Selling your veterinary practice is the most important decision of your life, and we are sure that you need a veterinary practice broker to help you sell to the best buyer. Best buyer? We know and understand that, for practice owners, selling is not just a transactional value but holds a lot of emotional value, and you want to ensure that you sell your practice to someone who will take care of the goodwill, staff, and beloved pets. 

Well, we’ve got you covered. We at Transitions Elite take pride in telling you that we are the experts in veterinary practice sales. Our goal is to hold your hand and guide you through every step, from the day you first think about selling to the day you close your practice; we will be right there for you.

We are not just ‘veterinary practice brokers’; we are more than that—we are your advisors. We don’t sell your practice to the first bidder; instead, we ensure there is demand for your practice so that it achieves maximum value.

Before we move ahead, let’s give a brief overview of “What is a Veterinary Practice Broker”

Who is a Veterinary Practice Broker?

A veterinary practice broker is an expert who:

• Assists with the acquisition or sale of veterinary clinics.
• Conducts financial, legal, and market assessments.
• Provides accurate veterinary practice valuations.
• Guides practice owners during the ownership transition phase.

After understanding what a veterinary practice broker does, let us share the story of Dr. David Graeff.

He had previously decided to sell his practice on his own. He spoke with five different companies and went through the process independently, but none of them met his expectations. After he signed up with Transitions Elite, we guided him through the process, gathered all the important information, and marketed his practice to interested companies. He was thrilled with the outcome, as he secured the best deal possible, making the commission he paid to Transitions Elite well worth it—the return on his investment was substantial, and he was grateful he chose to work with us.

In his words, ‘If you’re a practice owner thinking about selling your veterinary practice and believe you can do it on your own, you won’t get the best dollar. The objective of the companies buying your practice is to purchase at the lowest possible price, and they often earn a commission based on this lower sale price. But Tom, our senior Transitions Manager, marketed his practice to multiple companies, creating competition among them. He was confident that he got the best price and a buyer who genuinely cared for his legacy and team.

Full Story –

Well, we have several similar success stories to show you why we are the best veterinary practice brokers for your clinic. You can learn more here. Now, let’s keep things moving and explore the qualities you should consider when hiring or shortlisting the top veterinary practice brokers for your clinic

Veterinary practice brokers act as an intermediary and manage the process for you. Everything from how to retain clients and hand over the staff to the successful sale of the practice. Their specialization is paramount in determining the value of the specialized equipment used and the goodwill that was built by the practice over the years. 

This guide will help determine your next steps in the subsequent assessment of the best veterinary practice broker. Consequently, by the end of this guide, you will be able to find reputable veterinary practice brokers versus general business brokers. Such insights will go a long way in making the process easy.

Identifying Potential Veterinary Practice Brokers

Specialization in Veterinary Practices

Along with domain expertise, experience is key to selling your practice. To ensure you get the best of both worlds, it’s best to narrow down potential candidates to those who specifically specializes in veterinary practices. Why? Specialists will have a deeper understanding of the veterinary niche and won’t overlook any critical aspects of the veterinary industry, unlike a traditional commercial broker.

For instance, veterinary practice brokers have a stronger grasp of how to conduct a veterinary clinic’s business valuation to arrive at an accurate estimate. This includes specific considerations like calculating the value of medical equipment and goodwill, which may not apply to general businesses. Another significant advantage is their network within the veterinary industry. This includes connections with veterinarians, clinics, corporate buyers, and independent buyers with similar interests. Such networks can expand the pool of potential buyers or sellers for your practice, thereby increasing competition and ensuring it’s valued more precisely

Their expertise assists them in filtering the important elements such as: 

• Valuation of medical equipment and facilities: Veterinary practice brokers specialize in the importance and valuation of medical equipment relevant to your practice. 

• Assessment of client bases and revenue streams:
  Besides the number of clients a practice has, the brokers determine the quality and retention indexes of the clients, which are critical elements in practice valuation. 
• Understanding regulatory requirements:
  Regulatory compliance is usually a relatively broad and more specialized area where veterinary brokers are knowledgeable. 
• Knowledge of market trends:
  Certain trends that are specific to the veterinary sector can determine the valuation and selling of practices and at times a general broker would not know about such issues.

A veterinary broker does not only help you sell or purchase a practice but also streamlines the process for you and increases the chances of a successful outcome.

