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Activate Practice Pro-action
versus
Panic Reaction
Since the recession of 2008, it has been easy to slip into “panic mode” for many orthodontic teams. We went from a surplus of new patients to a roller coaster of external ups and downs that no one could control. We have
experienced high unemployment, bail outs, fiscal cliffs, loss of benefits, and uncertainty overall in our economy. Dental referrals have declined and many dentists have thrown their hat in the ring by doing various types of
orthodontic treatment and/or hiring their own orthodontist.
As the external factors change (which in time they always do) you must proactively change to continue to succeed. If you do nothing, sit back and panic, the results are dismal. As the great Napoleon Hill stated, “Out of
adversity comes a seed of greatness. It makes us stronger.” To succeed today, you must be proactive. A doctor cannot afford to sit back and say, “I’m not a good manager.” You must surround yourself with a talented team and be willing to take action. No one can afford to put their practice on cruise control in a competitive market. The key question is, “how can you keep your practice ahead of the pack?”
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The following are twelve key questions to ask yourself and honestly assess where you need to focus.
1. How would you rate yourself as a
leader?
There is no such thing as putting a successful orthodontic practice on auto-pilot. You must have a leader who shares their vision, sets goals, and leads their team to success. You cannot afford to say, “I am not a good
manager.” The leader must work hard to provide the team with a framework to follow. They must coach them when they are off track and encourage them when they are on target. Superb leaders understand the power of
communication and what it takes to earn the respect and loyalty of a team. The leader’s way is to set the example. They must be the sharpest and hardest working person on the team. In Jon Meacham’s new book, “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” he states that the greatest leaders in history were number one honest, courageous, patient, determined, wise, and persuasive.
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2. Have you built your team as external
experts?
The orthodontist cannot be all things to all people. Henry Ford was famous for letting it be known that he was not a genius at everything; however, he could push a button and quickly have a person who was an expertise in an area in short order to give him input on a variety of different subjects. The orthodontist needs to surround themselves with experts in the fields of finance, accounting, law, practice management consulting, human resources, and marketing. The proactive orthodontist knows that investing in a highly respected team of external experts can expedite their success and prevent costly mistakes. I highly recommend Dr. Machen’s book, “Managing Risk in the Orthodontic Practice.” It is a must read.
3. Have you developed a strong internal
team of experts?
A good question to ask yourself is, “do you have any people on the team that you would not rehire?” In today’s competitive market an orthodontist cannot afford to have people on their team who have the attitude of “just give me my paycheck and let me out of here.” The consumer has very high
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expect excellent customer service. In order to build an internal team of experts you must develop an excellent hiring skills and training programs in place. I have helped many orthodontic teams develop an excellent hiring protocol. The team members should be accountable to the doctor or the office manager for their areas of responsibility. Systems must be in place to assure duties are not falling through the cracks. I recommend each team builds their own set of video clips and creates a video library staff. Nobody wants to read long manuals anymore. It is essential to bring your training into the digital world. Human resources have come to the forefront. I find that the human resources systems have been neglected in many practices. We cannot afford to waste time by not having excellent protocols for the human resources in the practice. A proactive orthodontist relies on experts to help them develop effective protocols.
4. Are you and your team excited about
embracing technology?
If you have people on the team who are not interested in developing their computer skills, it will prove to be a drawback to being proactive.
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5. Is your current location enhancing or
detracting from the success of your
practice?
No marketing plan will overcome a bad location. In addition I have had several clients open up satellite offices this year due to the fact that the
demographics in their area would not support the production that they would like to achieve. Some areas are super saturated with a high number of
orthodontists in a particular area. I am a big believer in utilizing external experts who can help you analyze the demographics of your area. For example, the median family income of that area should be at least $45,000. Being proactive means you may be willing to relocate or you may need to invest in a second office location.
6. Have you been diligent in investing
back in your practice?
A doctor who has a successful practice can potentially become
comfortable with your financial returns in your practice. This can lead to the feeling that you do not need to reinvest in the practice and that the practice is on auto-pilot. An out dated image, over a period of time, leads to a loss of referrals and a decrease in the new patient numbers. Patients and parents do
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not know how to assess the quality of the orthodontic treatment in many cases. They equate the quality of the practice with the image of the practice. In today’s market if you are located in a competitive area it is impossible to market your practice without having a cutting edge image. Image brings them to the door and quality is what keeps them there. Unfortunately, there have been many orthodontists who were excellent clinicians who had an outdated image who struggled for many years with their profitability. In today’s
market you must invest in a top notch website, facility, equipment, staff, and external image. The appearance of your website and your facility need to be updated at least every 5-7 years. If an orthodontist is looking to sell their practice it is also a deterrent to the sale if the practice appears to out dated.
7. How would you assess your new
patient process?
