Multiple objectives when deciding to sell a medical practice

The decision to sell a medical practice can be based on a number of factors. A medical practice sale may be driven by retirement, financial considerations, employment opportunity, lifestyle issues, or other transition objectives. Finding a buyer for the medical practice and arranging a successful sale is often a crucial milestone towards reaching the next step. The particular objective of the seller and his/her time-frame will dictate how the medical practice broker will put together a selling strategy and may determine the type of deal structure to expect. A seller needs to be firm but flexible. It is important to obtain the ideal price and terms for the practice but not to shut-out a potential deal by ignoring buyer desires and the market realities for selling a medical practice. This is where the communication and trust between practice broker and seller becomes crucial. A broker's expertise (or lack thereof) can ultimately affect the saleability of the practice and reflect in the final price and terms obtained. Balancing personal and professional objectives with sound business decisions is the difficulty which practice sellers face. In short, practice owners should take the following into consideration when selling:

• Reason for selling the medical practice
• Personal and professional objectives related to the sale
• Time-frame to achieve objective
• Price, terms, and time-frame desired in a deal
  
• Flexibility or rigidity in obtaining desired price, terms, and time-frame
  
• Decision to work with a medical practice broker / medical practice consultant
• Expertise, trust, and communication of the broker / consultant and seller