Research and Recommendation

There are many ways you can find top veterinary practice brokers and here’s the list 

Look for Them Online:
Search through the web, go through business directories, and vet through broker’s websites to look for vet brokers. Searching for “veterinary practice brokers” is a simple way to get started.

Professional Networks: 

Consult with other professionals in the veterinary field for recommendations. Also, other veterinary associations and organizations you belong to can greatly help. Often, colleagues who have been through the buying or selling process know the reliable brokers and can give firsthand information about the brokers they have used.

Veterinary Trade shows & conferences:

In our recent blog post, we discussed the importance of conferences for practice owners looking to grow and network with other veterinarians. Similarly, if you’re considering selling your practice, many veterinary practice brokers attend conferences and trade shows. These events can be invaluable for you; you get to meet brokers in person, ask your questions, and observe how they respond. Remember how Dr. Greff found us? We met him at a conference several years ago before he decided to sell his practice, and we have similar stories of meeting with practice owners at conferences, and addressing their questions and concerns on the spot.

Just last month, we met Dr. Diana, who wants to retire in three years. She initially thought that selling her practice would mean leaving immediately, but we helped her understand that most buyers want the current owner to stay on for a few years to ensure a smooth transition. We also met Dr. Michael, who was concerned about his staff’s future if he sold the practice. We reassured him that most companies value the clinic’s goodwill, team, and culture, so the staff would remain as part of the practice’s assets.

We encounter many similar questions at various conferences, so if you have any of your own, don’t hesitate to reach out to us, or if you simply want to learn about the upcoming veterinary conferences in 2025 here’s the link. 

Industry publications: 

You can easily find top veterinary brokers in industry publications, as they often advertise or are featured by organizations highlighting the best brokers based on success stories. Spend some time creating a shortlist of candidates, and it’s always beneficial to speak with different brokers to understand their process and gauge their skill and confidence in selling a practice like yours. Always ask for references, and if possible, speak with one of their previous clients who has sold through them. This will not only help you find the best broker for your practice but also give you peace of mind that you are in trusted hands.

At Transitions Elite, we take pride in our transparent process. We don’t charge any fees until your practice is sold, and you’re welcome to speak with one of our existing clients to learn more. Want to understand how everything works? Just book a free practice clarity call with Tom, and he will explain everything in detail

Evaluating & Selecting a Veterinarian Practice Broker

Education and Experience

When you have a list of possible veterinary practice brokers, determining their experience and the record of their accomplishments stands out as the very important phase of your decision. For example, knowledge of what types of vet practices a broker has sold in the past can be very useful in this type of transaction as it sheds light on their ability to work through deals of varying degrees of complexity and size.

Brokers who deal in veterinary practice sales have had countless experiences, most difficult ones involve dealing with tricky negotiations or with regulatory hurdles. Overcoming these issues is extremely important for them to assist you in making successful transactions, key points to consider: 

• Years of experience: Ideally, brokers should have prior experience with assisting many transactions because it helps them know the ins and outs of the business.
• Number of deals: Once again, the number of sales that a broker has made can be a good prediction of how likely he or she is to make further sales in the future.
• Type and scale: If it is possible, try to find out if the broker has handled practices similar to yours in terms of size, type of specialty or even location. This can assist in determining whether they have the appropriate knowledge.
• Closing time: Yes, it varies from market to market but the average closing time of brokers who have performed well in the past does tend to be much lesser in comparison to other brokers.
• From listing to sales price: An important deciding factor is how close they are able to get to the listing price. A good broker would work to get the best possible terms in the sale without overpricing your practice.

While assessing brokers, ask them for their deals in the past similar to yours. Case studies can be particularly helpful in ascertaining the capability of the broker to deal with your situation.

Veterinary Practice Brokers’ Services 

Once prospective practice buyers and sellers have an agreement in place it is usually a veterinary practice broker that assists with the rest of the transaction. However, it would be unwise to assume that their work only commences when the deal is going to be signed and finalized. The best veterinary practice brokers offer a wide array of services that can add quite a bit of value to big transactions such as this one. Among some of the key services offered, there are the following. 

