Dental service organizations (DSOs) backed by private equity groups have gotten a bad reputation over the years for seemingly only taking corporate interest into account. It’s easy to get wrapped up in that dialogue if you take the sale of your dental practice into your own hands. That’s why, no matter the reason for your sale — retirement, desire to unload managerial responsibilities or otherwise — you’ll want a dental practice broker by your side throughout the process. Here’s how dental practice brokers can show you that not all DSOs are created equal.
Explore options
As with any buyer, each DSO has its own set of pros and cons based on experience and fit. What’s more, this group of investors can be divided into specific categories, like joint venture models and competition-based models. An experienced dental practice broker will help you see there will always be buyers for viable, profitable practices. Proper guidance will help you decide when is the right time to sell based on income and other factors, then make a well-informed decision from there.
Entice offers
It’s easy to get excited about the sale of your dental practice when a buyer is dangling a large amount in front of you, and a dental practice broker will not only help you understand the terms being offered, but also possibly get you a better offer after exploring potential partnerships, associateships and more transition options. By hiring an experienced dental practice broker, you can be afforded more marketing opportunities for your dental practice to get it in front of more qualified buyers than you could on your own.
Address concerns
One common pain point expressed by dentists is the desire to unload the managerial responsibilities of your dental practice so you can focus on the clinical reasons you got into dentistry in the first place without burning out. A dental practice broker will help you get to the root of your sale and find a buyer to match. At Professional Transition Strategies (PTS), we have experience working with all the top DSOs and know which one will be a good fit for your staff and patients based on the culture you’ve created.
Sort paperwork
Trust a fiduciary to handle all the logistics that go into the sale of your dental practice transition, like the appraisal and nondisclosure agreement (NDA). You’ll want these documents in place as part of the process, but it shouldn’t be a conflict of interest to get them done. PTS will provide a valuation of your business for free so you can make a fact-based decision knowing what your dental practice is worth in both the short and long term. Only then will you be able to shop around for buyers while getting a hand up in the negotiation process.
Bottom line
Selling your dental practice to a DSO can be a rewarding experience if done properly. Contact the experts at PTS to ensure you are paid a fair price for your life’s work.