DDSmatch review

DDSmatch Review


When it comes to buying or selling a dental practice, there are a few options out there that promise great results. One of those options is DDSmatch, a business brokerage committed to facilitating the transaction process for dental practices. This DDSmatch review will cover everything you need to know about the business below.


UPDATED: April 2024

Our Overall Rating


Overview Of DDSmatch

This brokerage option is a company that specializes in the dental practice transition. Their company is founded on the previously held belief that selling a dental practice is a difficult process that takes a long time and that may result in finding no partner.

Thus, Thad Miller founded the website and company, aiming to help dentists successfully transition their practices. This is done via creating a blend of technology and humans that results in a perfect match. To help facilitate this, the brokerage has a team of professional advisors that help clients to make the best decisions for their business, hopefully culminating in a successful sale every time.

The company’s unique process for facilitating connections and subsequent sales is The Trusted Transition Process. The process is focused primarily on building relationships. With this, there are many aspects of the business that the company can assist with. That includes:

  • Associate Placements
  • Practice Sales
  • Dental Partnership Agreements
  • Dental Office Appraisals
  • Practice Mergers
  • Dental Real Estate Sales

In order to do so, the business uses an abundance of tools. These include:

  • the aforementioned The Trusted Transition Process
  • Kolbe Testing – helps to understand nuances between potential matches
  • Dr. Charles Blair and Associates PracticeBooster – a clinical practice analysis
  • Third Party Business Valuations – fair and dependable as supported by professionals
  • Website built for interaction between the buyer and seller or dentist and associates

More on the Trusted Transition Process

This process is what the entire brokerage’s foundation is based on. Without it, the business would not facilitate transactions the same way. The Trusted Transition Process puts all of the other factors that come into play when making a sale on the back burner and instead focuses on connections. The purpose is to help minimize major interruptions in the transfer of business and protect clients and employees who would rather not deal with the painful transition.

Included in this process are helping a new dentist visualize what it is they want in their new practice. It also means mitigating any growing pains to the point that only the buyer and seller are able to detect any changes. When visualizing your future, you will set goals and conceptualize strategies that help propel you in the direction you seek.

There are plenty of other aspects included in the foundational process, including strategic practice outreach, clinical opportunity blueprint, vision alignment, and more. This is an important characteristic of the business and a major step later on in the process.


Types Of Businesses DDSmatch Sells

Types Of Businesses DDSmatch Sells

This brokerage exclusively serves the dental industry. Dental practices of all backgrounds are welcome to list with or purchase through the brokerage’s website. However, with the unique process used to make a sale, there is no guarantee that it will be a quick sale or a sale at all.

Looking at current active sales, there are plenty of varying options. In Lake Saint Louis, MO, there is an opportunity for a business with $1,860,000 in revenue with a patient count of only 2400. In South Carolina, there is a CP practice in Beaufort for sale with a revenue of $525,000 and a patient count of 1400.

Locations may vary, and also, the opportunity itself, such as a partnership, associateship, or sale of the practice, may also vary. Regardless, each opportunity is uniquely dealing with the dentistry and oral care sector.

Similarly, the locations that this company serves are pretty much across the country, with a few exceptions. The exceptions seem to be sporadic and without real rhyme or reason. For example, Eastern Montana, Southern Nevada, Southern Florida, and Eastern Wisconsin are not covered by the brokerage.


DDSmatch Valuation Process

DDSmatch has its own unique valuation process called Trusted Valuation Analysis. This process consists of a Certified Valuation Analyst looking over your business. The analyst will have dental industry expertise, which means that they are not blindly guessing at your practice’s value. Instead, they actually have some level of understanding of what the industry’s value sets are.

The website further states that the Certified Valuation Analyst only gives outcomes that are reliable and fair, also, only those that are respected by banks. The process is used to find the fair market value of the practice. It is strictly based on the concrete information provided along with the current economy and local market happenings.

The valuation analysts that this company uses are a third party titled Blue & Company, also known as Blue & Co. This company has been in operation since the 1970s and has provided valuations for a large number of businesses. Their certifications include CVA, Certified Valuation Analysts, Accredited Senior Appraiser, and American Society of Appraisers business valuators.


Sales Process for Sellers

sales process

The sale process, like many processes within the brokerage, is unique. Following The Trusted Transition Process, the hope is that a sale will go smoothly for all parties and minimize business disruptions. Within the name are a few steps, all of which help achieve that ultimate goal.

