Purchasing a dental practice is a sizable financial decision. If you aren’t careful, making mistakes along the way could cause you significant financial strain and hurt your future success. As such, it’s important to learn from the errors of past dental practice purchasers to maximize your chances of making an advantageous and lucrative purchase. Here are some of the top mistakes to avoid when buying a dental practice.
Not determining a firm closing date
Nothing kills a deal like failing to agree to a closing date. By not setting up a firm closing date and sticking to a strict timeline, your deal will likely fail due to continuous delays. As a result, both parties will likely lose time and money so it’s essential to agree upon a firm closing date once you tender the offer.
Making too low of an offer
There is a fine line between getting the best deal possible and losing a dental practice to a higher offer. If there isn’t a valid reason for negotiating a practice price down, making a below-asking price offer could hurt your relationship with the seller. You could lose a great opportunity to a higher bidder. Therefore, you should be wary of this common mistake that new buyers often make and avoid over-negotiating.
Not maintaining a good relationship with the seller
One of the main benefits of purchasing a dental practice is that you’ll be able to start your business with an existing customer base. If you don’t maintain a positive relationship with the seller, however, you may not receive their endorsement after the practice transitions. As a result, a large portion of their loyal customer base could become lost. Particularly if part of the arrangement is for the seller to say on working for you to help transition the practice and retain patients, a good working relationship is vital.
Not enlisting the aid of a professional transition team
Assuming you’ll be able to handle all the potential issues that arise while purchasing a dental practice without any guidance is a detrimental mistake that many new buyers make. Without the guidance of an experienced transition professional, your deal could quickly become derailed due to unexpected challenges that you don’t have experience handling. As such, trying to save money by not hiring a trained transition professional could cost you significantly in the long run.
Enlisting the aid of a professional transition team such as Henry Schein Professional Practice Transitions can significantly minimize the challenges that arise while purchasing a dental practice. Whether you’re looking to purchase a general dental practice, orthodontic, or endodontic practice, your local Transition Sales Consultant can help. Our in-depth knowledge and hands-on expertise will help guarantee your professional success. For more information regarding our services, contact us today.
