How is it that whilst 80% of dental practices in the UK are going backwards (or at best, treading water, maintaining turnover but with falling patient numbers and falling profits), 20% of dental practices are growing their turnover, patient numbers and profits?
What’s their secret?
Well, in our experience of working with many of the 20% of UK practices that are growing, it’s clear they share five common strategies which are responsible for their success:
Here they are:
1. The Principals have an “Entrepreneurial Attitude”. They:
- Are passionate about their business
- Are always energetic
- Are relentlessly positive
- Do what they say they will do and have fast follow through
- Turn up on time
- Are willing to try new ideas and assess whether they work in their business
- Are always courteous
- Communicate well with the folk around them
2. They have a carefully considered Business Plan, which they are implementing, daily, weekly, monthly, making progress every day.
- They are chasing new opportunities
- They get help. They make time to think and meet with their coaches, consultants and mentors.
- When they hit a road block , they find a way around it or change their plan.
- They meet with their management team on a regular basis to assess their progress against their Business Plan.
- They take time to refresh their Business Plan every year on a Planning Retreat.
3. They know which Important Numbers to watch and they watch them. They have created a dashboard that monitors their practice daily/weekly/monthy. The numbers they monitor (against a forecast) will include:
- Daily gross by fee earner
- Profitability and contribution to profitability by fee earner
- New Leads
- Lead conversion into Patients (as a %)
- Treatment plan take up (as a %)
- Average first treatment value by dentist in £
- Average returning treatment value by dentist in £
4. They have recruited an Energised Clinical Team and an Enthusiastic Support Team who are willing to be managed and accountable to aManagement Team.
- The whole team are aware of the Business Plan and their part in making it happen
- The clinicians are well rewarded in proportion to the fees they gross
- The clinicians run the practice agenda, not their own
- The support team are well paid for their performance, (not just for turning up)
- The support team are motivated to develop their skills
5. They have Marketing That Works and a Structured Sales Process.
- They understand exactly what their practice is selling.
- They understand exactly what their competition is selling and where they sit in relation to their competitive set.
- They know exactly what sort of clients they are trying to attract.
- They have built and are implementing a Marketing Plan and understand that marketing is an investment and they will receive a return on their investment.
- They know their marketing numbers (including those in number 3 above) the cost of acquiring a patient and the long term value of that patient.
- Their receptionists are highly skilled at selling new patient appointments.
- Their Clinicians are skilled communicators. They present whole treatment plans and have 80% of their patients say yes to them.
It’s a compelling formula, and it requires tenacity to implement, but, for sure, it works!
Why don’t you try it? What’s stopping you?
If you would like to turn your practice around quickly, then:
Call me on my direct line, 07770 430576 to arrange a free coaching conversation
Or email me direct on simon@nowbreathe.co.uk
With all good wishes
Simon