Essential Takeaways
- Transaction volume reflects how deeply a broker is embedded in the real, current veterinary practice sales market.
- Brokers closing only a few deals per year lack a statistically meaningful basis for valuation and deal guidance.
- Market share influences buyer behavior, especially if negotiations become difficult post-LOI.
- Greater transaction volume expands the buyer universe and improves both pricing and deal terms.
- Consistent deal flow over time signals stability, experience, and negotiating credibility.
When veterinarians begin evaluating brokers, one data point often gets mentioned—but not always understood: transaction volume.
Some firms prominently highlight how many practices they’ve sold in a given year. Others barely mention it at all. That raises a fair question for a practice owner:
Is this just marketing—or does the number of transactions a broker closes actually matter to my outcome?
At Ackerman Group, we supported 50 U.S. practice sales in 2025, 38 in 2024, and 43 in 2023. That level of consistency isn’t about ego. It reflects something far more important: how deeply an advisor is embedded in the real, current veterinary practice sales market.
Here’s why that matters to you.
Transaction Volume Creates Real Market Insight
Veterinary practice sales are not governed by fixed formulas. They are shaped by:
- Buyer preferences that evolve year to year
- Economic conditions that change quarter to quarter
- Deal terms that are negotiated—not standardized
The more transactions a broker closes annually, the more exposure they have to these shifts as they’re happening.
For example, one buyer may have never been known to do joint-ventures and then make an exception for a practice, dipping their toe in the water of a new deal structure. A broker actively closing dozens of deals sees these shifts or patterns repeatedly—not occasionally—and are able to better advise clients on which buyers could be the right fit for them and their practices at any moment in time.
That depth of exposure allows an advisor to:
- Bring the right buyers to the table for a given practice
- Anticipate which deal terms are realistic—and which are not
- Negotiate from experience rather than assumption
Market Share Changes Buyer Behavior
Transaction volume doesn’t just inform strategy—it affects leverage.
A broker with meaningful market share is important to buyers who are trying to hit their own acquisition goals. When that broker brings opportunities to market, buyers pay attention—and they work harder to preserve the relationship as it can be an important source of their own future growth.
This becomes especially important after a Letter of Intent (LOI) is signed.
Before an LOI, a seller has leverage through competition. After signing, the seller enters an exclusivity period, and leverage naturally shifts toward the buyer. If performance softens or diligence uncovers issues, some buyers attempt to renegotiate terms—a process known as a re-trade.
When a broker is a critical source of future deal flow for a buyer, frivolous or aggressive re-trades are far less likely. Destroying the relationship with the broker could harm their future. And when re-trades are justified, the broker’s standing in the market materially improves the client’s ability to negotiate fair outcomes.
Volume Expands the Buyer Universe—And Improves Terms
In 2025 alone, Ackerman Group sold hospitals to 15 different buyers and received proposals from 26 distinct buyer groups.
That breadth matters.
Many brokerage firms do not close fifteen deals in a full year—meaning they simply don’t work regularly with the full universe of active buyers. Limited exposure leads to:
- Narrow buyer outreach
- Missed competitive tension
- Less informed negotiations on structure and terms
Transaction volume isn’t just about price. It directly impacts who shows up, how they engage, and what options a seller ultimately has.
Consistency and Longevity Signal Stability
Finally, transaction volume over time signals something else buyers and sellers both care about: stability.
Ackerman Group has operated continuously in the veterinary advisory space since 2017. Over that time, consistent deal flow has allowed the firm to:
- Build a specialized, experienced team with a strong reputation for working efficiently with buyers
- Maintain institutional knowledge across multiple market cycles—the highs and the lows of the practice sales market
- Establish credibility with not only buyers, but also lawyers, tax experts, and other important advisors for the independent owner community
By contrast, many newer entrants have only operated for a few years and lack the depth of experience that comes from navigating multiple market environments.
Why This Matters to You
Selling a veterinary practice is often a once-in-a-career event. The advisor you choose influences not just the valuation discussion—but buyer behavior, negotiation leverage, deal certainty, and long-term outcomes.
Transaction volume is not about bragging rights. It’s about evidence—and the confidence that your advisor’s guidance is grounded in what is actually happening in the market today.
Reality Check: Market Coverage Isn’t Assumed—It’s Earned
During a conversation with a mid-sized, regional buyer, we casually referenced another brokerage firm—one often described as among the larger players in the space.
The buyer stopped the conversation to ask who the firm was. They had never heard of them.
Just as telling, that broker was equally unfamiliar with the buyer—despite the buyer being active, acquisitive, and well-capitalized. The reason was simple: they operated in different regions, and their paths had never meaningfully crossed.
In contrast, when new veterinary buyers enter the market, they almost always introduce themselves to Ackerman Group early. They explain their acquisition criteria, preferred practice profiles, and growth plans—because they know we see more opportunities, more often, than anyone else.
That level of mutual awareness doesn’t come from branding or geography. It comes from consistent transaction volume and sustained market presence—and it directly affects how many qualified buyers are brought into a client’s sale process.
Written by:
Win Lippincott works with veterinary practice owners on the decisions that shape their practices—both today and down the road. Much of his work involves helping owners strengthen performance, improve decision-making, and build healthier, more valuable businesses long before a sale is even considered.
When owners do begin thinking about a transition, Win helps them understand valuation, buyer behavior, and what actually matters in a sale process. His perspective comes from working side by side with owners and seeing how practices evolve over time, not just from observing transactions at the finish line.
He writes to make complex topics easier to understand, so owners can focus on running better practices now and making confident, informed decisions when the time comes. You can find him presenting on stage or walking the floor at VMX, WVC, AAHA Con, Insightful.vet, etc.
Win welcomes thoughtful questions and conversations—connect on LinkedIn or reach out through the Ackerman Group contact page.