Marketing a veterinary practice for sale requires careful planning and consideration. While you might be ready to put a sign on the front door and take the first bid that comes your way, you need to be conscientious of how you market your practice and who you market to. Your marketing efforts may take a toll on your employees and your customers.
Deciding How to Market Your Practice
The first thing you need to consider is how you want to market your practice in today's market. There are two ways to sell your practice: publicly and confidentially. Placing your practice for sale publicly can cause a panic among your associates and your clients, especially if they were not made aware of your intentions ahead of time. It is usually best to discuss the possibility of a sale with your staff well in advance and provide them with reassurance. This may also be the only way you will get them to sign non-compete agreements before the sale. If you choose to market your business confidentially, you may not need to address your employees up front, but there is no way to avoid the conversation long term. A professional practice broker such as Praxis can help you to market your practice confidentially and avoid the numerous problems that come with having to tell your staff about the sale too early.
Deciding Who to Market To
As you piece together your marketing plan, you should consider to whom you are trying to market your practice. If you are willing to sell to a competitor, you will need to be aware of how this will affect your customers. It's possible that you would rather market your practice exclusively to your own associates, or to qualified candidates who are already working with a broker to buy.
Creating a Marketing Playbook
If you decide to obtain professional assistance from a professional practice broker, the broker will create a long term marketing plan. They will work with you to ensure that your practice is in its most presentable state before potential buyers come to check it out. This often means that they will provide a checklist of items that need to be updated or resolved before your practice is ready to be shown. This could cover everything from financial statements to the furniture in your lobby. If you choose not to work with a broker, you will need to perform all of these steps yourself. Be prepared to make some changes to present your practice in the best light.
With all of these decisions made, it's time for you and your practice to head out into the marketplace. Buyers are likely to ask many questions and have plenty of critiques. If it is taking some time to sell you practice, you will want to listen to what buyers are saying and speak with your broker to ensure that your practice is suitably placed in the market .
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think