“Live sensibly in the present, carefully plan the future by flexibly adapting to changing circumstances, and accept the past. Reveal your integrity by laughing at yourself, admitting your mistakes, learning constantly,and cheerfullydoing the thingsahead that arewithin your power.”
—The 7 Habits ofHighly Effective People
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Recently I have received calls from several offices saying
production is down and they don’t know what to do about
it. It’s easy to say, “It’s the economy. It’s dental insurance.
It’s the doctor’s fault. It’s the hygiene department’s fault. It’s
our lack of new patients.” And on and on and on…Blaming
outside forces or other people may help you feel more like a
victim and take some of the pressure off of you, but does it
help improve the situation? Absolutely not!!
Accepting the things you cannot change and changing
those things you do have control over is a much more
effective business strategy. Here are some tips to create
food for thought in your practice:
• Call
to ask me about the “broken tooth dance”.
• so that everyone on the team
knows what the target is.
• This sets the stage for teamwork to make
it happen. No one person is as smart as all of you together.
When your goal has not been reached for the day, it’s time for
creative thinking to kick in. Keep in mind, you’re not looking
to “sell” dentistry that is unnecessary, just work smarter with
the patients you have who do need and / or want treatment.
• Encourage patients to have the treatment
done today while they are here to save time and prevent
possible emergency situations. You may need to do a little
schedule juggling to make this workable.
• Be sure
to have financial arrangements made prior to treatment
because, as you know, production means little without being
able to collect the payment.
• Don’t forget to take photographs to complete a “Smile
Analysis” with the patient or imaging, if you have the capacity.
• Many patients are not satisfied with their
smile, yet don’t know what is available to improve it, or even more
important, how quick, painless and affordable a smile makeover
is. Photography, before and after albums, the Casey system, wall
art and BECDEN’s consumer website (www.becdendental.com)
are helpful in creating awareness and enthusiasm about cosmetic
dentistry. Baby Boomers have more discretionary income than
any previous generation and they are spending.
• Again, patients often don’t know
what’s available and how affordable it can be. Have numerous
financing options available to accommodate your patients. Call
me for narratives to include with insurance submissions.
• It really
is the best treatment since all restorations when fabricated by
the same technician will provide better contacts and occlusal
and shade continuity, require fewer visits which means fewer
injections and impressions, as well as less time away from work.
• Have the charts
in front of you when you make the call and refer to either
incomplete treatment or follow-up on recently completed
treatment. Use the words, “The doctor was reviewing your
record and asked me to give you a call” to create more value
than “it’s time for your check-up”.
• Your patients may not be aware that you
accept new patients and when asked, will try to think of
someone to refer to you.
• Look for opportunities to talk
to people about what you do by attending group meetings.
Preparing a short presentation on Cosmetic Dentistry at
a Chamber or similar meeting can generate interest from
patients who already want what you have to offer.
• Copy success. Look back at your appointment book during
times when your production was high and analyze what you
were doing differently than you are today. Whatever you
discover—do it again!
Developing your business requires working smarter, not necessary harder.
Remember my favorite phrase, “If you continue to do what you’ve always
done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always gotten!” Please call if
you would like to discuss your practice on an individual basis.
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131 E. 13065 S.
Draper, UT 84020 |
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888-344-9991 toll-free
801-576-9991 phone |
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The editor of this newsletter is Emily Webb of Becden Dental Laboratory, Inc. Please send any questions or comments about this newsletter, or suggestions for articles to: emilyw@becdendental.com
©2007 BECDEN Dental Laboratory, Inc. |
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