August 4, 2006
TEAMWORK AND TIMING, THE KEYS TO TRANSITION SUCCESS
By Bob Deloian, dentist and broker
The time will come for every dentist to sit down and decide how and when to make the transition out of active practice. For some, this will become a very orderly, planned and executed procedure, with many rewarding benefits. For others, a great number of roadblocks and minefields await.
All too common are the horror stories of someone we know receiving a $10,000 down payment and moving to Florida only to get his or her practice back in six months.
To avoid the potential nightmares of practice sales, a clear upfront idea of expectations is necessary. A major help in turning the transition vision into reality is enlisting the services of a professional broker.
By listening to your needs and expectations, a broker can assist with and explain the many options the practitioner has available to reach a beneficial result. There is no magic formula that is right for everyone. Your broker will be happy to analyze your situation and suggest a strategy that fits your needs.
Another way of thinking about this is that you’re creating a comprehensive treatment plan that can be followed to ensure successful results.
Many of us decide that the best way to retire in two to three years is to start now by cutting back to two or three days a week in the office. While this may seem like a logical progression, we end up getting a negative result. By working less the last two or three years, our production suffers, and our ability to get the most out of our sale suffers as well. Instead, we should consider making our last two to three years the most productive of our career to help increase our sale value.
Athena Consulting can evaluate your practice, and show you through our management team how to grow your practice for maximum profitability.
In choosing a professional to assist in the transition process, it would be very advantageous to work with someone who speaks the same language. A broker that has practiced, and has sold his own practice as well as others, can provide a wealth of ideas that must be considered.
That’s part of the strength of the Athena Consulting team.
The broker can assist in finding potential buyers as well as potential financing to allow for smooth transitions and up-front cash-out strategies. He can also financially structure a contract to benefit both the buyer and seller, and walk them both through the contract phase.
A good transition broker will do much more than just list your practice in the journals and wait for inquiries. Once he has evaluated your needs, he will tailor make marketing strategies on your behalf. A potential buyer will have the knowledge and security that the broker will work with them after the sale to ensure their success. Our consulting and practice team will provide the needed resources to help the buyer and seller work together if the seller will be staying on, and provide the support, availability and accessibility to the new buyer if the seller is not remaining.
It is in the job description of a quality transition team to help the practice succeed after the papers are signed.
Feel free to contact us at Athena Consulting. We are always available to help with questions or concerns about your practice and to assist in the timely transition of its sale.
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