Dental Consulting and Why many dental practice goals fall short
When considering dental consulting and how important it is to think carefully about how we spell out our goals?
Because, ultimately, even in simply the way they are described and written out provide insight on what we are really looking for in life and can expect from the goal.
Over the years while dental consults, dentists have told me and our program staff their goal, both short term and long term, and-
Here’s a very common example of goal setting:
Short term: Build my practice up so I can sell it.
Long term: Sell my practice.
In this scenario, the doctor really doesn’t want to practice anymore. His primary motivation is to sell it.
I’d tell this doctor to sell it NOW and do what he wants to do NOW. OR Decide what procedures he really and truly LOVES and then market his way to a happier place.
If you don’t like what you are doing now or if what you do now is buying time until you figure out what to do next, you’re not living. In case you haven’t realize it yet, life goes by very quickly so why waste any time beyond what’s truly necessary?
Here’s another bad example:
Short term: Build my practice so I can then hire an associate and then I can do the procedures I enjoy.
Long term: Hire an associate.
If all the systems and regular patient marketing didn’t happen in the past, what would make anyone think that suddenly all that’s going to change and he or she will do what it takes now???
Not happening. Won’t happen.
As long as you don’t live in a heroin needle infested neighborhood, a better idea is to accept the fact that the grass isn’t any greener anywhere else.
Get really good at running the business you ALREADY have….
There is a right way and a wrong way to running a dental practice and if you’ve been practicing a few years or more and haven’t reached your “goals” by now, you aren’t running it right. Period.
You need to take a hard look at:
• how you spend your time/work ethic – inefficient? lazy? late or on time?
• what your services consist of – do patients want/enjoy the process? do you do the procedures you love?
• your price points – are you overly burdened by insurance contracts? do you have the right set-up in place to get the fees you deserve?
• name of your office – does it attract or repel?
• how new patients are “processed” – lack of a check-list way to ethically sell?
• your abilities – are you competent enough?
• your marketing – random or niche focused (FYI: full fee general dentistry is now a niche unto itself and has to be marked as such).
To be honest the vast majority of dental “consulting” isn’t needed. There are plenty who will charge you $50K to hold your hand. Total silliness when you realize that you can invest 10% of that in training for you and your team on how to ethically sell with a check list and immediately pull 10-20% more profit off the table without changing anything else in the practice.
FYI: Most dental practice management issues are leadership issues that go back to the owner. [No you can’t blame your staff since WHO hired them?]
Why not spend your time on fixing your personal issues sans ‘hand-holder,’or a dental consulting person because with my help you just need to build a solid foundation for how you sell your services, devote time training your team in the skills that matter the most so patients like and trust you and therefore value your recommendations, and focus on niche marketing that delivers the cases you desire.
Why not start by taking a look at my #1 top selling book on Amazon. If you really are serious you can check out my website and avoid huge fees some charge for dental consulting
