Happy Friday everyone! The weather here is beautiful (hopefully it is in your part of the world, too!) and the weekend is upon us, so I’m going to get to the point and get you on your way. Let’s talk about getting you a prospective buyer!
Last week we talked about the importance of frequently and aggressively listing your clinic on all the posting sites. Check it out if you missed it, it’s good stuff. But it’s not the only part of getting a prospect interested in your clinic (if only it were that easy!)
If you want to get maximum exposure for your clinic, here’s what else you’ve got to do:
1. Be everywhere
Have you tried to search for a chiropractic clinic for sale? In today’s streamlined world it’s kind of a joke. All the schools have posting boards, there’s also external posting boards- ultimately you could be on nearly 20 chiropractic listing sites alone. How many doctors are looking at all of them? Some- but I’m sure not all. So in order to get in front of all the eyes possible, you have got to be on all the sites (and at the top of the list on each site, as we mentioned last time, nudge nudge)
2. Keep your information fresh and relevant
It is sad but true, there are clinics for sale that are promoting old information. Sometimes REALLY old information. I’ve seen a clinic, currently listed by a professional broker, for sale with 2011 financial data. Do you think the perception of that doctor’s clinic is that it’s a desirable acquisition opportunity? Doubtful- I’m willing to bet every prospect who sees it figures there is something tragically wrong with it and runs in the opposite direction. Don’t be this clinic, or anything like it. Make sure your listings all feature new and relevant data.
3. Make your clinic stand out in the marketplace
Let’s say that you have a clinic in Chicago and you’re ready to sell. A quick search on planet chiropractic gives us 203 results, some of which are duplicate listings and some of which are not relevant. But that still leaves a lot, and you have a prospective buyer going through each listing and likely clicking on the links to see more… What do they see when they click on your link?
Well, most links from brokers take prospective buyers to a listing page. Your clinic will have a paragraph on this page… And so will all the other clinics the broker represents! In other words, instead of focusing the prospects mind on your clinic and it’s awesomeness, you just got MORE competition!
If you’re our client, they go to a web page solely devoted to your clinic. NO competition with your clinic; Just handpicked images of your clinic, beautiful stock photos of your area, a list of unique selling points that highlight all the awesome reasons your clinic is a great opportunity, and all the relevant financial data potential buyers really want to see (and are annoyed if they have to call to get.) If you have ever looked at clinics for sale then you know that prospective buyers are not seeing anything like this anywhere else. This is how you stand out, the full color visual experience in a sea of black and white print.
Wait, what’s that?!? Did I just hear someone ask ‘What if there are no links in my ad, just a phone number or email for more information?’Well, unfortunately you just lost a BIG opportunity to capitalize on that buyers interest!Instead of delving more deeply into information and pictures of your clinic, they are moving on to the next clinic that is better positioned to capitalize on today’s internet-driven buyers.
4. Make it easier for prospects to find you!
So we’ve talked about your ads of the classifieds boards on schools and such… But where do you think your prospects REALLY want to find you? The same place they find everything else- on their internet search results. This isn’t how this industry currently operates- but we’re working hard to change that, and prospective buyers love it! Our web pages are written to work with search engine algorithms so when prospective buyers search for clinics in our areas, they find our clients!
The other results on those pages? All broker listing pages or classifieds. No other clinic pages show up. Which is a shame; You can bet that a prospective buyers and sellers all wish it was the other way!
But since you know that's how it works- don't you want to use that to your advantage?
You want the best prospective buyers looking at your clinic? Make sure they can find it- and then they can’t take their eyes off of it.
Now- go enjoy your weekend!
Crystal