Choosing a mental health practice broker or M&A advisor means choosing who will help you make one of your most consequential business decisions. The right conversation should cover more than a proposed asking price. You need to understand the advisor’s experience, working process, incentives, and ability to navigate the details of a therapy practice sale.
The engagement should define support for valuation, preparation, buyer identification, outreach, proposal comparison, negotiation, and transaction coordination. The exact scope varies, so ask for the responsibilities in writing. Marketing a practice and managing a complex healthcare transaction are not identical assignments.
Owners often use “broker” as a search term when evaluating representation. Olympic M&A describes its role as an advisor to business owners. Whichever title a firm uses, assess the work it will perform and the team that will perform it. You will also need appropriate legal and tax expertise.
Ask about transactions involving outpatient therapy, clinician-led service businesses, and similar ownership structures. Request examples of issues the advisor has managed: founder replacement costs, payer participation, clinician continuity, and the distinction between patient demand and collectible revenue.
An advisor should explain relevant experience without disclosing another client’s confidential information. References and anonymized descriptions can help. Avoid assuming that a large healthcare transaction list automatically means familiarity with the operating details of your practice.
Identify the lead advisor, the day-to-day contact, and who will handle financial analysis and buyer conversations. Ask how often you will meet and how decisions will be documented. You should understand whether the person presenting the proposal will remain involved during difficult negotiations.
Ask about capacity as well as credentials. If several processes reach diligence at once, who handles the requests and deadlines? A clear communication plan can help prevent the founder from becoming the default project manager for every advisor and buyer involved.
Provide a high-level operating picture and ask which information the advisor needs before forming a range. A careful answer should address earnings quality, owner duties, clinician continuity, payer economics, and likely buyer fit. A confident number without those questions deserves scrutiny.
Request an explanation of the comparable evidence and its limits. Ask how contingent payments and rollover are treated when comparing transactions. The guide to therapy practice sale multiples can help you distinguish useful analysis from an attractive but unsupported valuation pitch.
A buyer list should reflect your practice, not simply contain recognizable company names. Ask how the advisor qualifies current acquisition criteria, funding, geography, service preferences, and leadership expectations. Discuss whether a clinician succession or regional combination could be relevant alongside institutional options.
Then ask how buyers will be approached and compared. A broad mailing is not automatically a thoughtful process. You need appropriate coverage, controlled disclosure, and a way to compare proposals using consistent assumptions. See the therapy practice buyers guide for the questions the advisor should help you answer.
Ask what information appears in the initial summary, when the practice name is released, who signs the NDA, and how document access is controlled. Confirm how the advisor avoids revealing identity through an unusually specific location or specialty description.
Healthcare information requires more than ordinary deal confidentiality. An NDA is not a substitute for a lawful disclosure basis. HHS: Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule explains the HIPAA framework. Your advisor should coordinate with counsel and compliance professionals rather than requesting unrestricted patient records for marketing or initial valuation.
Review the engagement letter with counsel. Clarify retainers, success fees, expense reimbursement, minimum fees, exclusivity, termination rights, and any tail period during which a later transaction could trigger payment. Understand when fees become payable and how contingent or noncash consideration affects the calculation.
Ask whether the advisor receives compensation from any other party and how potential conflicts are disclosed and managed. An owner should be able to understand incentives before signing. Do not infer a firm’s fee model from an industry label or an informal conversation.
Request an example of the process used when diligence challenges the earnings base, a key employee departs, or a buyer changes terms. You are evaluating judgment and communication, not asking for confidential client details. Look for an explanation of alternatives and how the owner was kept informed.
Also ask how the advisor works with your lawyer and accountant. The advisor should help keep the commercial process coherent while specialists address their own areas. Confusion over who owns an issue can waste time and leave important decisions unresolved.
Describe the outcomes that matter beyond price: retirement timing, continued treatment work, leadership authority, staff continuity, or a gradual transition. Ask how those priorities would change the buyer search and proposal comparison. A tailored response should acknowledge tradeoffs.
Listen for pressure to sell before the practice is ready or promises that every goal can be achieved simultaneously. A useful advisor should be willing to explain why waiting, preparing, or declining a proposal may serve you better than proceeding immediately.
Give prospective advisors the same nonconfidential summary of the practice and your objectives. Ask each to respond on scope, team, preparation needs, likely buyer categories, communication, and fees. Consistent inputs make the proposals easier to compare.
Keep valuation expectations separate from the selection decision until the assumptions have been tested. Choosing the firm that suggests the highest price can be costly if the analysis will not survive diligence. A grounded process is more useful than a number that simply wins the engagement.
Olympic M&A works with founder-led healthcare businesses, including therapy groups within its behavioral health practice. Tony Siebel’s background includes healthcare corporate development and practice acquisitions. Owners can use an initial conversation to assess fit, preparation needs, and next steps.
If you are selecting a mental health practice broker, bring the questions above and request a clear engagement scope. Review how to sell a mental health practice to understand the work ahead. Representation should help you make informed decisions, not replace your understanding of the transaction.
Start with your numbers using the behavioral health business valuation calculator, then request a confidential consultation to discuss your practice and goals.
Tony Siebel is the Founder and Managing Director of Olympic M&A, a boutique healthcare M&A advisory firm supporting founder-led businesses. His background includes corporate development and independent practice acquisitions at MDVIP, along with experience in behavioral health transactions.
Tony has advised on $100M+ in completed healthcare M&A transactions and was named a Top 50 M&A Advisor in 2025. Through Olympic M&A, he helps owners evaluate their options, prepare for buyer conversations, and navigate the terms and transition of a sale.