Dentists buying a practice often get caught up in the state of the equipment. But they shouldn’t, because that rarely matters to the purchase. Here’s why.
The dentist I was talking to argued that starting a practice makes more sense because (I’m paraphrasing here), “Tons of patients loyal to the seller will leave anyway, and I’ll have to build a patient base again. I might as well start from scratch.”
There’s wrong, and then there’s completely, totally wrong. This dentist was the latter.
I know many dentists share this fear, even if they’re not as adamant about it as the doctor in this story. And it’s not a crazy fear! But it is wrong.
“Am I buying what I think I’m buying?” If you’re going to spend hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars buying a dental practice, you should be sure you’re getting the dream office that was advertised to you, and not what used car dealers call a “lemon.” That’s where Initial Due Diligence comes in.
Don’t negotiate simply to negotiate—negotiate to find a win-win. Protect yourself well with a dental specific, transitions-focused attorney and accountant, and you’ll be a lot happier both throughout the process and after you own the practice.
If you’re buying a dental practice, you’ll need to have a few people on your team. I tell dentists the only absolutely vital, must-hire person on your team is your dental-specific attorney—do not attempt to buy a practice without one. The next name on that list, though, is your accountant, who is almost as important.
An underappreciated first step in buying a dental practice? Decide whether you want to buy one at all.
I’m obviously biased, since I’ve spent the last decade-plus helping dentists buy practices, so even I have to back up every once in a while and remind myself: it’s not for everyone!
Keeping patients happy is, no surprise, how you have a successful practice that brings in plenty of cash for you.
If you as a practice owner only do these three things, they’re already in the top 5% of dental practices nationwide in terms of their operations.
When you’re assessing a potential practice to buy, look hard at the office’s operations. There’s a lot to consider, and the list could get long. Instead, I’m going to keep it to three parts of practice operations that are all about patient experience.
Keeping patients happy is, no surprise, how you have a successful practice that brings in plenty of cash for you.
If you as a practice owner only do these three things, they’re already in the top 5% of dental practices nationwide in terms of their operations.
I often say that if you’re worried about keeping patients after the transition, your focus should be on the staff. As the doctor and business owner, you’re the final say on most things in the practice—but your staff are the front lines, the people your patients will have the most interaction with. Here’s what you should think about when meeting the staff for the first time.
Seeing a practice in person is a must before buying it. When you’re looking for a practice to buy, the top-level numbers and location may catch your eye—but before you put in an offer, and certainly before you sign on the line, make sure you’ve looked over the practice thoroughly yourself.
After you’ve talked to the selling dentist and their broker about your interest, you’ll schedule a visit to the premises. Here’s what you can expect as a buyer when it comes to in-person visits of a dental practice.
I’ve worked with quite a few parent/child dentist families, where the parent is retiring and the child is coming up in the industry and ready to buy the parent’s practice. Seems easy! No adversarial relationships here, right?
I certainly hope so! While some aspects of this type of transition are easier, it also comes with less obvious landmines to avoid.
