A dental practice is an exceptionally unique business. It is a direct reflection and extension of the personality, philosophy, and methodology of the practice ownerpractitioner. Matching the right parties clinically, compatibility and financially requires an extraordinary understanding and sensitivity to the needs of the profession. It requires vast experience and a historical track record of successful transactions.

A new practitioner should consider all methods of acquiring equity in a practice before deciding what practice opportunity is best suited for the new practitioner. When one considers that a practitioner averages thirty-five years of practice, the wrong decision can cost the purchaser millions of dollars.

Purchasing equity in a practice is not merely a $100,000, $300,000 or $500,000 decision. It is a multi-million dollar decision. For example, if a practice is grossing $500,000 and you expect to practice approximately 35 years, then, without adjusting for inflation, it’s a $17,500,000 decision.

A consultation with a PARAGON consultant will help the new practitioner determine his or her long-term personal and professional needs, and then select the right transition plan that creates the most opportune way of entering into private practice. There are a number of viable transition options to consider. Immediate purchase of a practice, progressive ownership acquisitions with an initial associateship period, and co-ownership plans are just a few of the many options to consider. PARAGON’s vast years of experience allows the new practitioner to gain considerable knowledge and insight into his or her profession and a better understanding of the economics of private practice before considering the best transition plan and the best practice opportunity that matches the new practitioner’s specific goals and objectives.

In total contrast to how a PARAGON consultant handles practice transitions, practice brokers simply “list” a practice (often with absolutely no analysis of the practice at all), advertise the practice listing and attempt to locate someone who is capable and willing to buy the practice. Money is the only driving force of the deal. If a buyer displays an ability to obtain financing or pay for the practice from existing funds, then that is the right buyer for the deal regardless of the practice details! Completing practice sales, not suitability of the match, are a broker’s primary concern.

Practice brokers also only represent the interest of the seller, not the purchaser. Some practice brokers do not even provide the purchaser with a practice proforma. They may hand over a bunch of non-sorted computer reports and tax returns. It is up to the purchaser to sort through all the paperwork and make a decision (while other potential purchasers are doing the same thing so it becomes a race to the finish line)! Other brokers do not do anything at all. They merely tell the purchaser that the first purchaser to hire an attorney and come back with a comprehensive purchase and sale agreement gets to purchase the practice. They do provide a list of possible attorneys that the seller will accept to represent the purchaser. Amazing!

When dealing with a practice broker, the purchaser is forced to rely on his or her own limited business knowledge to sort through a multitude of pitfalls involved in purchasing a practice… and these pitfalls are indeed numerous!

A purchaser can certainly hire an attorney and/or accountant, but these advisors often create an adversarial environment during the “negotiation” process. This adversarial posture frequently causes the entire transaction to fall apart. In fact, in the typical unilateral “negotiation” approach, the transaction failure rate is well in excess of 50%. And worse yet, both parties can easily spend thousands of dollars in advisor fees during the negotiation process without ever resulting in a successful closing.

PARAGON will only handle a practice transition by equally representing both the seller and the purchaser. We call this process “dual representation.” Our consultants have been doing it this way since 1988 because our dual representation approach allows us to complete practice transitions at an extremely high success rate – more than 99% of our transactions close as planned. PARAGON consultants have closed thousands of transactions utilizing dual representation.

PARAGON consults with both clients to determine their particular needs and goals, appraises the TRUE fair market value of the opportunity, structures the opportunity with the specific goals and objectives in mind, matches the parties based on suitability and compatibility, prepares bilateral and equitable contracts for review by each party’s attorney, and totally orchestrates the entire process from start to finish in a completely and totally non-adversarial environment.

Negotiations means someone loses or, as in many cases, everyone loses. Dual Representation has earned us a reputation for professionalism, integrity, and total fairness with all practice transitions. PARAGON’s results are a “Win/Win” for both parties.

If you feel that making informed decisions to secure your future is worth an investment of your time, then call PARAGON today to arrange for a complimentary consultation… you’ll be very glad you did!