractive as possible to prospective buyers. This doesn’t mean slashing staff salaries or adding shiny new equipment. Instead, you should identify the best aspects of your practice so you can present them as selling points.
Your practice’s profit is one of the most obvious factors your buyer will look at. This is neither the net income of the practice nor the asking price for your practice. Rather, it is the amount you get when 40% of dentist production (including hygiene exams, lab fees, etc) is subtracted from your net income.
You can increase your profits and make your practice more financially attractive in one of two ways. If your practice is short on patients, consider charging moderate fees for a moderate profit and building a larger client base to increase overall income. If your client base is healthy but profit levels are weak due to increased operating costs, increase your billing rates to increase profits. Part of your practice valuation will look at the practice’s profit margins over a few years.
Location is another huge factor in the sale of a practice. Play up the benefits of your practice’s location to prospective buyers, keeping in mind that it’s not just about accessibility to patients. For example, a young dentist with a growing family may be interested in taking over a practice located within easy commute of a nice neighborhood to live in, featuring an excellent school district and a strong community feel.
If you have serious competitors, you’ll need to work even harder to show how your practice is the one to envy. Compare your practice favorably to others in the area – do you serve several generations of patients? Offer special services like oral cancer screenings or in-office teeth whitening? Have special amenities like televisions in the waiting rooms or a special needs treatment area? Evaluate the local competition to find ways in which your dental practice stands out from the others, and then talk those differences up!
Your staff can be one of your strongest selling points. Having well trained employees who are highly qualified, who remain committed to your practice, and who have built strong relationships with your patients is a huge selling point. Being able to hand off your practice with a positive, hardworking and dependable team in place provides extra value that is unbeatable.
Your patient base is the most important factor when presenting the value of your dental practice. Patients are the primary source of revenue as well as the best form of positive word of mouth marketing. Building solid relationships with your patients and preparing them for the transition of your practice can allow you to increase your profits. A buyer who knows he or she has your full support in transferring your patients to their care will see added value, and positive reviews and testimonials from your current and former patients is another plus on your side of the column.
Long before the actual sale of your practice, you should start making a list of all of your practice’s benefits, and then spend time figuring out how to present them as additional value. The more valuable you are able to present your practice as being; the higher your profits will be when you finally sell your practice.
