10 Tips for Selling Your Addiction Treatment Center

If you own an addiction treatment in the USA and are thinking of selling, you might consider hiring a consultant to assist with the process. A consultant can give you advice on the steps required and expected timeline. They can also help you with the complex administrative demands that you will be required to complete in a timely manner. Here we provide some preparation advice on 10 areas of the process:

1. 1. Keep your plans to yourself (or in an inner circle) initially: You should make every effort to avoid disruptions to your addiction treatment center operation. You also need to avoid Staff or clients feeling ‘insecure’? The timing of the sale should also be considered to have the new ownership begin as smoothly as can be expected.
   2. Know you Market: You will need to have a realistic idea of the true value of your business. Research your competitors (include all levels of care) in your geographical area. Gain knowledge of the current trends and the demand for your center’s specific areas of specialization. Prepare an analysis that can be presented to potential buyers.
   3. Optimal Appeal: To maximize your selling price and increase the chances of selling it is wise to appeal to a range of potential buyers. Perhaps you can consider adding additional levels of care to complement your existing levels of care. Adding new treatments will help expand your ‘target clients’.
   4. Boost Your Marketing Efforts: Buyers will be more impressed with a business that projects a strong Brand image. Add additional content and additional links as soon as you can. It is always helpful to edit existing content and keep it up to date and relevant. Google loves to see changes to an existing website. It shows that the owners care about what they are publishing.
   5. All About The Money: Buyers will have a keen eye on the financial health or your Treatment Center. Your financial records must be organized and up to date and most importantly, accurate.
   6. Prepare The Paperwork: Gather all documentation that relates to the business so that you are ready for the Due Diligence process which will come later. All of the legal documents, licenses, financial documentation (3 years if possible), contracts and permits that are required to legally operate your treatment center will be reviewed by potential buyers.
   7. Take Credit: Highlight the accomplishments of your business. Show any business accreditations and certifications that have been awarded to your treatment center eg. JCAHO, LegitScript, CARF certification. Buyers will take you more seriously and see the value in your business.
   8. Your People: As a service provider in the addiction recovery field, your staff are a key asset. Shed light on their skills, certifications, licenses, experience and compassion. Show how the culture of your organization encourages the client’s recovery process.
   9. Proof Of Positive Outcomes: Buyers would like to know that the treatment center is achieving what it sets out to do. Are you tracking the success rate of your treatment programs? If you can, present statistics to prove positive patient outcomes.
   10. Be Compliant: During the Due Diligence portion of the sale your entire business practice will be under scrutiny. To reduce the chance of any last minute issues, hire a legal professional to review your Treatment Centers process, procedures, Certifications and other documentation ahead of time. They will know if your business is compliant and legal. Having this documented at selling time will make the treatment center a more attractive investment opportunity to potential buyers.

In addition to seeking guidance in the Legal preparations for a sale, we recommend that you have a financial audit before you bring the Business to market. Hiring professionals experienced in the financial and business aspects of a merger or acquisition should provide you with a higher valuation than if you were to try to do it yourself. These professionals can help show your treatment center in its best light and increase the appeal to buyers.

Jim Peake

Jim Peake – Jim has over 30 years of direct response advertising marketing experience. He was the catalyst for putting the Internet in the front page of every newspaper around the world for the first time with the chess event Grandmaster Garry Kasparov vs. IBM’s Deep Blue super computer in the mid 1990’s. Jim’s main area of focus today is helping drug and alcohol treatment centers market their businesses in a hyper competitive market.

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