5 Benefits of Selling a Veterinary Practice Through OMNI Practice Group
When beginning the process of selling a Veterinary practice, it’s imperative to work with specialists who have experience in selling Veterinary practices. Experienced transaction brokers can help Veterinary practice owners streamline the sale and achieve their ideal return on investment. The team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group are specialists in this industry, and in their latest article they highlight five benefits of selling a veterinary practice through their services.
- They Are Marketing Specialists
Working with a trusted industry specialist such as OMNI Veterinary Practice Group gives sellers access to a wider array of market options. Because the company’s staff has significant experience in the marketplace, they know how to quickly locate qualified buyers and to promote the seller’s practice in high visibility markets.
- They’re Experts in Business Transitions
The specialists at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group have many years of experience in business transitions. They’ve helped hundreds of sellers to achieve their ideal objectives through the selling of their Veterinary practice. This means they can guide sellers throughout the entire process, from finding qualified buyers to completing negotiations and due diligence alongside the buyer’s legal team.
- Frees Up the Business Owner’s Time
The work of Omni Veterinary Practice Group helps to support business owners in running their organization throughout the negotiations. They won’t have to take time away from their business to review the marketplace or to deal directly with buyer negotiations. They can leave all the work to the team at OMNI Veterinary Practice Group. This also means that they can retain the value of their company throughout the transaction, helping to support the on-going growth of the company and meet the needs of their patients while OMNI Practice Group responds to all transition requirements.
- They can Prepare the Business for Sale
Because of OMNI’s experience in the marketplace, they know what it takes to prepare a company for sale. They can pinpoint structural issues within a business and help the seller to eliminate these structural issues before the sale begins. They can also highlight the elements the buyer will be analyzing during their due diligence, and complete processes areas such as the completion of all equipment paperwork to ensure every part of the transaction is in place before the sale begins.
- They Seamlessly Close Business Transactions
The length of time a business transaction takes to complete can have a significant impact on a business owner and their finances. The team at OMNI works to reduce the timeframe of the sale and streamline the closing process. They ensure each element of the sale is completed according to the seller’s timeframe, and help reduce closing costs to ensure optimal value for the business.
Specialists for the sale of Veterinary practice businesses, OMNI is committed to working with sellers across the marketplace in finding qualified buyers for their practice. To learn more on the company and their services, contact their office team today at 877.866.6053.
WHAT BUYER’S DON’T WANT IN A VETERINARY PRACTICE FOR SALE
1. High overhead – even though it can be corrected, this is something Veterinary practice buyers often don’t have the vision or knowledge on how to correct. Even in high producing practices, if the overhead is too high, the buyers freak out.
2. No way to increase the practice production or income. If you are doing everything from general checkups to emergency procedures you may be maxing out the practice. I’m not saying it’s impossible to find the right Veterinary practice buyer, but if you’re doing all of the procedures, it can be a bit more challenging.
3. Old practice from equipment to the shag green carpet and the orange laminate counters. If it’s been 30 years since you have updated anything in the practice, don’t expect a premium price.
4. Remote practice – A practice in a small town 3 hours from any major city is harder to sell than a practice in a desirable area. Give yourselves 2 years to sell Veterinary practices in remote areas.
5. Relatives working in the practice. It’s okay to have a wife or child as an employee. But if you have a wife, sister, daughter and son working in the practice and two of them will be leaving upon the close of the sale, you will have problems selling the Veterinary practice.
These are some of the things to look at as you get closer to retirement, or just want to transition out of your Veterinary practice.
Selling Your Veterinary Practice Does NOT Mean You Have to Stop Practicing
5 Reasons to Hire a Veterinary Practice Specialist During the Veterinary Business Sale Process
1. Database of Buyers
Those within the marketplace will have access to a comprehensive database of practice buyers. They will have completed all due diligence on those capable of completing the transaction and have developed comprehensive business relationships within the industry. This can help streamline the business transaction and ensure sellers receive a lucrative price for their business.
2. Full Access to Marketing Channels
Specialists within the veterinary practice marketplace can help enhance sale strategies through effective marketing channels. They know the areas potential buyers look for buying opportunities and can craft refined marketing strategies designed to appeal to specific types of buyers. Their access to these highly effective marketing channels also means industry specialists can help maximize the value of the business and reduce sales roadblocks.
3. Help Selecting a Transition Plan
Working with a trusted veterinary practice sales expert also means that business owners can select their ideal transition plan when selling their company. For example, they may wish to only sell part of their practice and remain the owner of the rest of the company. Specialists within the industry can help coordinate this process and ensure that the full value of the entire organization is protected during the sale. Veterinary practice sales experts can also help coordinate sales to corporate groups by individual owners, advising the owner on their rights within the process and helping to complete the complex documentation involved within the sale.
4. Direct Access to Sales Knowledge
One of the leading reasons so many veterinary business owners are now choosing a specialist for the sale of their practice is that specialists can answer questions based on direct knowledge within the industry. They can help the practice owner decide what to do with their equipment after the sale. for example. They can also answer questions related to post-sale staff needs, as well as how to communicate with staff directly during the sale process. This eases the sales transition and ensures business owners also have an expert available to consult with throughout.
