Is this your first time?

Is this your first time?

1 February 2016

For most principals, selling a dental practice is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because the majority of principals only ever own one practice.

Given this, it would make sense to engage some help to ensure you get the very best result possible. When I travelled to the west coast of North America, I engaged a specialist who was very experienced in this part of the world. This ensured I got to stay in some incredible hotels (you must stay at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls – call me if you want to know the trick to getting a reservation), my daily travelling was reasonable, some outstanding restaurant suggestions and some offbeat ideas (a beach with purple sand!) that made the trip a truly memorable experience. Would I have got the same result if I had arranged it myself? Maybe, but my chances were greatly improved using a specialist.

You do need to check that the specialist agent you are looking to engage does have the necessary experience, and a few simple questions should have you on the right track.

1. How many practices have you valued in the past 12 months?
2. How many practices have you sold like mine?
3. How do you charge for your service? If you are not required to pay a fee, as this is paid for by the buyer, please call me urgently, as this is wrong.
4. How do you vet buyers to ensure they are viable and can fund the purchase?
5. Can you assure me my information is confidential? You would be surprised how many agents openly share information with third parties.

You will go through this process, a once-in-a-lifetime thing, which is why clients are understandably nervous about doing it right and getting the best price.

Whilst the market has changed a bit since the 1980’s when Frank Taylor started, the needs of vendors have remained pretty constant.

I am assuming that you want a sales agent who operates with integrity and a professionalism to match your own high standards, but what else?

There are three other things that feature on most clients’ requirements:

1. Get the best price possible – this is a commercial transaction and the ‘money on the table’ matters.
2. Find a buyer that will fit with the patients and staff – preserve the legacy and good standards established.
3. Be enthusiastic and passionate. If the sales agent isn’t excited, then no one else will be.

The team at Frank Taylor & Associates have lived by these three points for nearly thirty years.

We are constantly referred to as achieving ‘the highest values in the market’. We have over 4,300 potential buyers looking for a dental practice, with most pre-assessed for finance, and we all love what we do – we get genuinely excited about the opportunity to visit a new dental practice and are passionate about delivering our service.

Andy Acton
Co-owner & Director, Frank Taylor & Associates

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