Ideally you should have 20% or less of your patients going into a
pending status. Your exam-to-start ratio should be 65% or higher (number of starts divided by number of exams). You should be receiving compliments on your new patient coordinator. You should also be fully aware of the results-of-exams on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Ideally you should track the amount of production presented and the amount of production accepted. I
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have assessed the new patient process in hundreds of office over the years and have also conducted new patient coordinator workshops to hundreds of attendees. In order to assure you are maximizing your case acceptance it is essential evaluate your entire new patient process. With expert coaching I have helped hundreds of doctors instantly increase their case acceptance by 5 – 30%. Even a 5% increase in new case acceptance would add a significant amount to your bottom line. This is an area of the practice you cannot afford not to have working as a well oiled machine. I also recommend sending an email survey to the new patients immediately after the visit so the doctor can receive first hand information about the new patient experience in their practice. It is essential we get the doctor into the exam room on schedule. People count up the faults of those who keep them waiting. A proactive practice knows that this is an area that must be top notch in every aspect. 8. Are you consistently hearing compliments about your practice from patients and parents?
If you are not hearing compliments about your patient care, facility, staff attire, orthodontic results, office atmosphere, and the caring attitude of your team, you have some work to do. Outstanding practices receive unsolicited compliments every week. If you are not hearing those compliments you are
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not there yet. I get a lot of questions about what attire should the front desk team and the clinical team wear. I always come back with the questions, “Are you receiving compliments?” If you are not, you are not there yet and the attire needs focus. Ideally you should have a system in place where patients are filling out a satisfaction survey, typically, about 10-12 months into
treatment. If you wait and do your surveys at the deband you will receive a much more positive spin.
9. Clinically, have you continued to
maintain excellence?
The following are a list of items that important to acquiring clinical excellence:
Up to date and progressive mechanics
Beautiful case results, attractive facial profiles, and smile arch
On time finishing (20 – 24 months or less)
Focus on patient comfort
Not seeing patients too often without a benefit to the treatment plan
Utilizing comfortable long working wires
Offering various types of brackets and aesthetic options
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Focusing on the patient’s main concerns
Continuing education every year
Being a part of a clinical study club
When an orthodontist holds on to old fashioned mechanics and keeps the patient in treatment too long it hinders the growth of the practice. Parents are more educated than they ever have been before in terms of orthodontic
treatment. The successful orthodontist continues to invest in their clinical education each year. They are excellent educating the patient base on the benefits of their expertise and what they have to offer in the practice.
You should display beautiful before and after photographs on the website and throughout the practice. Positive Google reviews are also very effective in marketing your practice.
10. Do you have a written marketing
plan, a marketing budget, and marketing
coordinator?
Marketing was once something that we kept on the back burner. It was not something we focused on in the past because we had a surplus of new patients. Today, marketing has come to the forefront and the proactive
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orthodontist has become an expert in this area. Website design and search engine optimization are also essential. Additionally, it is a base line
requirement to participate in social networking, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These all play a huge role in referrals into the orthodontic practice. Since dental referrals have declined over the last several years, word of mouth is essential. How would you evaluate the potential “soccer field” talk about your practice? Marketing is meeting the needs of patients and parents. You have to assess what is important to the patients in your practice and the responsible parties. Being insurance friendly, offering flexible finance
options and focusing on how you can achieve their main priorities are all key elements. Dental referrals have declined; however, many practices are still receiving 40 – 50% of their referrals from the general dental offices. Out of site is out of mind! You must have a program that supports the continuing on-going contact program with the dentist and their team members. Proactive practices are constantly taking action and following through. If you talk about a lot of ideas but nothing ever seems to happen your production in the
practice will suffer. This turns into panic mode which serves no one.
11. How would you evaluate your patient
flow?
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Having a smooth flowing schedule is essential to marketing the practice. People have a low tolerance for being kept waiting so we cannot afford not to run on schedule. Getting the orthodontist in and out of the exam in a timely manner is important for case acceptance. You cannot afford to have assistants on the team who are not pulling their weight. Each assistant should be able to see approximately 14 patients per day. The assistants should be well trained and very capable of conducting all clinical procedures. Evaluations are
essential for high performance and should be done for all team members on an annual basis. Offering convenient times of day is also important to your marketing plan. The definition of “hours of convenience” will vary from area to area. You must be competitive with your scheduling options or you will lose market share.
12. Are you involved in your community?
Ideally the orthodontist should be a super star in their community. I have worked with many orthodontists who are highly respected in their area and, as a result, have become the “go-to” practice. Participating in community events and establishing a philanthropic image is one key to success. The more you give; the more that comes back to you. I am on the board for “Smiles for a Lifetime.” It has been so rewarding to see so many orthodontists and team
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members give young children an opportunity to benefit from orthodontic treatment.
Conclusion:
Being proactive is one of the seven habits in Dr. Stephen Covey’s super famous book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” Planning is essential; however, successful people know you must take action. Do not allow panic to get the best of you. Get up and get moving! Focus on your strengths and get to work on the things that are standing in the way of you pursuing your dreams!