  • Step One: Conceptual Transition Experience – Visualizing a desired future and then shaping goals to lead you there. This is aimed at the long haul and not short-term goals like selling your business. More so, it looks at a decade from now after you’ve already sold your business successfully. Overall, it asks the question – what are you working toward?
  • Step Two: Strategic Practice Outreach – Identifying what makes your business unique and then sharing those findings with the brokerage’s pre-established network.
  • Step Three: Trusted Valuation Analysis – This step includes the valuation process. Your business will be evaluated by a licensed individual familiar with the dental industry. They will slap a price tag on your dental practice that should be honored in negotiations and even at banks.
  • Step Four: Clinical Opportunity Blueprint – Step four utilizes “Practice Booster Clinical Treatment Analyzer” by Dr. Charles Blair to help draft a comprehensive report over 70 pages. This report will include business opportunities for growth and potential for stability based on what your practice has already been witnessing.
  • Step Five: Interview Alignment – Getting into the good, actionable stuff, it’s time to meet your matches. The team of advisors at this company will organize interviews that are thorough and all-inclusive. You will be able to chat with potential buyers and find who works well with you, your staff, and your patients.
  • Step Six: Dental Advisory – This next step is when you’ll involve attorneys, advisors, consultants, and whoever else is on your team to discuss the next steps. If they’re on board, then you can rely on their knowledge and experience to transition successfully.
  • Step Seven: Vision Alignment Completion – The last step is to iron out the details. The brokerage will employ advisors to help facilitate purchase agreements and similar documents to round out the transition of the business.

It’s important to note that the above steps are based on a completely sold business. However, DDSmatch also offers modified options centered around partnerships, future planning, and more.


Buying Process for Buyers

The buying process is similar to the selling process, but most of the attention will be on qualifying you rather than on understanding the business. From the beginning, you will need to be vetted, both financially and on a professional level, but also on a more intimate level.

This is because the brokerage is very concerned with making sure changes are smooth. That requires understanding how each party works and if they will mesh well together. Buyers can expect interviews, both with the team at DDSmatch and any potential sellers.


DDSmatch Success Rates

DDSmatch does not provide any statistics regarding its success rates on its website. Similarly, there is no indication of the average deal profit or other numbers that point to success. Without that information, it is difficult to break down what the brokerage can do purely from a statistical standpoint.


Fees Charged By DDSmatch To Sell A Business

The fees for selling a business via a brokerage can vary but usually range between 10-12% on business up to $1 million. When a business sells for anything more than that, the fee may reduce with each million, or the overall percentage will go down per million because the average of all is still higher than the initial 10% for up to $1 million.


Pros And Cons Of Using DDSmatch

Pros

A Unique Approach

This may be a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it, but overall, the care-driven approach to selling your business seems to be positive. The entire process from start to finish is designed to keep you and your business at the forefront as a seller or make sure you match well with a seller if you are a buyer. It’s an approach that is geared toward making sales but keeping all parties happy.

National Option

Available in most of the country, chances are you can utilize the business for your dental practice transaction. If not, you will still have access to many learning materials on the website that can prepare you for that process regardless of who you end up utilizing for your transaction.

Dedicated Professionals

Though we didn’t touch on all of the professionals on this brokerage’s team, rest assured there are plenty of individuals with varying specialties to assist with your transaction. Most regions have their own dedicated representative, and as a collective, the team is ready to help you make a well-informed decision.

Online Catalog

If you’re interested in simply browsing to scope out the competition, comparative properties, or whatever it may be, all listings are available for the public to access on the brokerage’s website. You’ll be able to check out listing prices, business offerings, and more, which can help you decide if you should sell or make a business move.

Excellent Website

A great website is an integral part of sites like these. When so many moving parts are involved in a single transaction, it’s important for the website that hosts it to be excellent. Luckily, this broker’s website is navigable, simple, and intuitive.

Dental Practice Specific

Many business brokers out there will buy and sell businesses regardless of the specific category they fall into. For them, the sale is a sale. However, there is something unique in having a specialized brokerage. This means that the team is familiar with the dental industry and has an idea of the market versus someone working for a general broker who has no idea about any specific niche.

Cons

Absent Information

It’s important for sites to include all relevant information to their services on their website. In this case, it would be ideal for there to be a fee scale and more information on the founders of the company or information on the origins. All of these aspects could make or break someone choosing to use the broker for their needs.

Conclusion And Verdict

In order to complete this DDSmatch review, it’s important to consider what other people have said about the business. With so many business brokerages out there, it’s important to make sure you choose the one that will make your transaction seamless. One of the first places to find reviews is the brokerage’s website itself. There, you can find numerous testimonials regarding the company’s offerings.

One reviewer said that the brokerage’s knowledge and expertise are second to none. Another praised the company’s diligence and professionalism, something that many other reviewers mention as well. The company is also praised for helping newcomers navigate something that they have no experience in, like owning a dental practice.

Moving on to third-party reviews, there are very few options across the internet. Facebook has no reviews, and neither do popular sites like Yelp or even Google. Without these reviews, the business’ claims of what it has to offer are not backed up. This means prospective buyers or sellers don’t have the social proof to confirm whether DDSmatch is as good as it says it is.

Final Verdict

When it comes to the final verdict of this DDSmatch review and whether we recommend this brokerage for your dental practice needs, our answer is proceeding with caution. Without independent third-party reviews, we don’t know what is true and what is simply being said. On a base level, the brokerage’s offerings sound great, especially the entirely dental-based business plan, but without reviews, it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend this option.



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