Be respectful of each other. A 2008 seller profile would be a gentleman in his mid 60s who has had a 35-40 year career of serving his patients and the community. He has raised a family, supported his church and often been a dedicated civic leader. He has donated thousands of hours and dollars towards improving the standards and access to his profession. A new owner should be very respectful of that legacy and NEVER utter an unkind word about the previous owner of the practice. Likewise, the Seller needs to realize that the Buyer has made a tremendous commitment to the profession in terms of education and dollars. It is not uncommon for recent grads to have student loan debt of $150,000 - $200,000. When the best and brightest are willing to make that kind of commitment, they deserve our respect.
 

Be realistic about the length of the transition. Almost 87% of our transitions in 2007 were walk-away sales. As we have said many times before, there is a good reason why more than 75% of all dentists in this country work solo: they just don't play well with others. Generally speaking, two years is long enough for most transitions, and even then the seller's presence in the office will be steadily decreasing.
 

Make sure the pot is big enough for both parties to eat out of it. Since the Buyer has student loan obligations, acquisition debt, working capital debt and ongoing personal expenses, they cannot afford to share too much of the revenue stream for very long. The average solo practice in our market area does not throw off enough net income to satisfy the debt demands of the Buyer and pay the Seller any significant salary. This is the reason that most transitions into ownership (as opposed to buying the practice and having the seller as an associate) will not work. The Seller wants to continue to draw a salary and lock up a future Buyer but the new associate can't afford to live off of what is left. I would speculate that the office would have to be collecting over $600,000 with a well controlled overhead to have a chance.
 

The concept of a Mentor-Seller is overrated. The greatest anxiety new owners have about a dental practice is the management and administrative issues. It doesn't take long for the seller to introduce the buyer to a few systems and procedures. Frankly, the office staff will be more than helpful in indoctrinating the new owner as to how things are done. The new owner can then start to make evolutionary changes after they get familiar with the basics. This is one area where the Myers/Wolff transition was significantly different. For quite a while, Mr. Myers did most of the work and we watched. We traveled together, attended trade shows and speaking engagements together and poured over analysis forms and spreadsheets together. We were a couple of years into our plan before the work load began to even out.
 

You're going to do things differently--so get used to it. The young doctor may ultimately decide to concentrate on one type of service and discontinue another. That may be a fact of business life that some sellers will struggle with. Remember though that the buyer has to do what is right for his personal skill set and professional satisfaction. Technology has made as many changes to dentistry as it has every other type of business. A couple of good examples would be that UMKC students have never seen a paper record and that there are still profitable, busy, quality practices using dip tanks for film processing. Sellers should embrace plans to improve the technology of the practice as it further emphasized the buyer's commitment to long-term success.
 

Sellers have to know what to do with themselves when it's over. At some point, the senior doctor is no longer going to be able to engage new business or patients. They will not be around to finish the case so why start. Part of every exit strategy should include what you're going to do when you don't go into the office any more. While the vast majority of doctors are looking for only a brief transition at best, there is still a certain remorse when that part of your life is over. I've seen more than one Seller break down and cry at closing. After taking care of multiple generations of families for decades, it can be painful when the time finally comes to hang up the handpiece. Have a plan for what is next.