Far from relishing the prospect of spending more time on the golf course or writing a novel, you may be finding the prospect of retirement more of a headache than a pleasure.
When you’ve worked so hard to build
up a practice you’re proud of, with a patient base you care deeply about, selling it on can be a very emotional experience, but it’s one you needn’t
embark on alone.
As soon as retirement even begins to appear on your horizon, whether completely or just to hand over the management responsibilities for a few years, it is well worth engaging with the right experts in the industry
for the advice and support you will need right from the beginning.
Preparing your practice
Most dentists will only go through a sale once in their lifetime, so it’s understandable that they’ll have concerns and doubts about how to manage it effectively. The key is to let the people that need to be informed know as early as possible that you’re thinking of selling, even a couple of years in advance if you can. That way they can help you look at preparing your practice for sale to maximise its value and avoid any issues further down the line.
It’s especially important that the purchasing dentist is able to follow the outgoing dentist’s thought process when it comes to patients’ treatment plans. Different dentists have different practising philosophies so more detailed record-keeping must be advisable, for example, or a review of patients’ payment plan banding to make it easier for a new dentist to pick up
the baton. The more transparent the client list is, the more appealing the practice will be to the right buyer. Having a stable payment plan base of patients is appealing to banks and therefore to buyers as a source of future income.
Patients’ interests
There are many parties involved in and affected by the sale of a dental practice, not least the patients. For them it can be a time of uncertainty which, if managed poorly, can result in some opting to register elsewhere rather than taking a chance on the unfamiliar new practice owner. Some payment plan providers offer support to the buyer of your practice, they can often ensure that all angles are covered and the best interests of the patients are kept at the forefront at each stage. This means there’s more chance of retaining the patients you have and of optimising the goodwill value of the practice.
You’ll need to have a valuation carried out and get all your paperwork in order, particularly with regard to the property’s leasehold or freehold status.
Once buyers are interested, there are numerous considerations:
? Planning to transfer patients in the smoothest way possible.
? Ensuring all your payment plan patients are in the correct fee band so that the new owners don’t have to face inconsistencies or incorrect banding later.
? Deciding when and how to tell your staff in order to maintain loyalty and morale and understanding staff rights.
? Determining the appropriate time and method of informing your patients of the sale.
? Arranging a frank and friendly discussion with your buyer to iron out any concerns.
Case study
Ravi Dilip Nathwani took over as practice principal at Littleover Dental Practice in Derby just a few years ago. He explains:“The previous principal continued at the practice as my associate and the staff welcomed my presence. This was so important when it came to retaining patients as many of them had been under the practice’s care for more than 20 years and I believe this was largely down to the friendly, loyal practice team. They acted as an endorsement for me as they were able to help out with nervous patients, give patients confidence and generally continue to provide the great atmosphere that the patients love. The old principal also eased the changeover by helping overcome staff concerns and getting them to buy into any changes I wanted to make to enhance the growth of the practice.
“Once the Goodwill Transfer was complete I was keen to inform the patients in a positive way, to make the transition go as smoothly as possible and Wendy, the practice’s Denplan consultant, was able to arrange a patient information newsletter for us. We wrote about general practice news, upcoming open days, who I was and where I came from and I think it really helped put patients’ minds at rest. The end result was a professional, clear and concise newsletter, which even generated a few new joiners.”