Once a private practice owner decides they want to sell their business, it’s best for everyone involved to do so quickly with minimal disruption. Explore some helpful tips for selling your private practice quickly so you and the practice can move forward with as few interruptions as possible.
Get a Professional Broker
A good first step in the process of selling your practice is to hire a professional broker. You may know everything about your practice and profession, but you might not have much experience buying and selling businesses—this is where a broker helps.
Business brokers will take care of the sale details, including appraising your business, connecting you with buyers, and even advising you on tax matters related to the sale. Brokers take a small cut of the sale, but even with that cost, they still help you secure significantly more money than if you were to sell the business on your own.
Sell to a Competitor
This option may sting the pride of some owners—if you want to sell your private practice quickly, a smart tip is to consider a competitor. There are many pros and cons of selling your practice to a competitor. One of the advantages is that they understand the industry and the business, so you won’t need to explain everything to them.
And since they’re a competitor, they’re more likely to take care of your business to expand their practice while eliminating some of their competition. Also, there shouldn’t be a need to haggle over price as you both understand the practice’s and industry’s benefits and deficits.
Set a Realistic Price
One issue many practice owners create for themselves when trying to sell is overvaluing the business. Typically, overvaluation is related to an emotional link, as each practice owner has a deep connection that makes their business worth more to them.
However, this is a business sale and one of the primary factors to consider is the practice’s profitability. One way of properly valuing a business is to determine the seller’s discretionary earnings, which consist of the following:
- Pre-tax and pre-interest profits before non-cash expenses
- One-time expenses
- Adjusted expenses
- Non-related business expenses or income
Be Open To Compromise
Lastly, if you want to close the deal quickly, you must be open to compromise on multiple fronts. Too often, practice owners become rigid in their price and demands for a sale, antagonizing the buyer and making them less willing to compromise; this then results in a stalemate.
You don’t want to let the buyer dictate the terms of the negotiation, but you also need to allow yourself flexibility regarding the sale price and terms. If you can’t compromise on price, consider accepting installment payments rather than one lump sum to reach a reasonable agreement for everyone.