5. Creating a Valuation for the Company
By determining the value of the company, veterinary practice experts can ensure their client achieves full value for money. They can use their industry knowledge, as well as their understanding of the local marketplace, to ensure the company is valued at a level that will attract high-quality buyers and ensure a fast, and profitable sale.
By working directly with a trusted veterinary practice sales expert, veterinary business owners can maximize the return for their business investment. To learn more, speak with the team at Omni Veterinary Practice Group directly at 877.866.6053 or email info@omnipg-vet.com.
TOP 5 VETERINARY PRACTICE TRANSITIONS STRATEGIES
Until, one day, your back blows out, your spouse tells you to retire, or you just plain get tired of managing staff, cutting expneses, and health departments or state taxing authorities coming by for a “little visit”. You decide, it’s time to sell my veterinary practice! Maybe you want to continue doing veterinary work at some level, either part time, or full time. How about forming a partnership? Maybe you want to be completely done. Here are the top five strategies you can think about before that time happens and where we have expertise in making it happen. We offer a courtesy planning session to start the process.
1. SELL AND DON’T LOOK BACK – This is the option for those who are completely done and ready to either find another career, a good fishing hole, or favorite golf course. You can either attempt to do it yourself, or hire a veterinary practice broker to help you out. The pros of this are you are done, you get your equity out of the practice and you do not have to worry about staff, insurance companies or other problems again. The cons are that you do not know how your clients and staff will be cared for by the buying doctor. This is a favorite strategy for the retiring veterinarian or doctors with health issues, those moving far away or who just wants to be done.
2. SELL AND TRANSITION – This approach allows you to sell your veterinary practice and stay on for a short or long term transition. The “staying on” part can be a two hour drop in once per week for a couple of months, working back one or two days per week, or a more extensive two to four days per week for a year. It’s all negotiable and depends on the amount of production in your practice. This strategy is great for those who are closely tied to their clients and staff and want to see them well cared for after the sale. It also ensures the clients will stay with the buying doctor if the seller is there for a bit after the sale of your veterinary practice. The pros are that it allows for a very smooth transition. The cons can be that the staff is still allegiant to you and the clients still want to see you. You need to be an impartial observer more than anything at this point and let the buyer be the owner and do his/her work.
3. SELL AND WORK BACK – If you decide that you still enjoy veterinary work, but just do not want to manage the practice anymore, then this is the strategy for you. In certain cases, you can sell your veterinary practice and work back. This can be done at an early age and does not mean you are retiring. I have several case studies where a 50-year-old veterinarian was tired of managing his staff and getting hit with unexpected taxes or other expenses. We sold his practice to someone that wanted a satellite practice. He is working back full time making more money than he ever made. The buyer implemented marketing and other services to increase production. Pros are that you no longer manage your practice and you may make more money. Cons are that you may be selling to a small group or a large group that may require you to implement systems and procedures that are not what you may like. Be selective in who you sell to. I have found that smaller groups allow you more freedom.
4. PARTIAL SALE – PARTNERSHIP – If your practice has enough production, you can sell a partnership in your veterinary practice and continue to work. Often these practices grow with an infusion of young enthusiasm. There are numerous ways of structuring these deals. And, anytime you enter a partnership, I advise strongly you put everything in writing and have an attorney do their magic to make it legal and fool proof. You sell a portion of your practice, say 1/3, to a buyer. You continue to work and grow the practice. You can then either sell another 1/3 to another buyer or continue to grow, or sell out completely. The pros of this is that you harvest some of your equity while continuing to grow your practice. You then grow the practice some more and then you sell another portion. The cons are that partnerships come with all the trials of a marriage. You will probably have disagreements with your partner. Be sure and structure it right up front to reduce disagreements and to remedy them if there are.
5. DEFERRED SALE – Also called an associate to own sale. This is where you bring on an associate who works in the practice. The associate may work one or two days to start. You can then sell the veterinary practice to the associate at an agreed upon time. The price can either be determine up front or at the time of the sale. The way we typically do a deferred sale is to perform a valuation in the beginning and agree upon the price. We then do a valuation in the end and the buyer and seller split the equity to determine the final price. This can be a good way to transition as the staff and clients get to know the new doctor. It can go very smoothly. Statistics show that these fail about 50% of the time. I typically see them fail when either parties change the deal in the middle of the process, one party gets jealous of the other, or personalities conflict. We structure these so there’s a “dating” period and then we lock in the associate with a deposit.
EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN – Now you know the top five strategies for transitioning out of your veterarinary practice. We often get asked about how creative a transition can be. You can really be as creative as you want to be. The only challenge is finding a buyer who will be creative with you.
So, think about where you are today and what your end goals are. We offer a complimentary consultation to help you determine which strategy is best for you. You can trust that we will come up with a plan that will work for both you and a prospective buyer to make your transition as smooth for everyone as possible.
-Rod Johnston, MBA. CMA