• Accurate Business Assessments: Knowing whether or not your sales broker can give precise estimates of the sales worth of your practice which relies on the clientele outreach, revenue, specialized assets, and market conditions worldwide. 
• Effective marketing: There should be a comprehensive marketing strategy utilizing multiple communication channels with clear deadlines in place to increase motivation and buy-in from potential buyers.
• Pre-sale buyer/seller qualification: Make sure that a potential buyer or seller is legitimate, serious, and financially capable of paying the purchase price and prepared to sell as the sole owner.
• Negotiation: A properly qualified broker will be able to represent you to ensure that you get the benefits you intended at the outset. 
• Financing consultation: Brokers often have connections to lenders who are familiar with the veterinary industry.
• Due Diligence management: Look for a vet practice sales broker who you trust to conduct due diligence before decisions are made.
• Transaction management:The broker will be the one supervising everything from the initial listing or search up to the clearing of escrow.

Working with a broker assures you that someone very familiar with your industry and the same/purchase process is in your corner.

Testimonials and Reviews

Through their client reviews and testimonials, you can know how well a broker communicates, how professional they are, and how well they perform their duties. Here are some of the tips one can use in reviewing clients:

Broker’s website testimonials:
Brokers will list some of their client testimonials on their websites. Though these can be somewhat useful, they are more of a marketing tool to enhance the image of the broker.

Examples

Dr. Mallory • MIDWEST (RURAL) USA • 3 Dr.’s

This practice owner was with Transitions Elite from the beginning of their selling process. They were hoping for $5 million, but since they were very eager to sell they were willing to go as low as $4 million.

We implemented our proprietary Elite Selling System™, which produced three offers: $4.5 million, $8 million and we finally closed on $12.5 million (over 3 times what the client was originally thinking of accepting!).

Dr. Williams • EAST COAST (URBAN) • 5.5 Dr.’s

This owner was with Transitions Elite from the start of their selling process. In just under 120 days (4 months), we had negotiated 5 offers with a huge range, offers between $12.5 million all the way up to $22 million.

The client accepted the second-highest offer ($20.8 million) because the Transitions Elite team was able to secure the best terms with this particular buyer, but an offer range of almost $10 million shows how critical it is to use the best broker/ representative!

 Learn more – Transitionselite.com

• Independent reviews:
  Seek out reviews on reputable third-party sites or forums within the industry, where feedback is unbiased and more balanced.

• Feedback trends:
  If several clients refer to a similar strength or weakness of the broker, take note. Feedback from the clients can inform you of the trends of doing business with that broker.

• Request references:
  Ask brokers to provide you with contacts of their previous clients who can offer you first-hand comments about their experiences. Speaking to someone who has worked with the broker on a similar transaction can give you a more complete picture of the broker. 

Finding the Right Vet Business Seller Representation And Broker

Before choosing a veterinary practice broker, it is wise to first meet with several of your preferred brokers and those with the best proposals.

These meetings give you enough time to explain what you want in detail and whether the broker will be suitable for you. Among the significant questions to be asked in the course of these meetings include:

• Explain your process of selling/buying a veterinary practice.

• How do you intend to advertise my practice or source the right practice for me to buy?

• How are your fees structured?

• How has your experience with practices of my specialty and size?

• How do you conduct negotiations?

Brokers need to be communicative, answer those bothering questions quickly, and provide updates on the advancement/process regularly.

Key Takeaways

There are many things to think about while choosing a veterinary practice broker and that is why it’s important to do your due diligence while looking for one. Create a shortlist of brokers based on what we have covered, including their experience, service, and reviews, so you can make an educated selection leading you to success. 

A seemingly simple transaction, for example, between friends or family, can turn into a complicated situation rather quickly. Hire a broker if you are dealing with a stranger or your dad—everything will go much smoother.

Why Transitions Elite is the Perfect fit for Your organization?

We’re top advisors for veterinary practice owners, helping clients secure the highest sale prices. For practices with $2M+ in revenue and teams of 3+ doctors, our Elite Selling Process™ guarantees the highest price and best terms.

Founded by Dr. Warren, who recognized the gap between savvy buyers and first-time sellers, Transitions Elite combines his expertise with a team of seasoned professionals, managing every step of the process. Our innovative approach delivers exceptional results for our clients.

If selling is on your mind, let’s connect. We’ll give you insight into the buyer landscape and help you strategize for the perfect fit. Make one of your biggest transactions an incredible experience—together. Fill out the form below to book a free valuation session.