June 12, 2018

20+ Questions to Ask Your Buyer to Ensure a Successful Dental Practice Transition

After so many years of owning a private dental practice, you’ve become invested both financially and emotionally. Once you’ve decided it’s time to sell, it is to your advantage to concern yourself with the buyer‘s intentions to ensure a successful transition for all parties involved. Here is a comprehensive list of questions to ask potential buyers to get one step closer to the completion of the sale.

Professional background

What is your dental philosophy?

What type of dentistry have you done in the past? What do you like to practice and prefer not to, such as restoring versus replacing implants?

Is there a type of dentistry that you would like to get into, such as orthodontics, endodontics, etcetera?

What do you like and dislike about your current situation, including specialties that are done in-house versus outsourced?

Are you certified or plan to be certified in Invisalign?

Finances

How many lenders have you talked with?

Are you prequalified? If so, for how much?

Do you have enough credit and cash in your bank?

Have you ever been delinquent on payments, filed for bankruptcy or been sued by a patient?

Are you able to prepare a balance statement and show the past two years of tax returns?

Real estate

Do you plan to keep the current location of the practice?

Do you want to lease or buy a space?

Do you have a preference on a five- or 10-year lease?

Updates

Do you plan to make any updates or improvements to the practice, its equipment or software?

Are you willing to pay for any upgrades out of pocket after the sale, or do you prefer upgrades to be made before the sale?

Do you plan to keep the existing staff or bring in your own?

Corporate buyer

How do you plan to grow practice profitability?

What are the company’s overall economic goals compared to earnings expectations and financial statements and tax returns?

Do you have references from dentists who previously sold their practices to your company? Were these dentists’ commitments fulfilled in the transaction?

Does the company have a track record of successfully purchasing practices and selling off the new combined entity?

Future plans

What are your goals for the practice after the sale?

Do you plan to bring on any specialists?

Would you ever sell to a dental service organization (DSO) or another corporate buyer?

How can we be sure to protect ourselves and our interests to ensure a smooth transition for patients and staff?

What’s next?

Start the process of selling your practice or look for practices for sale, then contact the experts at Professional Transition Strategies to take the next steps.